Sometimes when I was in the mood for cooking / baking, I got the feeling that no force in the ‘verse could stop me. Yeah.
A chain reaction perhaps (Yang must be shuddering, hee), I picked up another new recipe from my current fave recipe book ‘Annabel Karmel’s New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner’. It was time to unearth my baking tools and unleash my, eh, amateur baking skills. :)
This has to be my No. 2 favourite muffin – carrot and pineapple muffin. It was absolutely delicious, moist and definitely wholesome. A perfect healthy snack for toddlers and why, everyone!
The preparation requires a bit more effort as the carrots have to be grated and pineapple crushed and squeezed its juices out. I’ve tweaked the original recipe to make do with what I have at home.
Ingredients (makes 6-8 muffins)
Cake flour / plain flour – 50 g
Wholemeal flour – 50 g
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Bicarbonate of soda – 1/2 tsp
Ground cinnamon – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Sunflower oil / vegetable oil – 80 ml
Caster sugar – 40 g
Egg – 1
Carrots – 100 g (about 2 medium sticks), peeled and grated
Crushed canned pineapple (slices / cubes) – 1 can (260 g), drained, slightly pulsed, squeeze out juice using a sieve and spoon
Raisins – 30 g
Method
1) Preheat the oven to 180 degree celsius (I used an oven thermometer to double-check the temperature). Line the muffin tray with muffin paper cups.
2) Drain a can of pineapple cubes/slices and crush them slightly using a blender. Pour the blended pineapple onto a sieve and use a spoon to press out as much as its juices as possible. Set the crushed pineapple aside for use later.
3) Peel the carrots and grate them. Set aside for use later.
4) Measure the sunflower oil with a measuring cup and transfer it into a big mixing bowl. Crack an egg into the same cup (no need to wash) and if it is not rotten, pour the egg into the mixing bowl. (I don’t break eggs directly into the batter in case any one of them is rotten.) Weigh the caster sugar and transfer it into the mixing bowl.
5) Measure out the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground cinnamon and salt and sieve them into another big bowl.
6) Use an electric beater to beat the oil, egg and sugar in the mixing bowl until well combined.
7) Add the grated carrots, crushed pineapple and raisins into the mixing bowl and use a spoon to stir to combine well.
8) Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to mixing bowl and use a spoon to fold in the flour mixture with the wet ingredients. Use only a few stokes! It is okay to have some traces of flour on the sides of the bowl and in the batter.
9) Pour the rest of the flour mixture into the mixing bowl and fold again just like step 7. Do not be tempted to mix everything evenly! Too many strokes spoil the batter. The resulting batter should be still quite wet.
10) Scoop out the batter with a spoon and transfer it into the muffin cups. I find it easier to use a second spoon to scrape the sticky batter off the first spoon when loading the cups. Fill each cup to 2/3 full.
11) Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Insert a toothpick into the centre of a muffin and it should come out clean when it is done. Never open the oven door to check for doneness before 3/4 time into baking; the muffin might collapse!
12) Remove the muffin tray when baking is done. Let it cool for 10 minutes before taking out the individual muffins to cool further on a rack.
The method above is rather detailed to help guide those who are novice in baking. Baking, unlike cooking, requires much precision. It is important to measure the ingredients and ensure the right temperature and technique in order to get the desired product. There is less room for error where baking is concerned.
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