Gingerbread Muffins

Tis the season to eat plenty
Trallalalallaaaa lalalallaah

I've been stretching myself a bit thin this past month, what with a full time job, side baking business, choir rehearsals, and now the holiday season is fast approaching, which means deadlines and holiday baking! We're also flying back to Miri (beautiful seaside town in Sarawak, Borneo, where I spent the first seven years of my life) over Christmas to spend time with family and friends for a special occasion (can't say yet!).

Tonight, however, is the final rehearsal for the choir's Christmas show (check it) which consists of one (1) caroling session in Publika (come by and bring me a Boost juice!), and two (almost) back-to-back full concerts almost across town. I thought to bring some treats for the group before we break up for the holidays, just as a "thank you for being so fun over the past few months" gift.

So here's the recipe (for what would have been gingerbread cupcakes... but I didn't feel like adding more sugar).

Gingerbread Muffins
Yield: 12 standard sized muffins

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 180C and lay out muffin liners
2. Beat the canola oil, caster sugar, and molasses until combined, then add in the egg and continue beating until incorporated
3. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and ground cloves in a medium sized bowl and add to the liquid mixture. Beat until incorporated, then slowly trickle in the hot water. Continue beating for about another minute or two then divide between the muffin liners
4. Lower the heat to 165C, and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer poked through an angle comes out clean
5. Eat!

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

I am currently in the holiday state of mind, ready to slip on my flip-flops, bikini, slap on the suntan oil and spend the day on the sand with a good book and a frilly looking cocktail. Here on the Equator, we're lucky enough to have constant holiday weather, but I'll do you one better: we're headed to the beautiful North Island of New Zealand next week for a family holiday!

It'll be my first time there, and I'm not entirely sure what kind of clothes I need to pack... for warm weather, chilly weather or just beach clothes. Guess a cardigan or two wont harm me.

The best part about going to New Zealand, though? I get to meet with Kirstie and Tegan, two friends I've known for a very long time from SnitchSeeker, and I'm contemplating bringing my ratty old SS t-shirt just to make it easier for them to spot me in a crowd. We'll see how these visits go, I'm so excited!

The other thing I thought of when I heard we'd be going away for a week was: Ohmigosh, I can't leave my blog for a week! I'd lose any readership I had managed to gain in the past few months! lol yes, it is a very real worry for me. So I've figured out a solution... you'll see.

Anyway, let's continue with the festive themed treats, today I bring you the very simple, and yet sinfully sweet and pretty Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies. I used a recipe from Paula Deen, with very small tweaks (maybe cos I don't read instructions well and was too lazy to buy ingredients).

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp buttermilk
• 2 tsp distilled white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp red colouring

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 110g butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a larger bowl, beat the sugar and butter together with an electric mixer until fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time
4. Add buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and colouring and beat until incorporated
5. Once the wet mixture is fully combined, add the flour  mixture and beat until incorporated (gotta find another word for combined, incorporated...) 
6. Drop the dough onto the cookie sheet in teaspoonful amounts, or if you have a small ice-cream scoop that's even better. Space the dough roughly 2 inches away from each other cos trust me, babeh, these will spreaaad.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, or until fully baked through, and allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes before removing to the cooling rack to allow it to cool completely. Is the word cool starting to sound funny to you? 
8. For the frosting: beat cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy (use a hand mixer), then add vanilla, beat for a bit more, then add the sugar 1/2 a cup at a time. 
9. Once the cookies have cooled, spread the cream cheese frosting between them and ENJOY! 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I got my 10 year old brother and 11 year old sister to do the last step for me, while I sat in a corner giving orders and re-reading Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones. Santa and her elves, that's right. Should've given them bells, too. Drat. 

These are cute, tasty and fun to make. Though, I made the mistake of putting the completed sandwiches in the fridge, so here's a tip: make the frosting ahead of time and refrigerate so it firms up and you won't need to put the whole sandwiches in. I've got so much left over frosting, that I'm good for another 3 batches of cookies I think. Whoops, now you all know what you're getting for Christmas! 

Much love,

Nabs

Gingerbread Men

Run, run, as fast as you can,

You can't catch me,

I'm the gingerbread man!

I don't know how, why or when the Gingerbread man became associated to Christmas, but it's a tradition that I can definitely appreciate, considering I'm mad for ginger (gingersnaps, ginger beer, Weasleys, etc). I was familiar with the fairytale while growing up and I have to say, it always disturbed me that this old lady made a child out of food... Talk about filling the void...

On that note, while baking these yesterday, I realised that my younger siblings probably didn't know the story. Which I blame entirely on the internet, tv and video games, by the way. Children these days don't get the same exposure we used to get as close as ten years ago, they don't need to read an entire encyclopedia to find one bit of information because they can just google something. There goes general knowledge.

