Lemon poppy seed gluten free waffles

I'm on a pretty big waffle kick at the moment as I find them a great way to start the day. I can make a whole batch and then wrap and freeze them and take them out when I feel the need. Anything that makes my life easier when I have to wake up at 5.45am is always good.

I'm also trying to experiment with gluten-free eating so I was particularly excited yesterday when I found a small bag of gluten-free flour in Ranch market yesterday. I also wanted to try a different flavour for my waffles as mostly I've just been doing a banana cinnamon flavour. So remembering my little bag of poppy seeds in the fridge and how great poppy seeds are in all things lemon I figured that was the way to go.

Waffles can be whipped up pretty quickly and once you have a waffle maker (naturally!) you just pop your cup full of batter in there and let the maker do all the work. These are crispy waffles with a soft interior. I like my waffles crispy so I tend to cook mine on a higher setting. They are also light and I don't get that ridiculously full feeling from eating one.

Lemon Poppy Seed Gluten Free Waffles

1 3/4 cups gluten free flour 

1 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp molasses sugar

2 tsp poppy seeds

3/4 cup milk (almond, soy, regular, up to you)

1 tsp vinegar

Zest of a lemon

Juice of a lemon

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Put all your dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk briefly to make sure there are no lumps.

Mix the vinegar and milk and leave to curdle. Add eggs, zest and juice of lemon, olive oil and vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until combined.

Cook according to your waffle maker.

Enjoy with blueberries, strawberries or just nude with a drizzle of maple syrup. A great start to the day!

Lemon poppy seed muffins...don't eat too many!

Ok so there is nothing like a lovely muffin to kick start your day. I saw some lemons lying in the fruit bowl and thought I'd make some muffins to have ready in the morning. As I was browsing the Internet for inspiration I saw some muffins that had poppy seeds in them and how well they seemed to pair with lemon. So, why not? My dad came back from the local supermarket with blue poppy seeds! Blue? Yes indeed. The poppy it would seem comes in many shades and sizes. So I did a bit of a google in the hope of finding that the blue variety were perfectly acceptable ingredients in a muffin. Well, not only did I find that the blue hued poppy seed is fine in baked foods, I found something far more interesting...

Although the drug opium is produced by "milking" latex from the unripe fruits ("seed pods") rather than from the seeds, all parts of the plant can contain or carry the opium alkaloids, especially morphine and codeine. This means that eating foods (e.g., muffins) that contain poppy seeds can result in a false positive for opiates in a drug test. However the results provided will not be the same for someone who abuses opiates.

Well, 'phew' to that, is all I can say! But, how interesting too! I wonder if I ate all 12 muffins if I would test wickedly high on the opiate scale. So fascinating that something that tiny could be so potent. Of course, I clicked here and there and was fascinated by the studies done on the mere poppy seed. It's actually banned in some countries! 

Anyway, I digress, the muffin was delicious (or was that the morphine talking?). With Greek yoghurt in the recipe, it made the muffin incredibly moist. 

I did the drizzle on the top as the muffin itself had a lovely strong lemon flavour and wasn't too sweet so the drizzle just added an extra zing. When I cut into it, those blue poppy seeds looked fabulous dotting the muffin here and there.

They didn't overpower the muffin and instead I found gave it an 'earthy' taste which I really liked. During my research, I discovered that poppy seeds aid sleep. So I ate my muffin and did my taste test before heading to bed. So here's to a good nights sleep. Maybe we can rearrange the world view so muffins can be a supper snack instead...just make sure you don't forget to go heavy on the poppy seeds!

Lovely lemon blueberry buttermilk bundt - now there's a mouthful!

