Orange Muffins with Dried Cranberries

Aromatic, soft, not to sweet morning muffins that are great for a low dose of sugar as breakfast or any kind of snack.

The orange juice adds a nice taste and additional sweetness while using very little sugar.  If you do not have dried cranberries, I am sure raisins would be fine and still delicious.  

The topping gives it additional sweetness while reserving the taste of the original muffin itself.  The cinnamon of it mixed with the nutmeg in the muffin give this muffin a very delicious taste to it!

Orange Muffins with Dried Cranberries

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Zest of 1 orange
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup dried cranberries

Topping

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 190.5°C and line a 12-cup standard muffin pan with baking cups (I buttered and coated with flour instead because I had no muffin cups, and I made 9 instead of 12); coat baking cups with cooking spray. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine orange zest, orange juice, milk, oil, and egg in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Gently fold in cranberries and fill each baking cup 3/4 full of batter. 

 Mix together sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over muffins. Bake for 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let muffins cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 minutes before removing from pan to serve warm or cool completely. Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Yield – 10 muffins (serving size: 1 muffin)
Calories – 166
Carbs – 26

ENJOY!!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This upside-down cake is a very beautiful and delicious cake.  This cake is usually made in a pan with a curved bottom in which we place pineapple slices and maraschino cherries. Once baked, turned over and allowed to set, the cake is eaten upside-down along with butter and sugar to avoid it sticking to the pan once inverted.

In Brasil, they do the same process their banana cake, where they place sugar, butter, and banana slices and once inverted the cake looks beautiful!

The cake batter also has a tingle of pineapple juice, which we thought it added a delicious taste to it.  Along with not being at all difficult, this cake takes no time to be done and delicious to be served on any occasion.

Ingredients for topping : 
6 slices of can pineapple (drain)
6 maraschino cherries
4 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of brown sugar

Ingredients for cake :
3/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 stick of butter (3/4 cup)
3 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of vanilla
1/4 cup of pineapple juice (from the can pineapple)

Method

1. Pre-heat to over to 350 degree F. Grease an 8" round cake pan. Prepare the topping by melting the butter in the microwave oven and pour it into the baking pan.

2. Srinkle the brown sugar on top of the butter and then arrange the pineapple slices over the brown sugar. Place the cherry in the center of each pineapple slice. Set aside.

3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4. Cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

5. Add the flour mixture in three parts alternately with the pineapple juice, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat well after each addition. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

6. Bake cake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge, and invert the cake onto a plate. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. 

ENJOY!

Crème Caramel with Cake

Crème caramel, flan, custard, you can call it as you want it, it is this delicious cold jelly like sweet that is full of sweetness and milk. Delicious! My son loves it, and when he wants one he says 'I want patene' since he doesnt know how to spell it, LOL!

Now take a second and imagine having 2 delicious things in 1! Let's say, crème caramel and chocolate cake.. Wait! what?! yep, you can have them both in 1 plate... I will show you how..

Crème Caramel with Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:
1 Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake Mix (I used the Devil's Food Cake Mix)

For the crème caramel:
1 can of condensed milk
1 can of milk (put 1 measurement of milk using the same can as the condensed milk)
4 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla


Method

Heat oven at 200 celsius.

Prepare two bowls next to each other. In each bowl pour the ingredients needed for each. Beat the cake with the cake mixer, and the crème caramel with a blender - I used for this the Braun hand mixer which easier.

Get a Round cake form with whole in the middle topped with caramer. Pour on it around 1.5 cups of sugar and put it on heat to melt. Once melted pour around 1/4 water and mix - then spread the mix all around the form, even use a spoon to pass the sugar mix in the middle of the pan. After spreading it all around, pour the cake mixture slowly, and then even slower, you can use creme caramel mixture on it. You might think that 'OMG the creme caramel mixture is mixing with the cake mixture' but dont worry, dont think about it, its worthless! coz nothing has happened!

Note: you have to check how much cake mix you need to pour in the cake form - I didnt use all because my form wasnt going to fit in it.

Cover the form firmly with foil paper, and bake it at 200 degrees celsius on bain-marie.