As I rolled out the dough and employed Adam and Elyza to cut out the cookies for me, I told them the very disturbing story. I made sure to enhance the story's impact on them by telling the classic 1875 version... where Gingy (let's go with it) cries out "I'm quarter gone! I'm half gone! I'm three quarters gone!" made worse by biting off the cookie limbs during the retelling, relishing the twin looks of horror on their faces.

Elyza has more heart than me though, she always bites off the heads first... it's more humane.

Classic Gingerbread Recipe

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 tsp ground ginger (to taste)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup unsulphured molasses (I used the mild flavoured kind)

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices
2. In a separate bowl, beat the butter on medium speed with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy
3. Add the sugar, beat until incorporated then add the egg
4. When the butter mixture is lighter, add the molasses and beat for 3-5 minutes
5. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating until incorporated
6. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours) or ready to bake
7. Preheat oven to 180C and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper
8. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to around 1/4 inch thickness and use the cookie cutter of your choice, transferring the cut outs onto your cookie sheets with an offset spatula
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or edges begin to brown
10. If desired, press currants, gum drops or other candies into the candies while they're still soft (within 1 minute of removing from the oven) and then allow to cool on a wire rack

You've GOT to make some gingerbread people, trees, reindeer, snowmen and other such Christmas ornaments this last week. To use them as Christmas tree ornaments, use a straw to poke a hole in the cookie cutouts before popping them in the oven (LOL I'm so bad at multitasking, typed office instead of oven at first) then string a ribbon through the cookies after they've cooled.

x Nabs

Christmas Tree Ruffle Cake

Ever since I saw this cake by Amanda (aka iammommy) last year, I've been obsessed with it. I've dreamt of the colours, the ruffles, the sweetness of it all... I just needed to wait another year for Christmas. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is? Yes, you probably do. The only thing is that I'm not sure if I'm fond of the texture differences caused by the cake-ception like the one in this picture. So with a year to think about what I want my cake to look like when I finally do it, I think I surprised even myself with how simple it was to make it over-the-top Christmas-sy!

After many, many ruffle cakes over the past year (Elyza's birthday cake, Lana's engagement cake, personal pick-me-up-cos-the-week-was-so-shite cake, and many ruffled cupcakes) the ruffles just came so much easier this time around. I find that when it matters... my frosting and decorating always falls to pieces. This is definitely because I always try to do it all in one sitting, and by the time it comes to piping, I'm exhausted and my eyesight is wonky from the prolonged contact lenses to flour/sugar exposure.

Last weekend was the perfect opportunity to try this out, because a) I had no work to do, and b) mum put me on house arrest for the weekend because of my back problem. Standing and baking all day probably wasn't the best option due to point b) but I'd run out of TV shows, films and books... and wanted to bake.

I used a Wilton #103 tip for the entire cake, and about 1.5 batches of frosting, though next time I should probably use a little less for the crumb coat. There were just SO many crumbs, though, so I kind of went overboard. The housekeeper gave me a tip for that: less baking soda/powder will yield less crumbs. So next time, I'll just try putting in half of what the recipe says. I did up a classic buttercream, but not one I've posted before, so I'll share it now:

Classic Buttercream Recipe

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Crisco vegetable shortening, room temperature
• 3-4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp thickened whipping cream
• * Colouring gel, as desired

1. Whip the butter and shortening in a large bowl until fluffy, I find that using a hand mixer as opposed to the stand mixer produces a fluffier and smoother buttercream
2. Add vanilla, whip a bit more to incorporate
3. Gradually add the confectioners sugar, 1/2 cup at a time and beating until fully incorporated each time
4. Depending on the consistency you want to achieve, slowly add the cream. I find that 2 tbsp is perfect, but sometimes depending on other conditions, I may need more or less
5. Pipe! For ruffles, use a petal decorating tip (#104 for a slightly larger, taller cake though I used a #103) and starting at the bottom of the cake, with the bigger opening on the cake side, at almost right angles with the cake, just dash back and forth all the way up. This video might explain it better.

And when you're done, have cleaned up the kitchen and let the cake sit in the chiller for an appropriate amount of time (which basically equals to enough time for you to shower, get dressed and look presentable)... make yourself a cup of coffee (hold the sugar) and cut a slice of cake.

I don't even need an excuse to bake cakes anymore, my parents are no longer surprised, though they make "tsking" sounds whenever they find the fridge packed with desserts. Every day is cake day!

Especially red velvet cake. Look at how seasonal this cake turned out! My mum didn't see me bake this, and when I cut a slice, it was gratifying to hear her gasp. Yay Christmas!

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this one, because I'm sort of still on a bit of a high. Love this one so much that I may just make a few replicas to give away...

Happy holidays!

x Nabs