Pineapple Cupcakes

Hmm, what to do with two cans of chopped pineapple that's been sitting in my pantry for what seems like years? Eid-ul-fitr is over so no need for pineapple tarts. Something quick and easy to put together because the kids have to be picked up from school soon. A quick search on the web and i found a recipe for these pineapple cupcakes.
I'm really annoyed that i didn't bookmark the site or make note of it. I just quickly jotted down the recipe and ran to the kitchen to make them.

Recipe for Pineapple Cupcakes
2 Cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup raisins

Whisk oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar, pineapple, and raisins. Fold in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Pour into cupcake cases and bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean.

I burnt my tongue eating these too soon out of the oven....but worth it! These were so yummy! Its a lot of batter and we had cupcakes for days :)

I loads away to family and it seems everyone liked them just as much as i did. I didn't make and icing/frosting for these and they were yummy and full of flavour as they were.



So if you're ever wondering what to make with canned pineapples.......make these!

Nancy's Butterscotch Brownies

Even though i'm not a part of TWD anymore I still like visiting blogs of other TWD members. Nancy's blog is one of my favourites. When i saw this recipe posted on Nancy's blog i ran straight down to the kitchen to see if i had all the ingredients. Of course i did, these brownies only require basic ingredients that most people would have in their kitchens. Yay, a great tasting dessert with few ingredients and not much fuss!

Please check out the recipe here and have a look at the rest of Nancy's fantastic blog.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

What a great way to wake up, eating these delicious cookies. Most of them were eaten by my 3 year old son.

This recipe is from Williams Sonoma and you can find it here.

I didn't have any coconut so i doubled up on the oats. I substituted half the amount of all-purpose flour for wholewheat flour.

Lemon Bread with Pecans

I have not been active on my blog and I apologise. I have had to back out out the two groups that i love participating in, Tuesdays With Dorie and Craving Ellie in my Belly. We are still living in Malaysia and loving it. I grew up here in KL (Kuala Lumpur) and it has been fantastic being able to reconnect with family and friends. My husband is enjoying his sabbatical and is just starting to look at rejoining the rat race. Most of our belonging are still packed away in storage, including my beloved cookbooks and baking equipment, boohoo!!! Don't feel too sorry for me though as I have been able to do some baking, just not as much as i'd like to. I've been pretty lazy at posting but i'll try and post my backlog over the next week.

First up..... this gorgeous Lemon Bread. This recipe is courtesy of Williams Sonoma and you can find the recipe here.

Yummy Lemon Bundt Cake

I had to give in to my lemon cake craving! When i used to live in Brighton, England, every so often my lemon cake craving led me to a cafe called Mock Turtle. This is an old victorian tea room hidden down an alley that locals flock to for the best cakes and afternoon tea in town. I cannot emphasise how delicious their lemon cake is, ahh the best :)
Moist and delicate crumb with a crunchy topping, bliss!



So..... now living on the other side of the world and desperate for lemon cake, what is a girl to do? I searched the internet for lemon cake recipes and just couldn't find one that i thought would fit the bill, until i founf this one.



This cake was delicious and very easy to make. I made double the amount so that i could give some away to family. I made one large bundt and also mini bundts stuffed with dates. My family loved this cake!




Much as i love this cake, it was not quite the same as the one at Mock Turtle. This cake was a little more dense. Alas i think its not just the cake i miss, the atmosphere of the cosy tea room and cool sea breeze is missed too. Nevermind, its a good reason to go back and visit.

You can find the recipe here or below:

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Glaze:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
3/4 cup sugar

Directions:
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In another mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts.

Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, alternating with milk, starting and ending with the flour. Stir in lemon zest. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack. Cool 10 minutes longer. Place rack on waxed paper. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over the warm cake. Cool completely before serving.

Delicious!

Christmas Cupcakes

I have been meaning to write these up for the longest time. I made these just before christmas. I taught my first baking class and thought these would be great to make. Ok, my students were all cousins of mine, but they had all approached me to show them how to bake something. It was a fun day but i was exhausted by bedtime. I was glad i chose these as they had a great time decorating the cupcakes.



The recipe i used was an Ina Garten one taken from SmittenKitchen. You can find the recipe here. I made two batches so that everyone could take some home. These were delicious and were gone after 1 day! I gave one to a friend and he was blown away and thought they were from an upscale bakery. I hope you have as much fun making these as i did :)