Navi

Thursday 23 January 2014

Fake Blueberry Muffins

Why fake blueberry muffins, you ask?
Because they're cheap!
And delicious!
And so quick to make!
And you use up the yogurt in the fridge you really should eat before it expires!
Yay!

Fake Blueberry Muffins
(makes about 9 muffins)

180g (¾ cup) blueberry yogurt
1 egg
45ml (3 tbsp) sunflower/vegetable oil
½ tsp vanilla extract/sugar
195g (1⅔ cups) flour
75g ( cup) sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ baking soda
¼ salt

Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F).
Whisk together the yogurt, egg, oil and vanilla extract.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Evenly fill muffin cups and bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let them cool (or don't) and quickly eat them, before anyone else notices you made some.



Yes, their colour is kind of weird (especially because they started with a purple yogurt, which made a grey batter, which then turned into blue/green cupcakes), but they're delicious, and super quick.
You can, of course, use other yogurts as well, just look at what you have in your fridge!

Guten Appetit!

Wednesday 22 January 2014

I'm singing in the rain~ Just singing in the rain~

Okay, no, that's a lie, I just took a walk in the rain, no singing or dancing involved.
But I did take my camera with me, so have some pictures!

 I love this tiny house :3 I never see anyone in the garden/house, but the hedge is always neatly trimmed, so I guess someone comes by from time to time. Or it's haunted by a gardening ghost.

 There's this really nice house right next to the cemetery, it even has its own little tower thing in the back there!
 Pretty, right?
 It gives off a tiny bit of a spooky vibe, which is great, because it's, like I said, right next to the cemetery.
 There's that tiny strip of land next to that gorgeous house...and now they want to built...whatever that is on there. Look back up at the pretty house. Now look at that block thing. Back at the house. Block. Ugh -_- I don't even understand how they're going to squeeze it between the house and the cemetery...
Anyway, I just hope that, if the zombie apocalypse should happen, the people in their stupid cube are first on the menu.


Friday 17 January 2014

Pumpkin!

Ever wondered how to make pumpkin puree?
No?
Tough, because I'm going to tell you.

First, you take a pumpkin (insert gasp).
Remember the tiny butternut pumpkin I was super proud of? Well, he's going to be my victim for this demonstration.

Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
Cut the pumpkin in half, and scoop out its guts the gooey and stringy stuff.
(Only three tiny seeds in my tiny pumpkin)

Now put your pumpkin halves cut side down onto a baking tray. (You can omit the parchment paper)

Bake until the skin is wrinkly. Now stab the pumpkin! If it still moves, put it back in the oven. If the knife goes in easily, it's ready.

Let the pumpkin cool. Then flay that poor sucker. You should be able to easily pull off the skin.

Use either an immersion blender or food processor to make the puree. And now you're done! If you're not using the puree any time soon, just pour it into a zip lock bag and freeze.
Tip: You can put the pumpkin puree onto some cheesecloth and squeeze out the excess water. I never do though /shrug

Thank you, my dear tiny pumpkin, you were delicious!

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Christmas cookies all year round!

Well, you'll be able to use the cookie recipes I'm about to post for Christmas '14! Or just whenever you like, because these cookies are de-li-cious!

My sister helped me with this year's Christmas baking, which was a first. I made the dough, and she did the rest :3

This is the first time I'll be trying to add cup measurements as well, if anything is false, blame the Internet, not me!

Vanillekipferl
280g (1 ½ cup) flour
200g (7 ounces) butter
100g (¾ cup) ground walnuts (you can substitute for almonds, although the cookies will be dryer)
80g (¾ cup) powdered sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar
additional powdered sugar and vanilla sugar

Quickly mix together the ingredients to form a dough (yes, just throw everything together), wrap it in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for about two hours.
Preheat your oven to 170°C (338°F).
Form the Kipferl by rolling pieces of dough between your hands (or on the table) and put them on a parchment covered baking sheet.
Bake about 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
Sprinkle powdered- and vanilla sugar over the cookies while they're still warm.
Let them cool and then stuff your face.


Zimtsterne
250g ( 2 cups + 1 tbsp) flour
125g (1 stick) butter
125g (1 cup + 1 tsp) powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
dash salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
125g (1 cup) ground hazelnuts
additional flour for rolling out the dough
powdered sugar and lemon juice for the icing

Quickly mix together the ingredients to form a dough (once again, just throw everything together), wrap it in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 160°C (325°F).
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out stars. (Yes, you can see a few snails in the picture, it was a joke because Zimtschnecke (cinnamon snail) is the German word for cinnamon roll)
Place cookies on parchment covered baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until they turn golden brown.
After the cookies have cooled completely, mix powdered sugar with a bit of lemon juice, and either cover the entire top of the cookie, or just drizzle some over it.
Now stuff your face.


Fortune Cookies
2 egg whites
½ tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)
3tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
60g (½ cup) flour
1 ½ tsp cornstarch or potato starch
dash salt
115g (½ cup) sugar
3 tsp water
optional: food colouring

Preheat your oven to 150°C (300°F).
In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together the egg whites, vanilla extract and oil.
Sift in the flour, starch, sugar and salt and add water.
Beat until you have a smooth batter.
Now you can either leave it at that, or divide the batter between bowls and dye them all a different colour.
Drop a spoonful of batter onto a greased cookie sheet, then spread the batter with your spoon. Repeat one more time. (Start with 2 cookies, and once you've got the hang of it, you can do more)
You can now decorate the cookies like you would normally do with royal icing.
I folded my own little piping bags and made polka dots and stripes, but there really is no limit to what you can do :3 Just remember that you'll be folding them, so maybe don't paint Mona Lisa, because she won't be recognisable.
Bake the cookies for 14 minutes, or until the edges turn golden, and the cookie is easily removable with a spatula.
Take a cookie, and flip it over. Lay your fortune or message onto the cookie, then fold it in half. Quickly, but gently, pull the edges of the cookie over a mug or glass, then put it into a cup of a cupcake tin, so it won't lose its shape.
Yes, the cookies will be hot.
Really hot.
Ouch.