Hot Cross Buns

Since moving to California there are a few British foods that I really miss, many of them are seasonal delicacies, which to British people is standard fare, but here in the US, they are often impossible to find.  It is one of my aims to try and recreate these delicacies, so as not to miss out an some of my favorite British traditions.

Hot Cross Buns are one of those traditions!

In England, you an find these everywhere from about the middle of February until just after Easter.  They come on various 'flavors', but are all basically the same-delightful buns which when toasted and dripping in butter on a usually cold day with a cup of tea make the world seem like a better (and warmer!) place!  Click here for more information about Hot Cross Buns.

I have really missed these over the past few years, and although not one of the most common British foods, is a a hidden and often neglected delights!

My one issue with making these is yeast.  Yeast and I are not friends.  We do not get on!  Whenever i have tried to make anything in the past with yeast it has been a disaster.....mainly because the yeast did not 'activate' and rise when it was supposed to and I have been left with slightly hard, small, yeasty tasting buns that were generally very disappointing!

I was determined not to be beaten (but to be honest I totally expected the same to happen again!), so I decided to follow a trusted recipe from an exceptional cook to the letter (well almost!) and pray for the best results! AND IT WORKED!!!! I was so excited I actually did a happy dance in the kitchen.....Captain America was a little bewildered by my delight but he has missed all my prior mishaps! Thank you Pioneer Woman - you saved the day and the war against yeast was won!

The changes I made were as follows:

I wanted proper crosses on my buns....in the UK, the crosses are made out a dough and are white so they stand out significantly from the rest of the bun, highlighting the cross.  All the recipes I found in the US, seem to use icing to make the crosses....but I wanted mine to be as genuinely British as possible.

The second change was I added different kinds of dried fruit.  I added dried blueberries and cranberries just to add a new dimension to the flavor. I love raisins, but Captain America despises them, so I made a few without raisins too!

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Chocolate & Banana Bran Muffins

These delicious muffins were created by my great friend, Jillian!  She is an amazing cook and loves to bake!
For more information about Jillian check out her blog: The Violet Paige

When I first moved to California and tried to bake using my recipes from England, Jillian was the person that came to my rescue and helped me adapt my recipes, learn US measurements, temperatures, different ingredients etc.

This was one of the original recipes she taught me - and I have been using it regularly ever since!

These muffins are so good either for breakfast or just a healthy snack.  They are incredibly low in fat and sugar as all fat that would usually be used in a muffin is replaced with applesauce and yoghurt.

I made these with my wonderful helper, Jayden who chose to make these as he loves banana!

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Cake In A Cup

This is my first recipe I have made following a request from a friend. She wanted me to make a cake in a cup....you know the ones, they are all over Pinterest and other cooking websites where you make and bake a cake in a cup in the microwave! Here is my BIG problem....I hate cooking in a microwave, and to me baking is not real baking if it does not involve an oven! Call me a snob, or a weirdo who reads and believes too many negative articles about cooking in microwaves, but I just don't like it!

Don't get me wrong, microwaves have their place, and I'm still not sure how I spent so many of my childhood years without a microwave (my parents first one was my microwave that they inherited when I moved to California....I was 27!).  They are great for reheating....just don't reheat in plastic or I freak out...for defrosting etc.....but baking a cake....a whole cake in a minute just seems wrong, very wrong!

However, this friend had asked, maybe even challenged me, so I couldn't refuse.

I actually set out convinced that it would not work and would be an utter failure....however I was proved wrong, the very first time!
The recipe I used I adapted from the most traditional white cake recipe which follows the golden rules for baking in England.  You use equal amounts of egg, sugar, flour and butter, then add a little baking powder, mix and bake......very simple!  That is until you try and apply that same measurement using US cups which results in some very crispy, buttery, concave, disks which should resemble cupcakes (yes that actually happened the first time I baked in the US...disaster! Insert-all Americans laughing at me for being so stupid, and hopefully all British people reading this thinking "why would that be a problem!"

Anyway, after a few cupcake disasters, and many cake triumphs both in England and in the USA, here is my Cake In A Cup recipe:

In a small bowl, add all the ingredients

mix with an electric hand mixer

Spoon into a cup/mug/small bowl, ensuring the cup is no more than half full of cake batter.

Microwave on full power for 1 minute.  Timings will vary depending on the microwave power, we have a powerful one so you may need to cook it for a little longer.  I suggest you cook it for 1 minute, then in 10 second intervals as required. 

Obviously the cake will cook fully but will not turn brown at all, to ensure the cake is fully cooked insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is cooked.

Allow cake to cool for about 5 mins, enjoy!

White Chocolate Cake

Yield: 2 Cakes, which you can share with a friend, loved one or eat them both yourself...we won't judge!

Ingredients:

1/4 C butter, softened
1/3 C sugar
1/2 C flour
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 drops vanilla extract

For Lemon Cake add the following ingredients:

juice 1/2 small lemon (add to the ingredients and mix well)


1 tbsp lemon curd (when the cake batter is in the cup, make a small hole in the batter and spoon in the lemon curd)

For white chocolate cake:

add white chocolate pieces or chips before cooking

For double chocolate cake:

add 1/2 tsp cocoa powder to batter and stir well,

then add chocolate chips, chocolate pieces or a spoonful of nutella to the center of the mixture before cooking

Directions:

In a small bowl, add all the ingredients, mix with an electric hand mixer.  Spoon into a cup/mug/small bowl, ensuring the cup is no more than half full of cake batter.

Microwave on full power for 1 minute.  Timings will vary depending on the microwave power, we have a powerful one so you may need to cook it for a little longer.  I suggest you cook it for 1 minute, then in 10 second intervals as required.

Obviously the cake will cook fully but will not turn brown at all, to ensure the cake is fully cooked insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is cooked.

Allow cake to cool for about 5 mins, enjoy!

The cakes are best eaten within 30 mins of cooking, while they are still warm!

Easiest Banana Bread in the whole world!

We LOVE Banana Bread and we often get the chance to make it as we regularly buy bananas and let them get beyond their best so they either get thrown out or salvage and made into delicious bread!

We recently purchased a Vitamix.....and I am in love with it! I have wanted one for a while after I saw a couple of friends using them and realized the full extent of their capabilities. I could go on but I will not bore you with the details here.....but I will regularly use them in recipes as they speed up the preparation time enormously.

In the cookbook that accompanied our Vitamix, I found this wonderful recipe for banana bread.  It is the quickest and easiest recipe I have ever used, and it actually takes longer to get out all the ingredients and wash up than it does to make the bread!

Also, this recipe has hardly any fat or sugar in it, and uses whole wheat flour so it is a very healthy alternative to other cakes and breads....and did I mention that it's delicious!!!
I wanted to share it with you as it really is too delicious and needs to be shared with the world!
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