No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

Muffins again!  I happened to make these recently and since Pumpkin is the October theme for LTU,  I took the opportunity to join in the fun.   Not only are these muffins moist and delicious with the cranberries and choc chips, I just can't help admiring the golden hue of the pumpkin in these quick tea bread! Recipe for Pumpkin Choc Chip Muffins   (adapted from 'here' with modification) Ingredients 9 oz plain flour 1.1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1.1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 6 oz butter 6 oz caster sugar 3 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla 9.1/2 oz pumpkin puree 100 gm black choc chips 50 gm dried cranberries Method Peel off the pumpkin and cut it into chunks.  Steam and mash the pumpkin while still warm.  Set aside. Sift flour with salt, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon.  Mix well. Beat butter with the sugar till smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla, mix well. F

This Magic Custard Cake has been very popular in the blogosphere recently and many bloggers have successfully made this 'wonder' cake.  Why is it called magic cake, many people will ask?  The answer is that with only one batter you can get to enjoy three different layers of cake.   It has a soft sponge top, the middle layer is custard while the bottom is a dense layer of cake.  This is my second attempt.  The first attempt, I only managed to get two layers and not to be put off, I persevered and tried again. I stumbled upon a video by Yellowsaffron which you can watch at the end of this post and I followed Anncoo's version of adding in some orange zest.   I was so happy when, after trimming the sides of the cake, I saw three layers and I was on cloud nine! Recipe for Magic Custard Cake Ingredients 125 gm butter 500 ml milk 4 large eggs 1 Tbsp caster sugar 140 gm icing sugar 1