In my quest to create more small batch recipes today I decided to make a small batch Bran Muffin Recipe. I think of all the muffins I make, Bran Muffins are my absolute favourite. I think any muffin is pretty wonderful when you think about it. Small bakes perfectly sized for one. Breakfast in the hand. Treats you can carry.
When I used to run my own Coffee Shop oh so many moons ago Bran Muffins were also a favourite muffin of my clientelle. I used to bake Bran, Carrot and Banana, sometimes Blueberry. I would buy it from my supplier in huge buckets of frozen mix. All you did was scoop and bake. They were actually very good. The Bran always sold out first.
Of course homemade from scratch is always better. We humans are funny creatures, aren't we?? When someone tells us that something is good for us or healthy, we automatically think that it can therefore not be very tasty. That is not true of these muffins. Nothing could be tastier.
There is only 1/2 TBS of fat in the whole recipe. You can use olive oil if you wish or canola oil. But 1/2 TBS of fat divided between 6 muffins is almost neglible I think!
There is also very little sugar. Only 1/4 cup of soft light brown sugar, packed. Divide that between six and you come up with not an awful lot!
There is 2 TBS of molasses, but again an unrefined sugar and divided between six muffins, not a lot per serving . . .
The whole wheat flour and use of natural wheat bran ensures that there is plenty of fibre, which is so good for us and low GI. We are told to eat more whole grains. These are definitly very highly whole grained.
Another nice thing is that you can use skim milk if you wish with no real difference in texture or flavour. A bonus!
They have a beautiful texture as you can see. I like raisins in my bran muffins and so I do add some to these, but its entirely up to you if you choose to or not.
They are lovely warm from the oven . . . .
I enjoyed one with a hot cup of apple spiced tea for my elevensies . . . which is a British fancy name for coffee break.
Of course I very naughtily added some butter to mine. Oh boy . . . They are absolutely gorgeous warm with some butter . . .
I am not sure what it is about quick breads and butter, but the two go together really well. Just think of lemon nut loaf, or date nut loaf, banana bread . . . you can keep the icing, but sliced and spread with butter . . . you can't beat em!
Oh boy but this went down a real treat. Todd really enjoyed them as well and I am really looking forward to having one for breakfast tomorrow morning!
Yield: makes 6 muffins
Small Batch Bran Muffins
Every bit as delicious and moist as a full sized batch, but perfectly sized for the smaller family. Not too sweet and filled with fibre.
ingredients:
- 1/2 TBS oil
- 50g soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup packed)
- 2 TBS molasses
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 120ml milk (1/2 cup)
- 40g wheat bran, unsifted (3/4 cup)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 70g whole wheat flour (1/2 cup)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 75g raisins (1/2 cup) (optional)
instructions:
How to cook Small Batch Bran Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a six cup muffin tin and line with paper liners. Set aside.
- Whisk togethr the oil, brown sugar, molasses, egg, milk, wheat bran and vanilla. Stir together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just to combine. Stir in the raisins if using. Divide between the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Tip out of the tin onto a wire rack to cool.
If you only bake one thing for you this weekend, let it be these. You won't regret it! I promise!
Its not usual that I would share a cake with you two days in a row, but I just can't help myself. I really need to share my down sized version of Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake with you.
Anyone who has ever eaten a chocolate mayonnaise cake will tell you, they are the richest and moistest chocolate cakes!
Developed during the second world war they were designed so that people could still enjoy a delicious cake at a time when eggs, butter and shortening were rationed.
Mayonnaise can sound like a really strange ingredient . . . . but let me reassure you there is absolutely nothing "salady" about this cake!
It is a lovely moist cake with a delicious chocolate flavour. I used cocoa powder for this, which works perfectly.
The delicious Toffee Icing really caps it off beautifully! Its a very easy make, all in a saucepan.
The cake itself was baked in a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin, which I lined one of with these paper loaf tin liners that I got at Lakeland many moons ago.