And the baking continues with a fury. I can't contain myself, really, after such a long time of baking in a tin box on top of a gas stove it's just so good to have a proper oven again. I found two packets of fresh blueberries hiding in the back of the fridge and figured they couldn't be left there much longer. So what better way to use them up than in a fabulous bundt cake?
And did this bundt turn out a dream or what? It was so moist and soft. I could really have just sliced piece after piece and devoured it all. It was really light and the lemons and blueberries combined perfectly. The tangy lemon drizzle added a little kick. Rather naughtily, someone suggested topping a piece with some whipped cream...and oh what an added delight! This is a great cake to have at a picnic, barbecue, or tea party. Actually it's a great cake for any occasion. You don't need much space left in your tummies to squeeze in a piece of this lovely light lemony cake!

Blueberry-Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake

For the Cake:
2½ cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1¾ cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 eggs, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup buttermilk
3 cups blueberries

For the Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, very soft

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (reduce temperature to 325 degrees F if your pan is dark/non-stick). Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2½ cups of the all-purpose flour, the baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl), use your fingertips to rub together the sugar and lemon zest until the zest is completely incorporated and the sugar is evenly moistened. Add the butter and cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing for a minute after each and scraping down the bowl before adding the next. Add the vanilla and mix briefly to combine.

5. With the mixer still on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beating until just barely combined, followed by ½ the buttermilk, another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining buttermilk and the remaining flour.

6. In a large bowl, combine the blueberries and the remaining 2 tablespoon of all-purpose flour, tossing together so they are evenly coated. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the blueberries into the cake batter. Spread the cake batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then turn it out onto a serving platter and let cool completely.

7. Once the cake is cool, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and butter until smooth. The icing should be quite thick (if you’d like it thinner, you can add more milk, a teaspoon at a time, until you get it to the consistency you want). Use an offset spatula to spread the glaze on top of the cake, giving it a little nudge down every so often. The cake can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Lemon crepes...lovely and light

The lemon kick continues...and as well as being a cake snob I am also a pancake snob. There's nothing I hate more than being served a big thick greasy pancake...especially one with doorstep sized chunks of banana or pineapple. Believe me, what I have just described are served up on a daily basis in just about every bungalow and homestay across Bali. When I make pancakes they MUST be like crepes...wafer thin. I have an amazing pancake pan that aids me wonderfully in this process. A simple batter of 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk and 1 egg usually does the job. Today however, I decided to put in 2 tablespoons of my deliciously divine vanilla infused whiskey. The concoction has been brewing away quietly in a dark corner for a few months and has now turned into a very rich vanilla essence. The addition of this ingredient really managed to enrich the batter with such an amazing vanilla aroma while they were cooking in the pan. It made the pancakes taste completely different. This will certainly be an ingredient that will be included every time. And how do I like my pancakes? With a sprinkling of sugar and a squeeze of lemon, of course. How do you like yours?

lovely lemon scones

I can still recall when I was working in Singapore not all that long ago, the lemon scones that were sold in the basement coffee shop. They were so good that fellow teachers and I used to gloat if we were lucky enough to get one of the few they had on sale each morning. And the reality...how incredibly simple they are to make. There is something about scones that is just so wholesome and good. Even more so when flavoured with one of my absolute favourite flavours - lemon. Of course, the key to it all is a generous lemon drizzle on the top and suddenly you have a fabulous start to the day...

Lovely light lemon bundt cake

there is nothing like lemon. it just has a lovely zing to it that makes you feel fresh ad alert. it must be one of my favourite scents. and although i haven't posted for a VERY long time, i still have been baking. i'm particularly enjoying bundt cakes and have baked many over these past months. part of the reason i've been offline is because my domain expired and i have been to hell and back to try and get it back. however, i am without success and am now contemplating a name change. so it's back to my blogspot address until i figure out my next move. meanwhile, here is something to wet your taste buds...this is deliciously light. made with yogurt and real lemons, it was moist and fluffy. i made it to bring into work and it was gone in 5 minutes with hungry teachers slicing off doorstep slices and coming back for seconds :)

at long last...back in the kitchen with lemon chamomile cupcakes!

