Crazy Over Bananazzzz and HPBOB!!

By the way, HPBOB referred as Happy B'day Old Bird.

Saturday night was only the 1st day of baking for OB's birthday. As she doesn't like choc as much as me, I decided to follow Peach Muffins' recipe from Aunty Yochana's blog.

It looked fine at first.

But it was a disappointment after it's been baked.

It didn't look as fluffy a muffin should be as it's suppose to as Aunty Yochana's.

The texture was more like peach tart. MH brought them all to the aunties and uncles at the wet market. Feedback was surprisingly good though.

Since the peach muffins were a flop, I decided to bake Banana Cake from Chubby Hubby and Cheese Brownie from Aunty Yochana.

Chubby Hubby's Banana Muffins calls for creaming the butter and sugar before adding the rest of the wet ingredients. I wondered if I had over-beat the wet ingredients.

The batter was pretty light and white.

The muffin cups turned 'wet' as soon as the cake started to bake.

I like how golden brown the tops looked.

Time for taste testing!

Guard dog joined in as well.

Oh my... the muffin cup was completely soaked with oil.

Verdict: The texture was soft but kinda dry, due to the loss of moisture of the butter.

Continuation of the die-hard spirit! I didn't know what happened to the pictures for the cheese brownie. I must have been in a moodless spirit for photo-shooting. It took more than the time required to bake it in 1 small loaf pan. I used a aluminium foil to cover the top when baking for the second time, while I took a nap on the sofa in the living room.
I woke up when the sun reached the top of the sky and checked my brownie. To my dismay...

the cheese brownie fell apart once I poured it out of the pan. I think it must be over-baked.
I had some remaining brownie and cheese batter left, so I mixed them up in muffin pan.

Not really a pleasant sight but, the brownie was rich and fantastic! This is the true brownie I've been waiting for! You should try this recipe quick.

With the unsuccessful cheese brownie, I decided to bake 3 variations of banana muffins for OB.MH had bought back with 2 bunches of bananas from the market, so why not?

Recipe from Mad Baker. I didn't over-mix the batter this time round, unlike the 1st time.

I bought these lovely brown cupcake paper from Phoon Huat.

Guard dog woke up to the smell of muffins and stuck around the kitchen.

This last banana muffin recipe's from Joy of BAKING. Instead of white choc, I used unsweetened choc chips instead.

I thought I got the melted butter right this time by melting it directly over low heat.

I packed 21 banana muffins for OB, though she's not celebrating 21st b'dae. I thought 21 banana muffins should be enough for her colleagues.

The 3 'musketeers' with peach muffins on top (meant as reward for Guard dog)

I was still left with 3 bananas at the end of the tiring day.

Peach Muffin (http://auntyyochana.blogspot.com/2007/09/peach-muffins.html)

180 gm. unsalted butter - melted
220 gm. fine sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs - lightly beaten
250 gm. cake flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
80 gm. ground almonds
1 small can of peach - cut into dice
100 ml. fresh milk

1. Mix melted butter wih sugar, salt, beaten eggs and milk. Stir till well combined and then pour into the sifted flour, ground almonds and baking powder. Stir lightly.
2. Add in diced peaches.
3. Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 180C for about 25 mins. or till cooked.
4. Leave muffins to cool on cooling rack.

Banana Cake (http://chubbyhubby.net/blog/?p=191)
Makes 20 to 24

21⁄4cups (295g) flour
2tsp baking powder
2tsp bicarbonate of soda
1⁄2tsp salt
1cup (210g) sugar
240g unsalted butter
4 eggs, beaten
4 bananas (roughly 375g), mashed
5Tbs milk
1tsp pure vanilla essence

1. Sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a medium bowl.
2. Cream butter and sugar until creamy white.
3. Add beaten eggs a little at a time. Beat well after each addition.
4. Add vanilla, milk and mashed bananas.
5. Fold in flour and blend well. Pour mixture into muffin cups and bake at 180˚C for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Cheese Brownie (http://auntyyochana.blogspot.com/2007/05/cheese-brownie.html)

Brownie:

180 gm. Butter - melted
275 gm. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla essence
120 gm. self-raising flour
70 gm. cocoa powder

Cheese filling:

250 gm. cream cheese
45 gm. butter
80 gm. icing sugar
1 egg

Some chocolate chips to sprinkle on top

1. Mix melted butter with brown sugar until well combined.
2. Add in eggs, one at at ime, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla essence.
3. Gently fold in flour and cocoa powder and stir till smooth.
4. For cheese filling: beat cream cheese, butter and icing sugar until well combined. Add in egg, beating well.
5. Pour half of brownie batter into loaf pan, then pour in cheese filling. Then pour the balance brownie batter on top of cheese filling. Sprinkle top with chocolate chips.
6. Bake in preheated oven 170C for 40 min.s or until cooked.

Banana Muffin (http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/BananaMuffins.html)

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ounces (65 grams) white chocolate, cut into small pieces
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 tablespoons (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 very ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish:
1 large banana, sliced (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Butter or spray a 12 - 1/2 cup muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and white chocolate. Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery muffins.) Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins and place a slice of banana on top of each muffin for garnish. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for five minutes and then remove muffins from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Random Night of Baking

On a random mood, I tried my hands this time on Banana Muffin by Mad Baker and Marble Muffin from Aunty Yochana's other than brownies.

Some deviation from the recipe.

Point 1: I did not melt the butter, but left it to softened under room temperature.

Point 2: I beat the wet ingredients in the mixer to the point that mashed banana seemed to dissolve.

I thought I did not used enough milk as the batter seemed more dry like dough. So I decided to have a trial test by baking 4 muffins.

Indeed! The muffins didn't rise and the top cracked.

I thought I added a little more milk and topped with choc chips before baking the rest.

It didn't look much different from the 1st trial. So I baked Choc Brownie Cupcakes to make up for the failure.

Choc Brownie Cupcakes

Marble Muffins

It is hard and texture similar to a scone.

Banana Muffins

I only tried it on a Saturday morning, after Pig Head exclaimed on it being more of a banana cake than muffin.

It tasted so soft like a cake along with the banana fragrance. I finished it at 2 go!

Here're the recipes for the 2 muffins.

Banana Muffin by Mad Baker

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
4 ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg & 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with muffin cups or grease lightly with butter.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, beat the mashed bananas, sugar, eggs and melted butter together.
4. Stir the banana mixture and walnuts into the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Divide the batter into the muffin tray.6. Bake in preheated oven on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Marble Muffins by Aunty Yochana

Ingredients:

480 gm. Cake flour
300 gm. fresh milk
330 gm. sugar
230 gm. Butter
5 eggs
30 gm. Baking powder
30 gm. cocoa powder

60 gm. chocolate chip for sprinkling on top.

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar till pale and creamy.
2. Add in eggs into the butter mixture, making sure that they blended before the next addition.
3. Add in flour,baking powder and milk into the butter mixture.
4. Scoop out about 300 gm. batter and stir in cocoa powder.
5. Pour the cocoa mixture into the plain mixture and lightly mix them to make a marble effect look.
6. Scoop mixture into paper cups, sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
7. Bake at 180C for about 25 to 30 mins. or till cooked.