Blueberry Muffins

Now, first things first... 


Question of the week: What's the difference between a Muffin and a Cupcake? Ahem.. nope.. it's not the frosting... try again.. 


Wiki has the Answer:


A muffin is any quickbread (mixed by muffin mixing method & does NOT contain yeast) that is in the shape of a cupcake. A cupcake is any cake batter mixed with the straight method or creaming method made into the shape of a cup. Cupcakes (traditionally) have frosting on top, while muffins have no frosting, but muffins can have a glaze on top. Many people think that the difference is either frosting or no frosting, or that it's "in a paper liner" or not, but that is a common mistake. Either one can be made with or without a paper liner; it's just the baker's preference. A quickbread (or muffin) CANNOT be baked like a sheet cake or round layered cake because it won't bake properly. The same goes for a cupcake batter- a cake batter (or cupcake) cannot be baked in a loaf or bundt pan because it will not bake properly. But, since both can be baked into a smaller shape, everyone seems to want to declare that they're the same. Well, I graduated from the art institutes pastry & baking program, so I can assure you that this is the correct deffinitions of cupcake & muffin. ;-) 

Fun Fact: 
If you threw a cupcake against the wall, you would hear something of a 'poof!' If you threw a muffin, you would hear a 'thud!' :)


http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_a_muffin_and_a_cupcake

Blueberry Muffin Recipe a la Muus: 


(I have to explain that I wasn't happy with any of the recipes I found online. One of my favorite ones, is of course Betty Bossi (well known in Switzerland) but even that recipe wasn't, what I was looking for.


So I started mixing up recipes and created my very own one. Enjoy 




You need: (for about 24 muffins)



200 g butter
150 g sugar
300 g white chocolate chips
200 g dark chocolate chips
4 TS vanilla sugar
1 TS salt
4 eggs
400 ml milk
500g flour
5 TS baking powder
300 g blueberries


Melt the butter and half the white chocolate chips (you can also use regular chocolate) in a hot water bath. 


Mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar together and add the butter/chocolate to it. (Be careful that the butter's not too hot, it could "boil" the eggs. Add the milk and mix it all well.


Add the Flour, baking powder and salt to it. Mix it well again.


At the end add the chocolate chips (work them well into the dough) and last but not least add the blueberries. 


Fill the dough into the muffin forms and bake for about 30 minutes on a temperature of 180.


Take 'em out, cool 'em down, eat 'em ;) hihi

Almond & Pear Bread

Ok, this is a funny recipe and you will have to be careful with the Pears, so they won't be too wet (as they were when I made the bread.. not that it wasn't tasty, but it needed more baking hence the "burning danger" is higher) lolz

The reason I made this bread is pretty simple. After seeing a Video of Garrett Weber-Gale explaining how healthy certain nuts are, I thought.. why not give Almonds a try? (Here's the Video of GWG athleticfoodie-nuts) (Thanks Garrett for the great tips, love your blog GWG)

Enjoy

You need:

450G (1 lb) Plain Flour
1 TBSP Fine Sea Salt
40G (1 1/2 OZ) Unsalted Butter, Softened & Diced
85G (3 OZ) Ground Almonds (you can buy whole Almonds and ground them yourself, that's what I did)
125G (4 1/2 OZ) Flaked Almonds
55G (2 OZ) Caster Sugar
2 Ripe Pears
300ML (10 FL OZ) Warm Milk
25G (1 OZ) Fresh Yeast

75G (2 1/2 OZ) Dark Chocolate (if you like)

Sieve the Flour into a large bowl. (Yes I always sieve the flour no matter what, first, that's the proper kosher way to do it.. you don't want to make the Rabbi angry now, do you? ;) lolz.. and second... and IMHO even more important, that's how I learned it from my daddy, who was a baker and pastry chef and he HAS to know... it's a good way to see, if the flour is ok, sometimes there are worms in the flour.. yup.. if you don't want those extra calcium ingredients in your bread, sieve the flour ;) )

Ok.. so .. Flour, Sugar, Salt and ground Almonds all in a bowl, rub the butter in until it's like bread crumbs. Make a well and pour the dissolved yeast into it and the remaining milk. Mix until you get a sticky dough.

Knead the dough for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface until it's elastic and smooth. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with damp tea towel and leave for an hour to rise.

Knock back the dough and knead for another 3 minutes. Press pears and half the almonds on top of the bread and chafe until they are evenly distributed.

Make a flat round shape of the dough, then make deep criss-cross cuts and scatter the remaining almonds on top. Cover the dough again and prove for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ gas mark 4.

Bake loaf for about 25 to 30 minutes until it's golden and the base of the bread sounds hollow. Cool on a wire rack.

I not only drizzle with melted chocolate before I serve, but also with powdered sugar.

Enjoy :)

Basil Tomato Fougasse (Flattish Provence Bread)

I was so bored last week.... (did I mention just how much i HATE tendinitis... ufff...).. anyways... lets see the cup half full... being "sick" but other than feeling pain, I'm quite alright, I decided to test some bread recipes...

Here is one, that is suuuper yummie... (ask Eyal, he tasted it, fresh out of the oven.. still warm.. he loved it...)

Time it takes to make the bread:

Rising: 1 hour
Proving: 1 hour
Baking: 25 minutes

Makes: 2 Loafs

You need:

450 g (1 lb) strong white flour
1 tbs fine sea salt
20 g (3/4 OZ) fresh yeast or 2 1/2 tbs dried yeast
290 ml (9 FL OZ) water at body temp
some olive oil
115 g (4 OZ) small cherry tomatoes, chopped (into 1/2 and 1/4)
a handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

• Put the flour and salt into large bowl, make a well in center. Cream yeast with 1 tbsp of water, add to well with 1 tbsp of olive and remaining water. Mix dough until it comes away from the sides of the bowl.
• Knead dough for about 10 min on a lightly floured surface, place it back into bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel, for to rise for 1 hour.
• Knock the dough back and knead for 5 min, then divide dough into 2 pieces and flatten them. Sprinkle "tomato/basil - mix" over them and fold each piece of dough several times to incorporate the "mix" evenly.
• Shape dough into an oblong about 28x15cm (11x6in). Use sharp knife to make about 4 diagonal cuts into the loaf and pull them apart slightly to give it a "ladder effect". Place on baking sheet, cover again with damp towel and leave for 1 hour to prove. (the dough should about double)
• Preheat the oven to 220C/ 425F/ gas mark 7
• Drizzle each loaf with olive oil and bake for 25 min
• Cool on a wire rake

My Tip: Eat while warm with salad. Suuuper yummie...

PS. you can make the Fougasse plain if you want instead of my "mix" you can use cheese or spices or herbs.

Enjoy ;)