lucky me, lucky me...i was invited to a close friend's place over a long weekend we had here and guess what? he has an oven. it was like christmas, easter, birthday and all the other yearly celebrations coming in one great thigh-slapping whammo of an extravaganza. i was ecstatic! and so i was given free-reign in the kitchen to create, bake, explore and just enjoy the feel of the soft flour, cold butter and grainy sugar between my fingers again! ahhh, i have missed it so much. i contemplated just chaining myself to the oven and never leaving but alas, the call of duty forced my return back to my ovenless abode.

so my first creation...lemon camomile cupcakes. i adore the relaxing effect camomile has and i have often squeezed a bit of lemon into a cup of the tea to enhance the flavour. so i figured that a combo of lemon and camomile has got to go well together! and these were...light and fluffy with the tangy lemon icing...these are similar to the previous camomile cupcakes i made the only difference was the icing which was simply icing sugar and lemon juice mixed together until the desired consistency was reached. simply spoon it on...enough so that you get that mouth-watering drip effect as the icing hardens on it's way south. perfection in every bite!

thirst-quenchingly delicious lavender, lemon & mint ice tea!

so what DOES one do on a sunshine-y summery day when one is forced to exchange spatulas for paint brushes and help paint the house exterior??? (apart from be over-protective of one's hands and complain non-stop about the untold damage that this job is doing to fingers that should be insured for millions, like Fred Astaire's legs, simply because of the delectable delights they are capable of creating!)

well, when site foreman (aka dad) is not looking, quickly nip off to the kitchen, reach into cupboard for newly bought and much treasured lavender syrup, find a jug, pop in two tea bags, pour in hot water add 2 tablespoons of honey, let sit for a few minutes (while trying to pretend that you're looking for some painting gizmo or other!), then add mint leaves, sliced lemon, lots of ice and enough cold water to fill up the jug add 3 tablespoons of lavender syrup. stir not too vigorously and pour yourself a giant glass full. decorate with real lavender sprigs plucked from the garden, find a nice cosy spot (away from site foreman!) and enjoy the lovely sweet aromatic coolness in peace.

herbal essences - lemon and rosemary cupcakes

i have been eyeing the beautiful rosemary plant growing in the garden for a few weeks now. it has grown so well and is just flourishing in this warm summery weather we've been experiencing these past few days. so what better thing to do than pop it in some cupcakes. for me, rosemary and lemon are a perfect combination and i have seen a lot of recipes calling for those two ingredients together.

so i gently clipped some rosemary...the smell was lovely, so aromatic and flavour-full...it tingled the senses all the way back to the kitchen! once there, i gave it a good washing and plucked the leaves from the sprigs. then i set about chopping them up as fine as my fingers and knife would allow...quite a challenge as the leaves are quite tough and hardy (i did have that moment of panic where i thought that if they stay that way in the cupcake it's not going to be very tasty...but then i remembered the tea experiment and relaxed!)

i made the lemon cupcakes...with the juice and rind of the lemon in there to really bring out the 'zing' of the lemons and just added the chopped rosemary to the batter. the smell of them baking was just fabulous...again that lovely aroma that i had smelled whilst picking the rosemary in the garden. it just filled the whole kitchen!

i couldn't bring myself to ice them with a buttercream or fancy icing...not sure why, maybe because they seemed to earthy and good with the fresh herbs in there. i figured a lemon glaze would do nicely and again emphasise the 'zing' of the lemon flavour. drizzled the glaze on top and then came the taste-test.

the rosemary had softened beautifully and consistency-wise was unnoticeable when actually eating the cupcake, but the flavour was definitely there and allowed for little pocketfuls of rosemary goodness throughout. the cupcake was incredibly moist and the lemon was refreshing and light. the glaze added that lovely sharpness to the overall eating experience and i think this is why i wanted to go with the glaze...sometimes having that lovely sweet and tangy drizzle is preferable to just the sweetness of buttercream icing.

it feels really great to have used some home-grown herbs in my cupcakes...nothing like being able to go outside to your culinary garden for an ingredient. these were delightful and i think would make a lovely gift...maybe you could give them to someone as a housewarming with a rosemary plant. there is so much that can be done with herbs on so many levels that really we ought to explore using them more and growing our own too.