They work just like a cupcake liner. You can also use just ordinary baking paper cut to size.
The cake itself goes together in a jiffy. You just sift together flour, cocoa powder, soda and baking powder.
There is no salt in the recipe. You don't need it because of the mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise and sugar are whisked together with a small quantity of water. This gets added to the flour mixture and everything stirred together until smooth.
This rich batter gets spread in the loaf tin and then baked. Once baked you leave it to cool completely in the tin.
I am not sure why, but that's just the way it has always been done.
I think it might actually help to contribute to the moistness of this cake.
Once the cake is completely cold you mix together a simple toffee fudge icing in a saucepan, which gets spread on top of the cake.
Oh, it is lovely. Rich and the toffee flavour goes beautifully with that rich and moist chocolate cake.
They are the perfect fit for each other!
This is the perfect sized snack cake for a smaller family, cutting into six perfect slices.
I do have a recipe for a full sized Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake here and just went to look for it so I could link you up to it, but alas I have never posted it on here for some reason!
Its basically the same cake, ingredients doubled and baked in a 9 inch square pan.
This cake however, is the perfect size for a family that is just two. Perfect for elevensies or after school, teatime or any other time you want a lovely bit of chocolate cake to snack on!
Yield: 6
Small Family Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
This recipe makes a small loaf cake, 6 by 9 inches in size. Moist and chocolatey with a lush Brown Sugar Fudge Icing.
ingredients:
For the Cake:
- 140g plain flour (1 cup)
- 1 1/2 TBS cocoa powder, packed (not chocolate drinking powder)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 110g full fat or low fat mayonnaise (not no-fat) (1/2 cup)
- 95g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 120ml water (1/2 cup)
For the frosting:
- 2 TBS butter
- 50g soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup)
- 1 TBS milk
- 60g sifted icing sugar (1/2 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Small Family Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
- Preheat the cake to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
- Cream together the mayonnaise and sugar until smooth. Stir in the water and vanilla. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda. Stir this into the wet ingredients until well combined. Scrape into the prepared loaf tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan.
- To make the icing, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and bring to the boil. Boil until the mixture begins to thicken, about 1 1/2 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the milk, carefully. Return to the heat and bring back to the boil. Rmove from the heat and cool until it is just warm. Stir in the icing sugar until smooth and then spread on top of the cake evenly. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Make sure you DON'T use NO-fat mayonnaise for this cake. You can use low fat with not much difference, but no fat will result in a rubbery cake which is much saltier than it should be. This recipe as written is absolutely perfect. Trust me on this.
I wanted to bake a special treat for my Sweetie Pie for Valentines Day. This Maraschino Sweet Heart Cake is a cake that I have been baking for a very long time.
What goes more with Valentines Day than a delicately tinted pink cake which is studded with maraschino cherries and toasted pecans!
It can be baked as a layer cake, or as I have done today, baked in two separate tins to create a Heart Shaped Cake.
I used both an 8 inch square and an 8 inch round cake tin. I had grandiose ideas in my mind.
I thought to hang a garland between two poles with some sweetheart lovie dovie messages on the garland, using two (paper) straws for the poles and a bit of butcher's twine to stick the messages on.
I don't think that I can ever be accused of being overly proud. I am fully capable of laughing at myself, and I do have to chuckle when I see this.
A cake decorator I am not! But thankfully my husband always enjoys what I create, so it's all good.
My motivation and sentiments were pure.
The cake ended up being far larger than anything I had in my china cabinet to use as a cake plate,, and so I had to botch one together using a large place mat which I covered with aluminium foil. When must needs . . .
I thought about putting sprinkles all over the cake, but instead opted to put just a few decorations at the base of the poles.
A bit understated perhaps and I don't think anyone will be copying my idea, but I do hope people will be inspired to bake the cake.
Its a good solid, old fashioned cake recipe. Almost an all-in-one-batter in that you measure all of the dry ingredients, fats, and wets into a bowl and beat them all together before beating in stiffly beaten egg whites.
