"Almond Flour Cake" Muffins

I baked a cake recipe in a muffin pan and they turned out great! Delicious, not too sweet and under 100 calories! This shouldn’t be a big deal. The original recipe is from King Arthur Baking, my source for many recipes and baking ingredients such as Baking Sugar Alternative, Almond and Coconut Flours. I was forewarned in the recipe's reviews that releasing the recipe from the pan can be problematic but my dough looked like a bread machine's kneaded dough ball! 

 It did take a while to put the ingredients together and into the pan for baking but that is true whenever you separate egg yolks, whisk egg whites and mix flours before combining with other stuff.  Put on your fav music and enjoy the process and aroma.

 

I am recording this recipe in steps using two mixer bowls for a stand electric mixer. A portable, hand-held mixer would work just as well to prepare the whisked egg whites. I didn’t turn on the oven or prepare the pan until I was midway through preparation. 

 

Yield: 12 small muffins or one 8” cake 

Ingredients:

 

-  4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

-  ½ cup + 2 TB granulated sugar or Baking Sugar Alternative, divided ¼ C + ¼ C + 2 TB

-  1 tsp vanilla extract

-  1 ¼ cups almond flour

-  1 TB coconut flour (can be replaced with ¼ cup Almond Flour, exchanges ¼ cup = 1TB)

-  1 tsp baking powder

-  ¼ tsp salt

-  ¼ cup sliced raw almonds, for topping

-  Butter or Baking Spray 

 

Instructions:

 

Step 1  Whisk Dry Ingredients

 

 Whisk together the dry ingredients – flours, baking powder and salt.

 

Step 2  Wet – Egg Yolks

 

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks, ¼ cup of sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

 

Step 3  Wet – Egg Whites

 

Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Slowly beat in the remaining ¼ C sugar. 

 

Step 4  Set oven temperature, prepare pan

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin cups, bottoms and sides, with Baking Spray (or lightly grease with butter). Sprinkle 2 TB of sugar into the bottoms of the muffin cups.

 

Step 5   Form Dough: Combine Dry Ingredients and Egg Yolks

 

Stir together the dry ingredients from Step 1 and Step 2 – Wet – Egg Yolks to form a thick dough.  

 

Step 6  Form Batter: Combine the Dough and Egg Whites

 

The original recipe states ‘Fold in the egg whites, ½ c at a time, incorporating them fully between each addition.  The final addition should result in a smooth fluffy batter dough.”

This did not work for me because my thick dough ball could not be manipulated by folding.

 

This is what I did next with the dough in the stand mixer’s bowl.  I poured the egg whites into the bowl and using the necessary speed setting, I combined both into a frothy mixture. It looked like the dough was in pieces afloat in the egg white foam.  Do not worry -this will work!

 

Step 7  Fill the muffin pans and sprinkle the almonds on top.

 

Step 8  Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are lightly “golden” brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

Note: I baked these for low calorie (95 cal.) snacks but they would be great alongside a scoop of yogurt, ice cream, sliced fresh fruit or as a base for strawberries with whipped cream.

not WW Apple Muffins

So I've accepted the challenge to put some weight on my dh who has a very high metabolism and loses weight unintentionally whenever he eliminates desserts, but he does take a daily muffin for a mid-morning snack and this will definitely get his taste buds going. The original recipe is from an easy cookbook, "Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!, The Ultimate Breadbaking Book for Parents and Kids" by Judith and Evan Jones. Sweet and delicious, serve warm!

makes 10 to 12 muffins:

1 large egg

1/4 C vegetable oil

1/2 C light brown sugar

2 1/2 C white flour

1/2 C stone ground whole wheat flour (white flour optional)

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c milk (fat free optional)

2 medium apples, peeled, cored, cut in small dice

topping:

2 tsp sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Beat the egg, then add the oil and sugar continuing to beat until well blended. Mix together the flour(s), baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, then pour in the milk and fold in the diced apples.

Butter a muffin pan (or spray with Pam Baking spray) and fill the cups with the batter, 2/3 full. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the muffins and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the over, let rest in the pan for 5 minutes and then move to a platter to cool.

Whoopie Pie or portion control - I'm decided!

