variation on a loaf cake in cranberry, macadamia and white chocolate minor!

ok so you're probably figuring by now that the rosemary loaf cake went down a treat. in fact it went down such a treat that most of it disappeared shortly after it was made...i tried to swat off grabbing hands while it was still cooling as long as i could, otherwise it would have just crumbled away while knives were shamelessly used to (what i can only describe as) hack it apart. hungry stomachs often have no thought for the gentle procedure of slicing a cake and no concern whatsoever for the mess of cake crumbs and chunks they leave behind!

anyway, always one to experiment with something new, when i remade the recipe today, i wanted to try adding something different. so i left out the rosemary and instead added cranberries, macadamia nuts and white chocolate. i like that combination and have used it before in cupcakes. again it was super easy to make and with just the different ingredient being added at the end. smelled lovely in the oven and when it came out. took a bit longer than the rosemary loaf and i think i ended up leaving it in there for about an hour and 15 minutes.

the taste was fabulous...a charming melody of melted white chocolate, tangy cranberries and lovely crunchy macadamias. it all went together harmoniously with the moist vanilla flavour of the cake. this is definitely a recipe to experiment with more and try out some different combinations...i can feel the urge to make a nutella swirled one coming on...let the next symphony begin...

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!)

white chocolate, cranberry & macadamia muffins...what a mouthful!

i have loved macadamia nuts ever since i first tried white chocolate-macadamia nut cookies from Subway. a sinfully long and often waist-expanding relationship ensued! i love the taste of them...this probably sounds weird (and don't let it put you off them), but the texture reminds me of candle wax and interestingly enough, my hubby recently cooked chicken kapitan and the recipe called for 'candle nuts' and i remember thinking that they reminded me of macadamias.

macadamia nut
noun
1. small Australian tree with racemes of pink flowers; widely cultivated (especially in Hawaii) for its sweet edible nuts
2. nutlike seed with sweet and crisp white meat

so i thought i'd like to try them in some muffins. then began my search to buy the delightful nuts. i searched health shops high and low, supermarkets near and far to no avail. why, oh why, do they NOT sell macadamia nuts in Dublin! are we nutty enough? then i discovered a wee modicum of hope...a bag of macadamia nut and cranberry mix. when one can no longer be picky, one must snap up what they can! never one to reject the humble cranberry, i decided that they could go in to the muffin...after all, who am i to say that the cranberry is not deserving of a presence? once i had prepared the batter, i was surprised because it was very thick. i know that muffin batters are usually more dense than cupcake batters, but this stuff wouldn't even drop off the spoon (was i heading for rock cakes???) anyway, i finally got the batter into the cases and baked the muffins. result...very very scrumptious. it has certainly satisfied my craving for the macadamias, the cranberries added a nice tangy element to the muffin and the white chocolate just continued to ensure i do my utmost in the waist-expanding department!