Easy peasy. You are supposed to stir the cherries and nuts in at the end, but I always stir the nuts and most of the cherries into the dry ingredients so that they don't sink and then just stir a few quartered cherries into the batter at the end.
That way you get lots of lovely bits of cherry throughout and just a few largeish bits.
Overall a very pretty effect I think. I opted to use a 7-minute Frosting this time rather than a buttercream.
Its kind of like marshmallow . . . you do it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Just mix all of the ingredients together and then beat for seven minutes . . .
Until you get a soft billowy, marshamallow type of frosting that is quite sticky and quite good!
Just look at the texture of the cake. I call that perfect. You can leave the nuts out if you wish.
Todd is really enjoying it and that is why I baked it . . . I wanted him to enjoy it.
We are not like young lovers who go all out with hearts and flowers and jewelry and stuff . . . instead we like to keep things simple.
Restaurants and such get so busy on days such as these . . . instead we opt to get a delicious takeaway, and I make us a dessert and we celebrate at home with a good film/movie and each other's company.
And that's just how we like it. What kinds of things to you do for Valentines day?
Yield: makes 16
Maraschino Cherry Cake
A delicately pink tinted cake flecked with bits of red maraschino cherry and toasted pecans. What's not to like? I have included a recipe for a 7 minute frosting.
ingredients:
For the Cake:
- 310g of plain flour ( 2 1/2 cups)
- 190g caster sugar (1 cup)
- 1 TBS baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 60ml maraschino cherry juice from the jar (1/4 cup)
- 180ml milk (3/4 cup)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla essence
- 1/2 tsp pour almond essence
- 4 TBS unsalted butter, softened
- 55g white vegetable shortening (1/4 cup)
- 4 large free range egg whites
- 18 maraschino cherries, quartered and dried with some kitchen toweling
- 45g of chopped toasted pecans (1/2 cup)
For the frosting:
- 3 large free range egg whites
- 250g granulated sugar (1 1/3 cup)
- 60ml water (1/4 cup)
- 1 TBS golden syrup (corn syrup)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
instructions:
How to cook Maraschino Cherry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter two 8 inch cake tins. Line the bottoms with baking parchment and butter the paper. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Whisk together the milk, cherry juice and essences.
- Put the flour mixture into a bowl along with the butter, shortening, and milk mixture. Beat together until smooth. Add the egg whites and beat for 3 minutes at medium speed until light and fluffy. Fold in the quartered cherries and pecans.
- Divide the mixture equally amongst the cake tins. Smooth the tops over and give them a tap on the counter to settle out any air bubbles. Bake in the centre of the heated oven for 30 minutes until wthe tops spring back when lightly touched, and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes clean. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Peel off baking paper.
- Once completely cooled fill and frost with your favourite icing. Delicious and pretty!
- For the seven minute frosting: Fill the bottom of a double boiler with water about 1/3 and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. In the top of the boiler combine the water, egg whites, sugar, syrup and vanilla. Mix just to combine. Place on top of the simmering water making sure that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the pan. Beat everything together using an electric hand whisk until peaks form and the mixture is thick, white and glossy.
NOTES:
To make a sweetheart cake divide the batter between one 8-inch square baking tin and one 8-inch round baking tin. Bake as above. Once cold, cut the round layer in half and attach to two adjacent sides to form a heart shape.
Of course when my children were small I would bake heart shaped cookies and we would make paper Valentines and I would decorate the house a bit, but those days are long gone now . . .
This is how long I have been baking this cake. All those kiddies are in their 40's now with my youngest daughter (on the end of the table) having turned 40 on her birthday this last December. Why do they have to grow up? Those were busy days, and I never knew whether I was coming or going most of the time, but I sure would give anything to just feel a pair of those little arms creeping around my neck to give me a hug just one more time.
Happy Valentines Day!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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