Blackberry Mini Muffins #MuffinMonday

These Blackberry Mini Muffins are tender and fluffy with lovely bursts of flavor and color from the chopped fruit. Somehow 22 mini muffins always disappear quicker than 11 full-sized muffins!

For a change the other day, I decided to pop into Aldi to see what was on special only to discover that their 6 oz or 170g punnets of blackberries were only 85 cents! I bought 10. We love blackberries in bread, tarts, jam, cake, cocktails and, of course, muffins so how could I resist?

I immediately froze them single file on metal trays and then piled them into plastic bags and popped them back in the freezer where I will find them whenever I feel like adding blackberries to something tasty. I am feeling very smug right now. 

Blackberry Mini Muffins

If you have the time, freezing fresh blackberries first makes them much easier to chop up and lots less messy! Put them on a metal tray overnight in the freezer and then take them out just as you are ready to mix them into the dry ingredients. 

Ingredients for 22 mini muffins:

1 cup or 125g flour

1/4 cup or 50g sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup or 85g chopped blackberries 

1 egg

1/4 cup or 75g Greek yogurt

1/4 cup or 60ml milk

2 tablespoons canola or other light oil, plus extra for the pan 

Method

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C and prepare your mini muffin pan by lining it with little paper muffin cups or brushing the inside with oil. 

In large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

Chop the blackberries and put them in the dry ingredient bowl.  

Stir to coat them with the dry ingredients.

In smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, milk and oil.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient and fold until just combined. 

Divide the batter between your mini muffin cups. 

Bake in the preheated oven about 12-15 minutes or until the muffins are nicely browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Leave them to cool for a few minutes then remove them from the pan and cool on a wire rack. 

Enjoy!

It’s the final Monday of the month so that means it’s time for Muffin Monday! Check out all the great muffins we are sharing below. 

• Blackberry Mini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Breakfast Oatmeal Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Choco Peanut Butter Oat-Millet Muffins from Magical Ingredients
• Mini Chocolate & Banana Muffins from Making Miracles
• Morning Glory Muffins with Vanilla Cream Cheese from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Protein Packed Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Red Velvet Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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Chocolat Chaud - French Hot Chocolate

This Chocolat Chaud aka French Hot Chocolate is made the old-fashioned way with hot milk and rich dark 85% cocoa chocolate. Add sugar or don't, to taste. In France, many don't add sugar but I need a little!

Years ago when we lived in Paris, it was a special treat to go out to a café for a café crème or chocolat chaud. In fact, we had a running joke about finding the most expensive cup of coffee. I think the winner was a café on the Champs-Élysées, natch, that charged me 35 francs for a small cup of coffee, which would have been about $10. In 1992, it seemed a small fortune. 

The upshot, as I’m sure you can imagine, was that we made coffee and hot chocolate at home at a lot. 

Chocolat Chaud - French Hot Chocolate

You can find chocolate powder in France but if you want to make traditional chocolat chaud, you need a good quality chocolate bar that is at least 70 percent cocoa. It’s also best made with whole milk. 

Ingredients

2 cups or 480ml whole milk

4.4 oz or 125g bittersweet chocolate, best-quality

2 tablespoons demerara or turbinado sugar or to taste

Method

Chop the chocolate roughly. (This chocolate was an Aldi buy. Great chocolate at a reasonable price.)

In a small pot, over a low flame, heat the milk until it just starts to steam. 

Remove the pot from the stove and add in the chopped chocolate. 

Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted. 

Add sugar to taste or let everyone add sugar to their own cups. Serve immediately or return the hot chocolate to the stove and cook for a few more minutes for thicker hot chocolate. This hot chocolate can also be cooled then warmed again to serve. 

Serve warm in demitasse cups, or small coffee or tea cups. It's so lovely, rich and thick that the sugar doesn't really sink until you stir!

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and we are celebrating National Hot Chocolate Day (which is tomorrow, 31 January) by sharing our favorite recipes. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla and her friendly helper, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm.

