Tag: Cakes

Raspberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

This recipe courtesy of Easy Living Magazine

The streusel gives these muffins a delicious, baked-on, crunchy topping.  Pecans are used here, but it works just as well with walnuts or slivered almonds.  Make sure you use demerara sugar, as this gives you the right crunch. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes : 12    Prep time :  25 mins   Cook time : 25 mins

For the streusel topping:  40g (1 ¼ oz) unsalted butter, chilled and chopped; 50g (1 ¾ oz) plain flour; 2 tbsp demerara sugar; 2 tbsp coarsely chopped pecan nuts

For the Muffins:  310g (10oz) plain flour; 2 tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda; pinch of salt; 150g (5oz) caster sugar; 1 tsp finely grated orange zest; 300ml (9 ½ fl oz) buttermilk; 2 free-range eggs; 100g (3 ½ oz) unsalted butter, melted; 150g (5oz) fresh or frozen raspberries

Method:

  1. Heat the oven to 190oC (gas mark 5).  Grease a 12-hole muffin tin or line with paper muffin cases.
  2. To make the topping, rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Mix in the sugar and pecans.
  3. To make the muffins, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Add the orange zest and make a well in the centre.
  4. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and melted butter.  Pour into the well in the flour mixture and stir until the ingredients are just combined.  Do not over mix – the batter should not be smooth.  Quickly fold in the raspberries.
  5. Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin tin.  Sprinkle over the topping and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden.  A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

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Lemon Drizzle Cake

Serves:  12;  Prep:  20 mins;  Cook:  80 mins;  Cals per serving:  452

Ingredients:
225g (8oz) butter, softened; 225g (8oz) caster sugar; finely grated rind of 2 lemons; 4 eggs, size 3, beaten; 225g (8oz) ground almonds; 200g (7oz) semolina; 150g (5oz) self raising flour; 10ml (2 tsp) baking powder; 5ml (1 tsp) almond flavouring; juice of 2 lemons; juice of 1 orange

Syrup:
1 lemon; 2 oranges; 75g (3oz) caster sugar; 2 cinnamon sticks

Lemon Curd Icing:
90ml (6 tbsp) lemon curd; 30ml (2 tbsp) icing sugar, sieved

Method:

      • Beat together butter, sugar and lemon rind until pale and fluffy.  Gradually beat in eggs.  Fold in almonds, semolina, flour and baking powder.  Stir in almond flavouring and fruit juices to form a smooth firm consistency.  Pour into a greased and lined 21cm / 8 ½ in round tin.  Bake at Mark 4 / 180oC / 350oF for 80 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
      •  To make the lemon syrup, use a vegetable peeler to remove strips of orange and lemon zest and put them into a pan.  Squeeze the lemon and the orange and add the juice with the caster sugar and the cinnamon sticks to the zest in the pan.  Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring gently, then simmer for a few minutes.  Remove from the heat and keep to one side.
      • Pierce several holes in the cake with a skewer and drizzle over the syrup, reserving the citrus peel and the cinnamon sticks.  When cooked, remove the cake from the tin and put it onto a serving plate.  Gently warm the lemon curd, stir in the icing sugar, and use to drizzle over the cake just before serving.  Decorate with the reserved peel and the cinnamon sticks.

Visit my shop to download this and 9 other Cakes & Baking recipes . A recipe card is available for download here.