Sliced Cheddar Cheese Muffins by Stephanie Ng

Sliced Cheddar Cheese Muffins

Recipe

Wet ingredients:

1 large egg, room temp

2 cups of Meiji Bulgaria plain yogurt (or any plain yogurt 240ml) taken out of fridge for at least 30min
80 ml canola or corn oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
260 grams plain flour
100 grams caster sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5-6 slices of cheddar cheese(I used Cowhead)

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Prepare 12 muffin cups or line your muffin tray with liners. 

In a large bowl whisk all the wet ingredients gently till fully mixed. Place aside. 

In another large bowl, sift the flour then whisk in all the dry ingredients. Tear the cheese pieces into 2-3cm sizes and drop them into the mixture. Gently stir in the cheese pieces such that they are evenly spread throughout the dry mixture. 

Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and using a spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the dry ingredients are sufficiently moistened. It should take about 15 -20 strokes. Do not over mix the batter as the muffins will become very tough. The batter will be thick and lumpy.

Scoop the batter into muffin cups and top each with 2-3 small pieces of sliced cheese again before u put them into the oven.

Bake for about 15 - 20 min or until u smell the aroma of the baked muffins. Mine was done around 18min. The toothpick test doesn't work as the melted cheese within the batter would be sticky. Cool the muffins for about 10 min before consuming as the cheese would be very hot.

Jamie Oliver's Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies by Stephanie Ng

Jamie Oliver's Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies

Serves 20

Ingredients

250 g unsalted butter

200 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up

75 g dried sour cherries, optional

50 g chopped roasted nuts, optional

80 g cocoa powder, sifted

65 g plain flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

360 g caster sugar(I reduced it to 280g)

4 large free-range eggs

zest of 1 orange, optional

250 ml crème fraîche, optional

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the cherries and nuts, if you're using them, and stir together. 

In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate, cherry and nut mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.

Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes based on Jamie's original recipe for a very gooey centre(see next 2 paras on the baking times for different textures). You don't want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don't want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle.

If you like it really gooey inside, 25min of baking is enough. A skewer poked into the centre will come out sticky. You may allow it to cool in the tray before carefully lifting the grease proof paper with the slab of brownie out, transferring to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.

However, if you prefer it to have a crispier top and just slightly gooey centre, bake it for 25min then remove from the oven. Allow it to cool in the tray for about 15mins then put it into the oven again at 150°C for another 8-10mins. Allow to cool in the tray before carefully lifting the grease proof paper with the slab of brownie out, transferring to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.

These make a fantastic dessert served with a dollop of crème fraîche mixed with some orange zest.