• Cheese in Your Hot Chocolate? Yep. Chocolate con Queso from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chocolat Chaud - French Hot Chocolate from Food Lust People Love
• Cinnamon Chilli Hot chocolate from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Homemade Hot Chocolate Bombs from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Hot Chocolate Cookies from Making Miracles
• Mexican Hot Chocolate from Mayuri’s Jikoni 
• Nutella Hot Chocolate from Sneha's Recipe
• Salted Caramel Espresso Hot Cocoa (Salted Caramel Mocha) from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Spicy Hot Chocolate from The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Burmese-style Bean Thread Noodle Salad

This Burmese-style Bean Thread Noodle Salad is spicy and delicious, full of tasty crispy pork, shrimp, fresh cilantro, chili peppers and lime juice. 

This salad recipe is a family favorite that my Burmese friend, Ma Toe, taught me many, many years ago, back when we were neighbors in a small oilfield town in Brazil. I loved our diverse expat community and learned recipes from all over the world from friends there. 

Aside from how tasty it is, the best thing about this salad is that it can be made a day or two ahead of time. It travels well and keeps for several days in the fridge. I tend to make a big batch even if it’s just my husband and me at home because we can eat this every day till it’s gone and never tire of it! I hope you like it as much as we do!

Burmese-style Bean Thread Noodle Salad 

Mung bean thread noodles are available in Asian markets and many regular supermarkets as well these days. They are also called simply bean thread noodles or glass noodles but do not mistake them for rice noodles!

Ingredients

1/4 cup or 20g dried shrimp (or 2 tablespoons dried shrimp powder)

8 oz or 227g ground pork (or sub turkey or chicken)

Fine sea salt

6 oz or 170g raw shrimp, weight already peeled (about 1 dozen medium)

8 oz or 227g mung bean thread noodles 

Chopped hot fresh bird’s eye chili peppers to taste  (I use 3-4 but we like things spicy.) 

1 large purple onion, very finely sliced

1/4 cup or 60ml fresh lime juice

1/4 cup or 60ml fish sauce

3/4 teaspoon sugar

1 big bunch of coarsely chopped coriander leaves (You can use the soft stems too, but they must be chopped very fine.)

Method

Pound the dried shrimp, if using, in a mortar to flatten them into a fluffy powder. Set aside. 

Lightly salt the pork and pan-fry it, separating it into crispy crumbles as it fries. If your pork is very lean, you might need a drizzle of oil to get it to get brown and crispy. Remove from the pan to cool and drain the fat off.

Shell, devein and chop the shrimp into two or three pieces. Lightly salt them and cook them in the pork pan till just pink. 

Soak the mung bean thread noodles in hot water for 10 minutes, until soft. 

Drain and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well and set aside.  

Cut the noodles up with a pair of scissors a few times. This will make it easier to stir the other ingredients in. 

Put the sliced onions and chopped chili peppers in a bowl with the lime juice and set aside for a few minutes. The lime juice helps soften the bite of both the peppers and the raw onion. Add in the fish sauce and sugar to complete the dressing.

Put the drained noodles in a really big bowl, one big enough that you can stir without creating a big mess. Add in the chopped coriander and sprinkle with the shrimp powder. Mix thoroughly, using your clean hands, if that’s easier. 

Add the ingredients of the onion bowl and mix well.

Finally add the shrimp and pork and mix again. 

Taste and add more lime juice or fish sauce if necessary. Cover the bowl with cling film and keep chilled until ready to serve. 

We usually just eat this salad in small bowls with a fork, but it’s also excellent spooned into small lettuce leaves as a finger food, perfect for a party. You can put extra fish sauce and lime wedges out in case anyone would like to add more to their salad.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and I’m hosting. Today just happens to be my birthday so I thought it would be fun to get all of my fellow bloggers to share recipes they’d bring to a birthday party potluck. Check out all the delicious dishes (and one drink!) I so wish I could actually enjoy in real life today!

