Banana & Honey Cupcakes

Banana and honey, a lovely and sweet combination which blends nicely ;) The walnuts are there to give the cupcakes a certain crunch and lessen the sweetness to a degree perfect for full enjoyment. Once more, taken from the 500 Cupcakes book by Fergal Connolly.

Makes 1 1/2 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup (4 or so) mashed bananas
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp. margarine, melted
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup (5 oz.) roughly chopped walnuts.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Place 18 paper baking cups in the muffin pans.

In a large bowl, combine the bananas, sugar, honey, and margarine. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended. Slowly add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix well. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Spoon the batter into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack. Place each in a foil cup to display.

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Variations:

Banana, hazelnut, & honey cupcakes:

Prepare the basic recipe, substituting 3/4 cup (5 oz.) roughly chopped unblanched hazelnuts for the walnuts.

Banana & maple syrup cupcakes:

Prepare the basic recipe, substituting 1/4 cup maple syrup for the honey.

Banana, pecan, & corn syrup cupcakes:

Prepare the basic recipe, substituting 3/4 cup (5 oz.) roughly chopped pecans for the walnuts, and 1/4 cup corn syrup for the honey.

Raspberry & Cottage Cheese Cupcakes

A peculiar recipe, but I'm sure these must have a nice taste :D Again, taken from 500 Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly.

Makes 1 dozen muffins

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups superfine sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 lightly beaten eggs
4 tbsp. sunflower oil
1 1/4 cups low-fat milk
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 cups fresh raspberries*

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with a spoon.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil, milk, and cottage cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir until nearly combined. Fold in the raspberries, but do not overmix. Spoon the mixture into prepared pan. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the muffins and cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

*You can also use blueberries, cherries, or apricot (the latter being sliced); all of them being 2 cups.

Vanilla Cupcakes

We start with quite a basic recipe, vanilla cupcakes (for who doesn't know these?!). This recipe was taken from a book by Fergal Connolly an it's called 500 Cupcakes.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter,
softened
1 cup superfine sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Place
18 paper baking cups in the muffin pans.
Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl
and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Spoon the mixture into the cups. Bake for
20 minutes.
Remove the pans from the oven and cool for
5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3
days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Tips:
If you can get vanilla sugar, use half regular superfine and half vanilla superfine. This will enhance the vanilla flavor. [from the book]
If you don't have any paper cups, just remember to grease the pan before you pour the mixture or else the cupcakes will stick. [the Jay tip]

Variations:

Saffron
cupcake:

Prepare the basic recipe. Add a pinch of
saffron to 2 tbsp. boiling water. Infuse for 5 minutes. After creaming the
cupcake ingredients, stir in saffron and water.

Almond cupcake:

Prepare the basic recipe, adding 3 tbsp. ground almond to the mixture and
substituting 1 tsp. almond extract for the vanilla extract.

Vanilla & raisin cupcake:

Prepare
the basic recipe. After creaming the cupcake ingredients, stir in 1/2 cup golden
raisins.

Hey there!

Ho there, Jay speaking here. :) Let me fill you in on a little something here, I love cooking (especially desserts). So if you are wondering a) what this is and b) why I made this, it's because of that basic reason. This blog is a compilation of recipes so you can make these babies too. Most of them are copied off a book, so I'll be sure to tell you where I got them (we don't want any copyright trouble, aye?) As to why this blog is in English, well... most of the recipies are in English and I am too lazy to translate... yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, enjoy this blog!
-Jay