American Muffins

An American muffin is a type of quick bread baked in small portions with a shape similar to cupcakes although not as sweet as cupcakes and usually without icing. Muffins are often eaten for breakfast, morning and afternoon tea with many varieties and flavors to choose from through ingredient such as blueberries, chocolate chips, cucumbers, raspberry, cinnamon, pumpkin, date, nut, lemon, banana, orange, peach, strawberry, boysenberry, almond and carrot. 

Gingerbread Muffins

Ginger is respectively used as a natural remedy for a number of ailments such as nausea, cramps and indigestion. Glace ginger is a ginger root preserved in boiled sugar which makes it tasty and easy to consume. I used both ground ginger and glace ginger in these muffins which produce excellent spicy muffins.

Hummingbird muffins

These very moist muffins are produced using oil, banana and pineapple with an enjoyable sweetness.

Date Gingerbread Muffins

These are lovely moist muffins using spicy ground ginger with added sweetness from dates.

Coconut and Dried Mango Muffins

Coconut milk is obtained by pressing the grated coconut's white kernel or by passing hot water or milk through grated coconut, which extracts the oil and aromatic compounds. Refrigerated and left to set the coconut cream rises to the top and separates from the milk. 

Vanilla Blancmange (Vanilla Custard)

Custard is a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk and can vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce to a thick pastry cream, depending on how much egg or thickener is used. When starch is added, the result is described as pastry cream or crème patisserie.  This is made with a combination of milk or cream, egg yolks, fine sugar, flour or some cornflour and flavouring such as vanilla, chocolate or lemon. It is called blancmange when starch is used as the only thickener.

Blancmange is a sweet dessert generally made using milk or cream and sugar thickened with gelatin or cornstarch. It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Comparable desserts such as Bavarian cream, Panna cotta and Haupia.

I remember growing up eating this form of custard with any kind of freshly picked fruit or compote with freshly whipped cream.

The Orchid of Flavour

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world and the experience of pure vanilla with its wonderful aromatic scent is why it is the most widely used flavor in pastries, confections and desserts. 

The Madagascar or Madagascar-Bourbon vanilla beans are repeatedly referred to as "bourbon beans" since the French first planted the vine on the Isle de Bourbon.  These beans have a smooth, rich, sweet flavor and are the thinnest of the vanilla beans grown. Vanilla Planifolia is the fruit of a thick green orchid vine.  The flowers develop into long thin green pods or beans that can grow up to 30 cm long.  These tasteless and neutral green pods are hand picked when they are still not ripe. The fermentation process begins when the beans are first plunged into hot water and then the drying and sweating process starts.  The beans are dried in the sun during the day and then wrapped in the blankets at night so they can sweat.  This process can last from 2 to 6 months until the beans become a very dark brown color and develop a white crystalline substance on the outside of the bean which is called vanillin.  This matter is what gives the beans their wonderful flavor and aroma.  Now the ageing process begins to bring out their full flavor which can take up to two years. 

Spinach Cheese Savoury Muffins

English spinach has thick, soft oval leaves and green stems, both of which are edible. It has a delicate flavour and is at its best during the summer months and described as a super vegetable with low calories. It is an excellent source of vitamin C, folate and beta-carotene and is furthermore a good source of dietary fiber.

Sultana Muffins

Sultanas are palish green, an oval seedless grape of Middle East origin with a soft, juicy and very sweet flavour. They are a natural choice for cakes, biscuits and desserts and also suitable with savoury ingredients such as meat, fish and poultry. Soaking sultanas in warm liquid such as wine, port, rum or stock presents softer fruits with additional flavour. Sultanas are an excellent source of iron, potassium and selenium. They are rich in fibre and the high calorie content formulates an ideal snack for anybody.

