Made applesauce a couple of days with intentions to make an apple tea cake but with the current workload and the lack of time, baking doesn’t seem to be a feasible act at all. Well, that was until I inspired by some muffin recipes I’ve been reading from somewhere. And after a few mish-mash and tweaks, here’s what I came up with-

Granny Smith Apple Muffins

(makes 30 mini muffins)

Ingredients-

• 130g Unstalted Butter
• 1 ¼ cups of caster sugar
• 1 cup of homemade apple sauce
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup of full cream milk + 1/3 tsp of lime juice (or sub with 1/3 cup of buttermilk without the limejuice)
• 1 ½ cup of plain flour + 3 Tsp of baking powder (or simply sub with self-raising flour without baking powder)
• ½ tsp of bicarbonate soda
• ½ tsp of cinnamon powder

To Make Applesauce-

• 1 granny smith (green) apple, chopped finely.
• 1 cup of applesauce
• 1 cinnamon stick

- Boil ingredients together and let it simmer on low flame after it comes to a boil.

- cook for approximately 20mins (or more if you like a stronger cinnamon infusion), and let it cool before storing it in a jar.

Steps-

1. First prepare your milk- incorporate lime juice into milk and set it aside for at least 10 minutes. This step is not required if you’re using buttermilk.
2. Place butter (softened to room temperature), sugar, vanilla, eggs and apple sauce in a mixing bowl.
3. Mix thoroughly with mixer on medium speed until creamy
4. Run mixture through sieve to ensure there are no butter chunks and that butter is fully incorporated. (your finely chopped up apples should be mushy enough to go through sieve, if not, just simply spoon them from sieve into mixture)
5. Add in milk (which was initially set aside) and combine well.
6. Fold in flour and ½ tsp of cinnamon powder, mix well.
7. Grease muffin pans with butter or spray on oil and fill wells till 2/3 full
8. Bake for 20-30mins at 160deg C. To check if its fully cooked, toothpick inserted to the center of muffin should come out dry.

The incorporation of the applesauce into the muffins was such a wondrous idea, It made the muffins so moist, tasty yet light. whoever who came up with this- you’re a genius! Brought these muffins to the Teddy Hospital Event and they were not once turned down. These are perfect for tea snacks, or a quick bite especially when you’ve got a sugar craving. And the cinnamon infusion, oh my, who can ever resist these lovely things!

The banana bread so dense that it made greek yogurt look weak.

I baked this for my friend’s birthday. The last time we spoke, he mentioned how our desserts are always so sinful and it’ll be great if we should throw in a tad bit of fruits for health-sake pretense. A couple of friends were already making american cheesecake and sticky date pudding ( both oh – so – delightful!) so i thought something fruity (albeit the amount of cream cheese that went into this) would be a good palate change.

I do have to admit this mousse/cheesecake was a bit of an accident. The initial plan was to make a MOUSSE cake, but dear absent-minded me happily added every necessary ingredients except the whipped cream which i only realised when i opened the fridge to refrigerate the cake. Imagine the horror when i saw the specifically-bought-for-this-recipe tub of Bulla cream sitting on the 2nd shelf, staring straight in my face.

But i was glad the mistake was a good blessing in disguise. The cream cheese still managed to pull off a smooth texture that leaves a velvet-y, silky lingering hint of mango/peach infused cheese in your mouth. Not to brag, but this has got to be one of best accidental creations. In addition, this is the first cake I’ve baked so with results like this- absolutely pleased!

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Recipe (adapted from Maameemoomoo’s Mango & Lime Mousse Cheesecake)

What you’ll need: 8-inch (20cm) Springform Round Cake Pan

Mango/ Peach Mousse

•  2 Tbsp Gelatine Powder
• 4 Tbsp Boiling Water
• 5 Tbsp Caster Sugar
• 400G Cream Cheese
• 3 Tbsp Lemon or Lime Juice

Note: Original recipe uses a oreo biscuit base with a sponge cake layer but I made a Japanese Cheesecake Base for this.

1.  In a small bowl, stir in gelatine powder in boiling water until dissolved. If resulted mixture is a tad to lumpy for your liking, you can consider adding in more boiling water (1/2 Tbsp).
2. Beat cream cheese & sugar at medium speed until creamy mixture is achieved. Add in gelatine mixture and mix until smooth.
3. mix in 500G of chopped up peaches soaked in mango puree (I used goulburn’s valley sliced peaches in mango puree 850G can) & 3 Tsp of Lemon Juice.
4. Pour mixture into cake pan (already layered with Japanese Cheesecake Base). Fret not if mixture is a bit lumpy ( a bit more stirring/mixing prior to pouring it in will do the trick).\
5. Smooth out cake surface to prepare for gelatine layer

To achieve top gelatin layer:

1. Mix approximately 1 Tbsp mango puree (the mango concentrate from the can) with 1.5 Tbsp of gelatine powder & 3 Tbsp of water
2. Mix it up properly and pour over mousse.
3. (Optional) decorate with 5 equally -sized peach slides in a flower pattern
4. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours

Where: Quaint, authentic italian Pizza& Mozzarella bar at the corner of Drummond & Faraday.
Who: The suspects behind this modest, bucolic find are Italian stallions from Carlton Expresso.
What: D.O.P. San Daniele Prosciutto (Italy) & D.O.P. Italian Buffalo Mozzarella.
When: Wasting the rest of Saturday’s Afternoon to Pre dinner Time.

Extra Brownie Points for the complimentary breadsticks & dollop of Italian Nutella ( claimed the stallions). Little did he know that we had already noticed the jars of this wondrous hazelnut spread bearing the Australian colours discreetly sitting on the kitchen shelves.

D.O.C Pizza and Mozzarella Bar
195 Drummond St
Carlton, 3053
(03) 93472998

Will be posting up the recipe for this fruity mango- peach mousse soon! Keep watch (:

I ♡ CHEESE!
jarlsberg, cheddar, ricotta, fetta (is this considered cheese?), red leicester, tasty, blue, brie, cambert- I could really go on forever.So when i first stumbled upon this recipe,
(ok. not stumbled, I’ve been religiously stalking Thelittleteochew for as long as i can remember, squealing in excitement every time a new recipe comes up. She whips up the most sensational kitchen goods, I’ll do whatever just to be her kid for a day!)

I knew I had to make it! And of course, many a failed attempts both in Singapore and Melbourne, I finally somewhat got it right yesterday. The cake still collapses in a little, but I’ll blame that on the weather. Winter temperatures are terrible for light cakes as such- the immense disappointment that rains upon you when you come out an hour later with a cake that looks like a flatten whoopie pillow. Even leaving the cake to gradually cool in the oven for over an hour does not work. I really wonder what’s the trick behind all these, hmm.

I baked the cake the night before, refrigerated and had them this morning in bite sized cubes with a hot cuppa. The strong, sharp taste of Harrod’s english breakfast (& some grated lemon zest) and the spongy, flavourful yet not overwhelm-ly cheesy cannot be any more complimenting. This is exactly how melbourne’s cold frosty winter mornings should be overcome, I can’t think of a better way. Can you?

Japanese Cheesecake Recipe
(Adapted from Thelittleteochew )

• 140g Fine Granulated Sugar
• 6 Egg Whites
• 6 Egg Yolks
• 1/4 Tsp Cream of Tartar
• 50g Butter
• 250g Cream Cheese
• 100 Full Cream Fresh Milk (Used Paul’s)
• 60g Plain Flour
• 20g Corn Flour
• 1/4 Tsp Salt