Recipie - Jaffa Muffins

All the ingredients needed for this deliciously sinful delight. This is just the base. Look below for the topping!

Hi All,

as promised, here is the recipe for the chocolate indulgent loving people!

Ingredients:

5 oz (150g) semisweet (dark) chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup (90g) butter

2 1/1 cups (375g)all purpose flour

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup (250ml) milk

1 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla essence (optional)

Frosting:

8 oz (250g) semisweet chocolate (dark)chopped

1/4 cup (60g) butter

1 tablespoon orange liqueur

finely grated orange zest for topping garnish finish

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F (200C/gas 6). Butter 12 cup muffin tin.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double-boiler over barely simmering water.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt into a large bowl.Stir in the sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, milk and orange zest (if you like some vanilla essence). Then beat in the cocoa and butter mixture until well blended.

Then gently put in the sifted ingredients and mix a few times till combined.

Tips:

Note - do not over beat or you will end up with hard muffins! It's completely ok if there is some flour not thoroughly mixed in the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepare muffin pans. Bake until well risen and springy to the touch, about 20 mins.

Let cool slightly before turning on to the wire-rack. Allow to cool completely.

In the meantime prepare the frosting by using the same double boil method to melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat once it has melted and stir the orange liqueur in. Lastly spread the cooled muffins with a layer of the frosting and top off with the grated orange zest. Let stand until topping is set, then go ahead &....... ATTACK!



Cool the baked muffins on a wire rack until completely cooled before splattering the melted chocolate mixture and top it off with the finely grated orange zest. Let it set then viola..Enjoy!


Cheers!

Sherry

Jaffa Muffins & Teacher's Day!

Working hard on craft to show appreciation to his teachers. He enjoyed every minute of it.



A Gift that will melt a teacher's heart, don't u think? Chocolate topping with orange zest. Mmmmmmmm.......Yummy!!


Last Sunday, my son and I made a chocolate indulgent muffin called Jaffa Muffin. The name sounds weird, I thought. Anyway I went ahead and tried making it.
Guess what? I was delighted to discover the most scrumptious treat ever!

My son Jude (left) & his buddy, Edmund. Sharing a Sunday afternoon tea before a round of badminton.

I promise to share the recipe with you next week. I'm sure once you try it, you will be totally amazed and agree with me!


Cheers!

Sherry

DADDY'S 80th BIRTHDAY!

April 21st 2010 marked the birthday of my Dad, Mr George Franciscus. He was born in 1930. Wow! indeed an awesome milestone. My dad is of mixed parentage. His father was either of Dutch or English heritage whilst his mother was a Sri Lankan, from Candy, Celyon. He is a survivor of the 2nd world war. He always has lots of adventurous stories of the days of the old. Yup!..The Japanese and their invasion into the then Malaya, is our all time favourite.

He worked all his life in the Malaysian Railways. Starting from the south to the north of Malaysia. It is amazing how hard work used to be back then was as he had to literally shovel coal to run the steam engines. My dad was a natural sportsman. He was an all rounder in field and track events. I remember how Mum had packed boxes of trophies mostly in shapes of cups various sizes (being the trend then). They were stored in the attic in our house. Come to think of it, it's a shame to think if we should have treasured it, he could tell more stories to his grandchildren about his life back then.

Oh yes, I will always treasure the time when he trained me when I was about to take part in my school sports during my primary school days. Being attached to the Railways meant that we kids had to understand of the odd timing of Dad's duty. He always took his work seriously. We kid had to abide to the house rule - silence during the day when Dad was in & about to go off to his duty call.

Although he is 80 years old, he still enjoys sports and an ardent sports fan. He looks fit and sturdy for his age and can be passed off as a 60+. Usually people are taken aback when they come to know of his age. Well recently to mark this auspicious day in his life, George Franciscus had 3 different celebrations. One was with my sis in Bukit Mertajam. The second was at my home and last one was a double celebration which was organised by my cousin whose birthday is 3 days after dad's - 24th April.

Here are some photos taken at my cousin's (in green T-shirt). Hope you will enjoy getting a glimpse of my wonderful Dad! (in maroon striped T-shirt)

Cheers!

Sherry

tell me what you think & comment ok?

Of Lunches & Health!

Healthy Chocolate Chip & Almonds Muffin


Lunch breaks can be a hassle - where to go and what to eat??…Healthy eating at work can be an expensive issue as well as in nutritious. So it be wise to stash a nutritious lunch in your bag, don’t you think?

Just a suggestion, why not bake some tasty wholesome muffins which you can throw in your lunch bag with a few fresh fruits to compliment as dessert and drink lots of plain water. You will be surprised how balanced your diet as well as your check book will be!

Oh yes, I guess taking a walk off your desk for your break. Perhaps you can go to the park, mall, or garden nearby and enjoy the different scenery while you enjoy your meal.

You can make the delectable muffins on weekends and freeze them for later use during the week. To warm them just before you eat, wrap them in aluminium tin foil and bake them for about 5-10mins and they are good to go. If you are thinking of using the microwave, wrap them in cake paper and do the same for 1min and that's it!


CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided use
2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup milk - can be substituted with 1 cup chocolate milk
5 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided use
1 (12-ounce) package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup chopped nuts – hazel, pine nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

Method
1. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Grease (2) 12-cup muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, dark brown sugar, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
3. Lightly beat egg whites in a medium bowl. Stir in apple sauce, milk, 4 tablespoons oil and vanilla; mix until well blended.
4. Fold egg mixture into flour. Stir just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Spoon into prepared muffin tins and set aside while making topping.
5. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon with oats. Stir in remaining oil until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle evenly over muffins. Decorate top with toasted almonds (optional).
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until centre is set. Cool in tins for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 2 dozen

Tell me what you think and comment ok? C ya!

Cheers!

Sherry