Buttermilk Muffin with Cinnamon Sugar

This muffin have a cake-like texture similar to those making donuts, but it was baked instead of fried.

Ingredients for the muffin:
105g  Unsalted Butter
125g  Sugar
1  Large Egg
235g  All-purpose Flour
1-1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon  Salt
1/2 teaspoon   Freshly Grated Nutmeg
1/2 cup  Buttermilk

Ingredients for the topping:

100g  Sugar

1 tablespoon  Ground Cinnamon

2 tablespoon  Unsalted Butter

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lined 10 standard muffin cups with butter. Fill the unused space in the pan with water to prevent warping.

In a bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, beat until well mixed and smooth.

In another bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture in two increments, alternatively with the buttermilk. Stir just evenly moistened, do not over mix and the batter will look slightly lumpy.

Spoon the batter into each cup to three-fourth full, you may get 9 or 10 muffins, depends on how full you fill. Bake until golden and dry for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick should comes out dry when you inserted into the centre. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack and let cool.

To make the topping, stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl and get ready. By holding the bottom of a muffin, dip the top into the melted butter, turn to coat evenly. Then immediately dip the top into the cinnamon sugar, coating it evenly as well. Then tap off excess sugar, transfer to the rack and let cool. Repeat with the remaining muffin.

Tips
If you do not have buttermilk, you can substitute with 90 ml plain yogurt and 30 ml milk.

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This recipe was retrieved from this book, "Muffin" by William-Sonoma. You can find this book from Amazon or by clicking the following link.

The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Muffins

What is the difference between muffin and cupcakes

Muffins and cupcakes are quite different. People use to think muffin should have a peak top, then you are wrong.
The peak was formed by over mixing the batter, thus gluten was formed to trap the air inside while baking. The best muffin should just combine the dry and wet ingredients, then pan and bake.

Baking measure conversion chart

Volume to weight conversion table

Butter
1/4 cup (60 ml) = 60 g
1/3 cup (80 ml) = 75 g
1/2 cup (125 ml) = 115 g
1 cup (250 ml) = 225 g

Flour (All-purpose & whole wheat)
1/4 cup (60 ml) = 35 g

1/3 cup (80 ml) = 50 g

1/2 cup (125 ml) = 75 g

1 cup (250 ml) = 150 g

Granulated Sugar

1/4 cup (60 ml) = 50 g

1/3 cup (80 ml) = 65 g

1/2 cup (125 ml) = 105 g

1 cup (250 ml) = 210 g

Packed Brown Sugar

1/4 cup (60 ml) = 50 g

1/3 cup (80 ml) = 70 g

1/2 cup (125 ml) = 105 g

1 cup (250 ml) = 210 g

What is a Red Velvet Cake

Red velvet cake usually comes with dark red, bright red or red-brown colour. The reddish-brown colour was originally comes from the chemical reaction of cocoa powder and the acidity of buttermilk. The redder the cake, the more food colouring you put into.

This cake used to prepared as a layer cake, and now is more popularly appears in cup cake form, commonly topped with cream cheese frosting.

Perfect Ice Cream Recipe

From Publishers Weekly
Lebovitz, a former Chez Panisse pastry chef and author of The Great Chocolate Book, credits his "first and craziest, most insane summer job"— as an ice cream scooper at a soda fountain—with inspiring his lifelong devotion to ice cream. The author's 25 years of experience as a frozen-dessert maker are put to excellent use in this wittily written, detailed volume. Step-by-step photos and advice on selecting an ice cream machine will reassure ice cream amateurs. Experts and novices alike will appreciate tips for selecting the best citrus and creating unusual but complementary pairings (apricots go nicely with Olive Oil Ice Cream). An impressive array of flavors is available for the making, like Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, Fresh Fig Ice Cream and Pear Pecorino Ice Cream. Sorbet, sherbet and granita also are explored in depth, as are ice cream "vessels," such as brownies and crepes. Great photos and plenty of practical advice combine to make this an appealing and useful resource for the dessert aficionado. (May)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mother's Day Gift Pack

It's time for you to thank your mother who took her time caring for you and help you through your life's challenge. Celebrate Mother's Day by showing your appreciation for your mother by giving her this flowery sweet cookie box.

This gift pack comes with 18 lavender short breads, decorated with 2 hand crafted marzipan carnations. She would never forget the fragrance, the sweetness and the love you give her this year.

This year's Mother's Day is May 13 (Sunday) and the order deadline is May 5 (Saturday).

Each nicely wrapped box is $25.

*Actual gift pack may varies.

Bakery 22 supports Shania's Sunflower of Hope Fun Fair

In April 2012, all of your baking orders' earning* will proceed to this fund-raising event.
Shania's Sunflower of Hope Fund is a fund to raise money to support Neuroblastoma Research at SickKids Hospital.
For further information about this fund and Fun Fair, please visit http://shaniasunflower.ca/

*Minus cost.