Carrot muffins

Carrots are healthy orange, sweet and crunchy root vegetables eaten raw or cooked promoting complex such as beta-carotenes, vitamin A, minerals and anti-oxidants and high in fibre and sugar content. Carrots can be shredded, chopped, juiced, roasted, boiled, steamed, stir-fried, grilled and they line-up up with nearly any vegetable companion. Carrots also increase the nutritional value of soups, stews and salads. The flavour of cooked carrots is enhanced by herbs such as spearmint, marjoram, bay leaf, thyme, grated ginger root, chopped chives, dill or parsley. To sweet enhance carrots, use honey, maple syrup or sugar.

Blackberry Apple and Milk Chocolate Muffins

Blackberry (known as black raspberries) is a combined fruit, a collection of numerous drupes which is a type of fruit with the outer fleshy part surrounding a seed. The blackberry leaves are used to make tea and are used to treat inflammation of the mouth and throat.

Banana Cinnamon and Pecan Muffins

This is a moist sweet muffin with great banana and cinnamon flavour and is enjoyable at anytime throughout the day.

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry is in essence a small, sweet and juicy (with a little tartness) fruit and has been classified as a part of the super food group. The benefits of blueberries in the diet are being recognized by health groups who put the blueberry at the top of its list of foods beneficial in the prevention of the risk of certain types of cancer and using blueberries in cakes and desserts is a wonderful blend.

Apricot Pineapple and Mint Muffins

Apricots are small golden orange fruits with velvety skin and the flavour is nearly musky with a slight bitterness that is more distinct when dried.

Apple and Cinnamon Muffins

Apples and cinnamon are a typical flavour combination in cooking and it seems everyone has a favourite cake or dessert with this mixture. These are lovely and moist muffins where nuts such as walnuts, pecans and almonds can be added.

Potato Choux

This is a Danish dessert sold in many pastry shops resembling the all important potato. The flavour of cocoa powder on top of a custard and cream filled éclair is an enjoyable experience.

Chocolate Crème de Menthe Gateau

Crème de menthe is a sweet alcoholic beverage with a mint flavor mainly derived from Corsican mint and is available in a white and a green version. Crème de menthe is used as an ingredient to make chocolates, cakes, desserts, cocktails and is also served as an after dinner beverages. This is a delightful, flavoursome chocolate and mint cake suitable for any celebration or as a dessert using Crème de Menthe.

Sesame Chicken Drumsticks with Coconut and Coriander Rice

Nearly everybody likes cooked meat on a stick, so let’s bake a drumstick. The lower half of a chicken leg is the drumstick, with moist dark and succulent meat and has more flavours than the white meat from chicken breasts.

Choux Pastry Swan with Tuna and Cream Cheese filling on Avocado

Tuna is one of the most admired eating fishes in the world due especially to the popularity of canned tuna. The fish is dense with a meaty flavour and texture. Tuna is an excellent source of niacin, selenium, protein and a very good source of vitamin B6 and thiamin. In addition, it is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium.

Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Croissant

BLT is short for bacon, lettuce and tomato. It is known as a form of bacon sandwich and a standard BLT is made consisting of bread, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. The BLT sandwich with its five ingredients has evolved with many variations and is perhaps the most popular sandwich.

Railway Sleepers Choux Pastry

This is a dessert made with choux pastry called Walesstang in Denmark resembling a railroad track and usually sold without any filling. The extended flavours from custard, cream with sweet icing and bittersweet jam or jelly on top makes this choux pastry complete.

Baileys and Caramel Macaroon Gateau

Buttercream is a filling and icing, which is used extensively in cake making. An easy buttercream is made by creaming butter with powdered sugar and flavoured.

Lemon, Coriander and Parsley Sautéed Potatoes

These sautéed potatoes with a lemon and spicy flavour are an ideal side dish. The potato, which belongs to the Solanaceae family whose other members include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and tomatillos, are the enlarged portion of the underground stem called a tuber and is designed to provide food for the green leafy portion of the plant. The potato plant will bear an inedible fruit resembling a tomato, if allowed to flower and fruit.