Bite-Size Oaty Scones

This is really a simple and fuss free recipe with minimum ingredients required. I bake this with mum over the weekend with less than an hour as time is running late for me to rush back to KL. These bite-size scones are so convenient and I can take a quick bite while on my way to work.

INGREDIENTS

180g self raising flour

50g oats

50g butter, diced

50g granulated sugar

50ml whipping cream or milk

50g dried cranberries

1 egg, lightly beaten

(The proportions are so easy to remember, right!)

METHOD

1. Combine oats, sugar and flour in a mixing bowl. 

2. In a separate small bowl, combine egg and whipping cream. Now its time for action.

3. Rub the diced butter into the dry ingredients and mix with your hands until well combined. Then add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and add the cranberries.  

4. Work quickly to form a soft dough and do not overmix. If the dough is too sticky, you can add in a little more flour.

5. Using your fingers, shape the dough into bite-size scones on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

6. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Serve and enjoy while its warm. If you can't finish them, store it in a air-tight containers for up to a week but I bet it's gone within days ;-)

Oops before I forget, this recipe is adapted from Amy Beh's recipe.

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2011

 
If you haven't heard about this sale, it's not too late. You still have 3 more days to go to buy all kind of books for yourself or anyone. With 1.5 million books to offer, I believe there's something for everyone. Remember our tax rebate - RM1000 and please do not hesitate to go.

Join in the book sale fever and you'll never regret! Click here for the location map.

Here's the list of book that my mum bought and I'll see you there again this Saturday for more book hunting..ngek ngek ngek

 

Updated on 17 Oct 2011 

Next year I will need to take a day off to get greater bargains as there isn't many books left according to my mum. Nonetheless I still managed to buy some.

Books bought on 2nd trip

 

Crunchy Peanut Pound Cake

With some peanut butter left in my kitchen cabinet and expiry date is around the corner, I decided to bake a simple pound cake. Reason being, I knew that I could have never finish eating the peanut butter myself in such a short time. The final result is a perfectly baked golden pound cake.

INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups self raising flour

250g peanut butter, either crunchy or smooth
150g butter, soften at room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

3 large eggs

3 cups of brown sugar 

1 cup milk

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 170 Celcius and line a 10'x5' loaf pan with baking paper.

2. In a large bow, beat sugar, butter, vanilla essence and eggs with a hand electric-mixer on low speed for a minute.

3. Using high speed, beat the mixture for 5 minutes until pale and creamy. Remember to scrape the bowl occasionally to ensure all the ingredients is mixed altogether.

4. Beat flour into the batter alternately with milk on slow speed just until smooth after each addition.

5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

6. Cool on a wire rack and serve. 

Nice Golden Brown!

Chocolate Muffin with Peanut Buttercream Frosting

I promised my friend's kids that I would make them muffin when I see them next time. With an easy chocolate muffin mix brought from 'Bake With Yen' which I usually go to but my baking supplies, I decided to make a quick muffin bake, topped with peanut butter frosting. This is my first time using this easy mix from BWY and with some creativity, I created some penguin look-alike muffins for them too. I was so happy when I see the smile on her faces and they're shouting cupcakes! Well, sometimes I can't tell whether its muffin or cupcakes myself ;-). Hope that they will enjoy eating them!

Chocolate Muffin

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs, 

500g muffin mix

130ml water 

135ml corn oil

METHOD

1. Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until combined well.

2. Divide the batter into 16 cupcake cup equally using a ice-cream scoop or spoon.

3. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190 Celcius for 20 minutes.

4. Let the cupcakes cool on a wire rack before decorations.

Peanut Buttercream Frosting
(Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

50g butter

125g creamy peanut butter
2 cups icing sugar
30ml whipping cream (you can substitute with milk)

METHOD

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. 

2. Slowly beat in 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar. 

3. Mix in 1/4 cup of the cream. 

4. Beat in the remaining confectioners' sugar.

5. If necessary, add a little more cream or milk until the frosting reaches a good spreading consistency.

DECORATIONS

1. Use a spatula to spread the peanut buttercream on the muffin and decor with some sprinkles and chocolate rice.

2. To create the penguin-look, I use Munchy mini cookies. Separate the cookies and pipe some buttercream to stick the cookies on top of the muffin. Finally pipe the nose and walla, penguin look alike.

Easy-Mix Walnut Brownie (Part 2)

This is the second part of testing off-the-shelf product from hypermarket on a lazy Sunday noon. If you are following my blog, the brand that I bake previously was Pillsbury and the taste isn't so nice to my preference. I hope that this brand from USA would be better i.e.  Betty Crockers.Talking about laziness, the preparation of this brownie mixture actually takes less than 10 minutes and real easy.

Betty Crockers Brownies

INGREDIENTS

1 box of walnut brownie

2 eggs

1/4 cup of corn oil

1/4 cup of water 

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160 Celcius and line a 8 inch square pan.
2. Blend water, oil and egg in a medium bowl using a whisk or hand mixer until integrated. Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.

3. Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes and do not overbake.

4. Once cooled, cut brownies into rectangular size and serve.

My verdict on Betty Crockers
Disappointed, it has similar taste to Pillsbury with lower artificial flavour presence but yet I didn't really get the chocolatey satisfaction. With a scoop of ice cream on top would probably make the cut for this brownie. Nonetheless, I would cross out this from my shopping list.

I still have one brownie box left in my shelf for another lazy endeavor.