• Bhagar Rice from The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen
• Borage Sparklers, Both Boozy and Not from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Burmese-style Bean Thread Noodle Salad from Food Lust People Love
• Cheeseburger Sliders with Homemade Slider Buns from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Eggless Gajar Halwa Cake - Carrot Halwa Cake from Sneha’s Recipe
• Four Cheese Ravioli Skillet from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• French Macarons from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Greek Feta Spread (Kopanisti) from Palatable Pastime
• Maple Panna Cotta With Roasted Figs from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese from Making Miracles
• Tandoori Aloo Platter from Sizzling Tastebuds

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Cajun Crab Shrimp Corn Soup

This Cajun Crab Shrimp Corn Soup is rich and creamy, full of shrimp and corn (two kinds!) and lots of crabmeat. You might want to double the recipe! This disappears in a heartbeat. 

My mom has been telling me about this soup for quite a while and sending me multiple copies of the recipe. It comes from a lady who was a dear friend to my Aunt Karen in New Orleans. Ms. Debbie is a great cook (as was my wonderful late aunt of best pecan pie ever fame) and she was very happy to share. Like every Cajun recipe, it starts with the holy trinity of onions, bell pepper and celery. 

For some reason, my mom seemed to think it was a crab soup so maybe that’s how my aunt made it but in Ms. Debbie’s original recipe, it was called shrimp soup and the crab was optional. 

Since crabmeat is so expensive, you could just double the shrimp but I’m here to tell you that the addition of lump crabmeat is fabulous if it's within your budget for a special occasion. I must confess at this juncture that since my mom really really wanted me to cook this soup, she paid for the crab and I purchased the rest of the ingredients. We were both happy with the deal we struck.  So happy that after the first batch, I made one more on the same terms. 

Cajun Crab Shrimp Corn Soup

If my shrimp are large, I like to use a sharp knife to cut them right through the middle lengthwise into two shrimp-shaped halves. This means more bites of soup with shrimp in them. You could also leave yours whole if they are small or cut them into chunks. As for the cream of shrimp soup, mine was Campbell's. When my mom first shared the recipe, I thought that must be one of the old fashioned canned soups that is no longer made since I'd never seen it. Turns out I had just never looked closely enough at the soup aisle! One of my local grocery stores does indeed stock Campbell's cream of shrimp. Who knew?

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 113g butter

1 small onion

1 small bell pepper

1 long stalk celery

2 cloves garlic

1 lb or 450g shrimp, already peeled and cleaned

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere's or the like)

1 can (10.5 oz or 298g) cream of shrimp soup

1 can (10.5 oz or 298g) cream of celery soup

1 can (14.75 oz or 418g) cream style corn

1 can (15 oz or 425g) whole kernel corn, drained

2 cups or 480ml half and half (or 1 cup milk and 1 cup whipping cream)

1 teaspoon liquid crab boil

1 lb or 450g lump crabmeat, picked over carefully for shell bits 

Optional for garnish: chopped parsley and a sprinkle of Cajun seasonings

Method

Finely chop the onion, bell pepper and celery and mince the garlic. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven a low heat then add everything but the garlic. 

Sauté for a few minutes until the vegetables are softened and the onion is translucent. Add the garlic to the pot. Sauté for another couple of minutes. 

Add in the shrimp and sprinkle on the Cajun seasoning. Stir well and cook till shrimp are pink. 

Add the rest of the ingredients, except the crab. 

Slowly heat the soup and then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often. 

While the soup is simmering, pick through the crab carefully and discard any bits of shell you find. 

When you are ready to serve, add in the crabmeat and heat until it is warmed through. 

Stir gently to keep the crabmeat intact as much as possible. 

Serve in bowls with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a pinch of Cajun seasoning for flavor and color. 

Enjoy! 

It’s third Friday of the month, time for my Fish Friday Foodie friends to share their seafood recipes! I’m hosting this month and chose seafood soups as our theme. There are lots of warm and comforting dishes in the list below, perfect for winter weather! 