Cupcake
1 3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
2 t. finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. lemon extract
1/2 t. vanilla
2/3 c. milk
2 t. lemon peel
3 T. lemon juice

Combine flour, baking powder, rosemary and salt in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, beat butter, then add sugar. beat until fluffy. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. add lemon extract and vanilla and beat until well combined.
Alternately add flour mixture and milk in three additions.
Stir in lemon peel and juice and then scoop into cupcake cases.
bake for 20-25 mins until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Glaze
1 c. icing sugar
5 t. lemon juice
2 t. lemon peel

combine icing sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel. stir until runny consistency and drizzle over cooled cupcakes.

perfect party (cup)cake - my first 'daring bakers' challenge!

so this was my very first Daring Bakers challenge and the recipe was for the perfect party cake. the daring bakers are a group of bakers willing to challenge themselves to bake a recipe every month and post about their results on their food blogs. the group offers support and help throughout. definitely worth considering joining if you are interested in expanding your baking horizons.

so as this was my first challenge i wanted to do a good job. the recipe called for making a 'cake' but of course, me being me, wanted to make the recipe in cupcake form. wasn't sure if this would work so i really put myself to the challenge of being a true daring baker! i halved the recipe so as not to have gajillion cupcakes. initial results were interesting...the batter seemed very like my usual cupcake-type batter (there was no need for me to smooth it with a spatula) also the batter was a tad yellow for my liking. other photos i saw posted by other daring bakers showed a cake that was VERY white. i think this was due to the lemon rind. i might have added a tad too much and it turned the sugar very yellow. i'm bummed i didn't get that pristine white cake...shall definitely have to try again for that one! baked the cupcakes and took them out to cool. then removed the papers and let them cool some more. once they were cool enough. i sliced them up. this was a little tricky but definitely do-able.

then i attempted the icing. to be honest the last time i tried icing that involved egg whites, sugar and heat, it all ended a little disastrous. however, not to be deterred i began the process. things seemed to be going ok until it reached the point where i needed to beat the icing for 6-10 minutes. i was talking to my mum and then heard a strange clicking sound coming from the mixer. when i turned to look at the mixer there was smoke coming out. SERIOUS! i immediately switched it off and had to do the rest of the icing by hand. again, the final result was not a lovely pristine white buttercream icing (but then again i never seem to be able to achieve this with buttercream of any sort...could it be to do with the butter?) the icing tasted pretty lemon-y...so maybe i added too much lemon juice. but i soldiered on and iced the cupcakes and decorated them with the coconut and a fresh strawberry.

all who have tasted so far, said they really liked them (which is 4 willing candidates!) so that was good to hear. when i finished photographing, i tried the one i cut up for the photos. i cannot say it is the most delicious cake i have ever tasted and this makes me think that perhaps it wasn't made properly. i thought it was going to be really light and airy and actually it felt a little heavy and i was definitely more than satisfied with one cupcake. i think that my mixer dying in the midst of making the buttercream didn't help and mixing it by hand was quite a challenge. how intense...the first daring baker challenge challenged my mixer so much it died! now of course, i am without mixer...but the good news is that my mum just same into a little bit of money and has promised me that she is going to get me a kitchen aid...you cannot imagine the effect that the mere thought of this is having on me. i really am head over heels happy!

anyway, i am glad i gave this a go and put myself to the test. and i will definitely be looking forward to the next challenge. thanks to the daring bakers for this challenge though and the opportunity to bake outside my comfort zone!

PERFECT PARTY CAKE

For the Cake

2 ½ cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)

4 large egg whites

1 ½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream

1 cup sugar

4 large egg whites

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing

2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently

About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

To Make the Cake

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.

Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.

Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.

Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.

Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.

Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.

Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.

Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up.

To Make the Buttercream

Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.

The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.

Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.

Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.

During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.

On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.

You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream.

Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake

Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.

Spread it with one third of the preserves.

Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.

Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).

Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.

Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

nutty delights - lemon macadamia cupcakes

i'm still lovin' lemon these days and recently bought a bag of macadamia nuts from our local Sunday market and wanted to use them up. i modified an earlier recipe i used on my little lemon delights that orginally came from a blog called the cupcakery. i halved the recipe because i only wanted to make 12 and substituted 1/2 cup of the flour with ground macadamias and then also added in another 1/2 cup of roughly chopped macadamias.

i found that the ground macadamias added a nice nutty texture to the baked cupcake...more substance. i iced them with lemon cream cheese icing and experimented with decorations. i must admit that when it comes to mixing liquid food colouring, you never really know what final result you are going to get (is this just me, or do others have this problem?) i can't say i planned for the green that i finally ended up with, but anyway it did blend quite well with the yellow. i wonder whether paste food colouring is easier to blend or whether there are a lot of colour varieties on offer. they don't really sell the paste food colouring in supermarkets here, you have to go to specialist baking shops for that so i don't always get the chance to make it to town to buy them. i just have to cross fingers and hope for the best when i drip the drops in!

i was quite happy with the final result...the cupcake looks like it might not be too out of place on the table of Beatrix Potter...i don't why...maybe because of the colours. i loved Beatrix Potter as a child. all those tales of that scamp Peter Rabbit and the mischief he would get up to in Mr. McGregor's garden. he was such a lovable character. this is for him (though he probably wouldn't enjoy it half as much as his carrots!)

little lemon delights!

so recently i have seen a number of posts on some of my favourite cuppycake blogs for lemon cupcakes and i don't know what it is about lemon, but i just love it. it's so refreshing but delicate and a real tongue-tantaliser...zingy! so later tonight, i'm going for dinner at a friends place. we met them through the singaporeans in ireland meet-up group and they have invited us over to what i can only imagine will be a true malay food fiesta. on the menu is nasi lemak (a traditional malay dish which consists of coconut rice, chilli paste, peanuts, fried anchovies, cucumber and fried egg), ayam goreng (fried chicken) and sambal udang (chilli prawns) and gosh, even writing about it is making me salivate. i miss singapore food so much and especially malay cooking so both hubby and i are REALLY looking forward to making absolute beasts of ourselves! but let's hope not to the extent where we are not invited back though!

so, with all that serious food, i figured that light, delicate lemon cupcakes would be more than ample for a dessert and i made mini ones because, i'm thinking that people might not have much room left for anything else after the main course! i found these lovely yellow and white sugar swirls at Tesco and thought they would look super dainty on these little cuppies and they really did, so i went with yellow and white icing and i must admit they look so delicate in the box waiting to go later to be shamelessly devoured by all in attendance...but then again, isn't that what every little cupcake strives for in life...to be shamelessly devoured?

so these are mini lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese icing and there were a few left over that couldn't fit into the box (much to the joy of my brother!) and they tasted so good...the cake light and moist and the cream cheese icing was just perfect...not too lemony but enough to enhance the flavour and leave you wanting more! perfect!

recipes for the cupcake you can find here and for the lemon cream cheese frosting combine 4 oz cream cheese, 1 T butter, 2 c sifted icing sugar, 1/2 t lemon extract and 4 drops of lemon food colouring. voila!

lemon muffins with lemon drizzle

so i decided to take a break from cupcakes and make some chunky muffins for breakfast. i love the taste of lemon so went with lemon muffins. now i don't know about you but i just don't feel right icing muffins...so i thought a drizzle might be nice instead. i mixed some icing sugar and lemon juice together until i got the consistency i was looking for and drizzled it on top and wow! it was perfect. it had this lovely tangy flavour to it that just made the muffins taste so great. must explore some more with drizzle and maybe on cupcakes this time....