It's portion control! A new pan from Williams Sonoma, see web description below, is perfect for small cakes or muffins, under 100 calories each .....a terrific snack for children and adults too. I tried a gingerbread mix and six regular sized muffins in a muffin pan and used the left over batter as my first experiment using the whoopie pan. The pan has a dozen wells, 7 were filled with gingerbread batter and the empty holes filled with water. The small cakes took a few minutes less to bake and I watched them carefully not to overbake. Delicious! I'm delighted to enjoy a small cake because I can't be trusted to eat only half of a regular sized muffin.

from Williams Sonoma:

Whoopie Pie Pan: A taste of sweet nostalgia, whoopie pies were introduced generations ago, when American country homemakers placed them inside lunch boxes as an afternoon surprise. Enriched with a luscious cream filling, the cakelike sandwich cookies are said to derive their name from the shouts of delight that spring from everyone who tastes them. Our pan is designed with shallow wells to bake a dozen round cakes that pair together to make the tops and bottoms for six 23⁄4" diam. whoopie pies. Constructed of heavy-gauge aluminized steel, the pan features our signature Goldtouch™ ceramic-reinforced nonstick surface. Cakes bake evenly and release effortlessly every time. Hand-wash. 18-oz. cap.; 14" x 10 1/2" x 1/2" high. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive.

Recipe for Moist Bran Muffins

These muffins start with a batter that can be prepared ahead and held in the refrigerator for up to a week, then scooped and baked as needed, so you can have fresh, warm muffins whenever you like (according to Whole Grain Baking Cookbook).

For 1 dozen muffins:

3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/4 cups bran cereal (not flakes)
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup orange juice

Pour boiling water over 3/4 cup of the bran cereal in a small mixing bowl. Add the raisins, brown sugar and oil. While the bran mixture cools, blend together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Beat the egg with the buttermilk and orange juice in a large measuring cup. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup bran cereal, then the bran-raisin mixture. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a muffin tin or line with papers coated with nonstick spray. Fill each cup two-thirds full. Bake the muffins until a cake tester (toothpick) inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling or serve warm.

forgive me, it's bran but absolutely delicious!

I am looking for tasty ways of eating foods that are rich in intact fiber and I found a delicious, healthy recipe for moist bran muffins in the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Cookbook. The cereal with the most fiber per serving (10 gms per 1/2 cup) is Kellogg's All-Bran, Bran Buds. Muffins are a great way of adding fiber to your diet. This recipe is prepared the day before and refrigerated overnight, then baked. The crumbly texture inside is accentuated by the crusty peaks on top.

Best Banana Muffins

Best Banana Muffins

These are the best banana muffins with lots of bananas and no added fat to the recipe. Makes 12 regular size muffins - a great recipe for very ripe bananas.

2 eggs, beaten
4 very ripe bananas
2 cups all-purpose flour (can be combination of wheat flour, white flour or wheat pastry flour)
1/4 C milk (prefer non-fat)
1 tsp salt
1/2 C sugar (or splenda)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

optional: 1 C chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or line muffin cups.

Using an electric mixer or a large bowl, mix the eggs and bananas together. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Fold in nuts if desired. Pour batter into muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes or until done (a toothpick inserted into center of muffin should come out clean).

mini cakes: dark chocolate and wonderful!

This is adapted from and inspired by a Weight Watchers web recipe. It tastes rich and chocolaty because of a 'secret' ingredient: sauerkraut. My husband came into the kitchen wondering what was that odor. A few minutes in the oven and the aroma was unmistakeably chocolate cake! The cake is crunchy on top and fudgey on the inside.

Instead of baking the batter in a bundt pan I used my favorite WW tool (portion control) and made individual mini bundt shaped cakes. Cupcake pans would work too.

WW Points per mini: 4

Recipe servings: 14

Dark Chocolate Cake published by Weight Watchers

baking flour spray for pans

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa ( I used Hershey's)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (one stick)

1 1/2 cups hot water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sauerkraut, pureed until smooth (drain juice before processing)

1 tsp unsweetened cocoa to sprinkle on baked cake

I added more vanilla and 1/4 tsp Vietnamese (strong) cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a bundt pan or muffin tins with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and 2/3 cup cocoa. Add melted butter, hot water and vanilla extract (and any other spices that you prefer); mix well. Add sauerkraut and blend thoroughly.

Pour batter into prepared pan(s); bake in center of oven until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes for cup cake sizes, 55 to 60 minutes for one large cake pan. Cool cake in pan for about 20 minutes and then turn out onto a baking rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with 1 tsp cocoa before slicing into 14 pieces for the large cake. 1 slice or cupcake per serving.

Notes: You can easily change the flavor of this cake by adding strong coffee instead of the hot water or adding cayenne pepper and cinnamon with the vanilla per WW.

What I've learned about portion control: I will be satisfied eating just one when something tastes very good if I don't have to make a decision about having another piece. So I prefer not to bake a whole cake or pie and cut myself one portion at a time. It will call my name until I have another slice. I put each of the mini cakes in a plastic bag in the freezer. Whenever I want one, I quickly microwave it on low power for about 15 seconds and it smells and tastes fresh out of the oven.

Easy Corn Mini Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup corn meal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten

Heat oven to 400F. Grease or spray mini muffin pans. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into pans. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown and a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm. Makes 24 mini muffins.