• Cajun Crab Shrimp Corn Soup from Food Lust People Love
• Lobster Wonton and Corn Chowder from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Salmon Chowder from Making Miracles
• Shrimp Fra Diavolo Soup from Palatable Pastime
• Shrimp Ramen from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• White Hot & Sour Chicken & Prawn Soup from Sneha’s Recipe

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Spiced Hot Toddy Mini Bundts #BundtBakers

Delightful and soft, these spiced hot toddy mini Bundts are the perfect warming winter treat, brushed with whisky syrup and drizzled with an equally boozy icing. 

Theories abound regarding the invention of the hot toddy, a comforting drink made of lemon, honey or sugar, whisky and hot water.  The most likely one is that they originated in India and were brought to Great Britain during the time that the British controlled that country. According to dictionary.com notes, in the 1610s, the Hindi word “taddy” meant “beverage made from fermented palm sap.” By 1786, taddy was officially written down and defined as “beverage made of alcoholic liquor with hot water, sugar, and spices.”

The hot toddy made its way north and west and gained appeal not only as a warming drink but also as a cure or at least reliever of the common cold, especially in cold climates. I remember years ago, a Scottish friend telling me that when she was suffering from a cold as a child, her father would tuck her into her bed then make her drink down a hot concoction with whisky to cure what ailed her. 

She said she didn’t know that the hot drink cured her but she sure slept well. And maybe that is half the battle when one is fighting a cold. That said, let me just say right now that doctors these days absolutely do not recommend giving your child alcoholic drinks! 

Historically a hot toddy is made with whisky but nowadays you can find recipes with rum, brandy and other liquors. While I am not a fan of Scotch whisky, I do like Kentucky whiskey so that’s that I’ve used for the syrup and icing for these mini Bundts. You can substitute your favorite libation or, to keep it non-alcoholic, substitute orange juice for the whisky. 

Spiced Hot Toddy Mini Bundts

This recipe serves 9 and is adapted from one in .delicious magazine which you can also find online. (Theirs makes a full size Bundt cake.) I only own a 12-hole muffin pan so I fill the other three holes with some water for baking. I have no idea if this actually helps the heat distribute more evenly but I like to think so. 

Ingredients

1/3 cup or 75g very soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

1/2 cup, packed, or 100g light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1/4 cup or 60ml milk

1/2 cup or 50g ground almonds

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground coriander

pinch ground cloves

pinch fine sea salt

1/2 cup or 63g flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

For the syrup:

1 tablespoon whiskey (I used Bulleit Kentucky whiskey.)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon clear honey

For the whisky icing:

1/3 cup or 40g icing sugar

3-4 teaspoons whiskey   

Optional for decorating: amber sugar crystals

Method

Heat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 9-hole mini Bundt pan liberally with butter. (See note above ingredients list.)

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using a hand-held electric whisk or your stand mixer.

Scrape down the bowl and add the egg and egg white, whisking well to combine.  

Add the milk and whisk again.

Measure in the almonds, baking powder and spices with the pinch of salt. Sift in the flour with the baking powder and baking soda. Fold to combine. 

Divide the batter between the cups in your prepared mini Bundt pan. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the cake is cool, heat the syrup ingredients in a pan or in the microwave until just simmering. Brush the syrup all over the mini Bundts until it’s all absorbed. 

For the icing, put the icing sugar in a bowl and slowly stir in enough whisky to form a smooth icing. 

Drizzle the icing all over the mini Bundts then scatter with amber sugar crystals to decorate, if desired. I like the way they look but I especially like the delightful crunch they add. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the first 2022 edition of Bundt Bakers! As you might guess from the titles below, our theme today is Fireside Drinks. Many thanks to our host Felice of All That's Left Are The Crumbs!

• Fireside Bundt Cake by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Pink Gin Tonic Hibiscus Bundt Cake by Patyco Candybar
• Kahlua and Cream Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spiced Hot Toddy Mini Bundts by Food Lust People Love
• Spiced Rum Mince Meat Christmas Pudding Bundt by Sneha's Recipe

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

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