BACON & EGG MUFFINS

Bacon & Eggs, a classic combination.  As part of a breakfast, in a sandwich and now in a muffin.  I make a pancetta pie with quails eggs in the middle and everyone loves the surprise hidden away when they bite in and discover the miniature egg tucked inside. I thought it would be a great idea to do the same in a muffin so I've come up with this, not to be confused with the  Bacon & Egg Mc version.

These muffins are flavoured with cheese, a little mustard and flecks of chive which also add some colour.  You could swap things about and add parsley, spring onion, chilli flakes or a different cheese such as Red Leicester.

12 Quails Eggs
300g Plain Flour
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
100g Grated Cheddar
Small Bunch of Chives
Salt & Pepper
6 Rashers of Bacon, cooked and chopped
60g Butter, melted and cooled
1 Egg
3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 x 284ml tub Buttermilk



Boil the Quails eggs for 5 minutes then cool and remove the shells.  Put to one side while you mix the batter.  In a mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Put the wet ingredients in a jug and whisk to combine.  Pour the contents of the jug into the bowl and gently fold everything together.  Try not to over mix, it's fine if there are still a few dry bits.

Line a 12 hole muffin tin with muffin papers.  Put a large teaspoon of the mixture into each then place one of the eggs on top.  Cover each egg with more mixture till it is all used.

Place the muffins in the oven at 180C / 160C fan for 20-25 minutes and they are cooked through and golden.

These muffins are perfect for kids luch boxes and picnics.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

I recently took part in a recycled craft project which involved a lot of toilet rolls, peanut butter and bird seed.  At the end of it I found myself with a surplus of peanut butter.  I really love the stuff so not particularly an issue but I thought I should make use of it if only to stop me from eating the lot with just a spoon.

So here we have a Bundt cake flavoured with peanut butter, chocolate chips and a chocolate drizzle to finish it off. I used crunchy peanut butter because that's what I had, it gave it a nice texture but smooth would be fine too.



Cake
100g Butter
275g Peanut Butter
200g Light Brown Sugar
100g Granulated Sugar
3 Eggs
350g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
200ml Milk
50g Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Drizzle
100g Dark Chocolate
150ml Double Cream
1tbsp Golden Syrup



Heat the Oven to 180C (160C fan).  Grease and flour your bundt tin, I use a cake release spray which I find really effective, particularly in a bundt tin.

Use a free standing mixer or electric hand whisk to cream together the butter, both sugars and peanut butter.  Take a couple of minutes to do this so it becomes light and fluffy.

Now add the eggs, flour, baking powder and milk and mix to combine everything.  Finish by folding in the chocolate chips.

Pour the mix into the prepared tin and level out.  Bake for 45minutes till cooked through and a skewer comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool slightly in the tin then turn out onto a cooling rack.  Whilst the cake cools, make the chocolate drizzle.  In a pan heat the chocolate, cream and golden syrup till the chocolate is melted, do this on a low heat to save the chocolate from burning. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the cake.  You could also sprinkle on some chopped peanuts to even more nuttiness.

Roast Beef Sandwich with Dunking Gravy

I know you don't need a recipe for a roast beef sandwich but I wanted to share this with you, think of it as more inspiration than recipe.  We had roast beef, not something I do often as it gives me the fear.  I'm always convinced I will mess it up and waste quite an expensive lump of meat.  On this occasion I'm happy to say it was a success and not only was it cooked perfectly but there was enough on the joint to get a further 2 meals out of it.

Who doesn't like a roast beef sandwich, especially when the meat is pink and thinly sliced .  I've pimped it slightly with loads of fried onions but what really makes it is the pot of gravy on the side for dunking.  Oh my word, this is comfort food at its most ultimate, please give it a go, you won't regret it.

Giant Jaffa Cake

Obviously The Bake Off is still inspiring people to get out there and bake.  Since the recent episode I've had so many people ask me about making jaffa cakes that I've decided the easiest thing to do is pop it on here.  So by popular demand here it is.  I've made  one large cake but you can of course halve the recipe and use a fairy cake tin to make 12 regular size cakes.  If you go for the individual cakes, make sure its the shallow fairy cake tins you use and not a deep muffin tin for the correct shape.

Line an 8" cake tin with cling film. Cut up an Orange Jelly (135g pack) and dissolve it in 300ml of boiling water add the zest of 1 Orange. Now pour the jelly into the cake tin and refrigerate till set.

Line a 9" cake tin with parchment and heat the oven to 180C / 160C fan.  If you have one, use a freestanding mixer to whip 2 Eggs and 50g Sugar.  Keep whisking for a good 5 minutes till they have tripled in size and are light and fluffy.

Very gently fold in 50g Self Raising Flour.  Using a metal spoon for this helps to prevent knocking any of the air out.

Pour into your prepared tin, level out and bake for 10-12 minutes.  It should soft and springy to touch when cooked.

Once the cake has cooled, use the clingfilm to lift the jelly from the tin and place the jelly on top of the cake.  Melt 200g Plain Chocolate in a double boiler.  Leave to cool slightly before pouring over the jelly to prevent the jelly from melting.  Cover the cake with the chocolate and run a knife over the top to make the jaffa cake marks