Whoop!!! I have a new camera!! I feel whole again. Phew, those couple of weeks felt loooong. So I can get back to normal and bake with the lovely
SMS bakers! I've missed my Sunday baking. This one's a touch delayed as we haven't got the laptop replaced yet so I have to be in work to post (sshhhhhh - please don't tell on me).
This week was pear and cranberry muffins with gingersnap crumble chosen by Jennifer of
Maple N' Cornbread. I was so looking forward to these as I happen to think pears are just about the epitome of autumn and very tasty too!
I modified like crazy on this recipe. I would love to say that it was due to a rush of creative inspiration but no, it had more to do with me being unable (read: too lazy!) to go to the shops for all the bits I'd forgotten. Such as flour. Oops. So I swapped in wholemeal flour, buttermilk instead of cream and raisins instead of cranberries. I'm just not that much of a cranberry fan, unless it's in juice form poured over vodka with a slice of lime. I also upped the quantity of buttermilk to a full half cup as these muffins have been known to be slightly dry. Then I also thought that they needed christmasying up a bit (that's a word!) so I added ground all spice. And I replaced some of the baking powder with bicarbonate of soda due to the use of buttermilk*.
So. Not such a fan of these! I liked the texture, I just felt that the pear didn't really come through and there wasn't a whole lot of other flavour there. I think some other spices would really liven them up and yes, possibly cranberries would help! Or another berry. Anyway, the wholemeal flour was nice and the texture was a definite improvement.
I'm off to have a look at how the other
bakers got on and see what yummy alternatives might improve these little babies next time.
Ahhh, it's good to be back...
Rosy x
*It's a whole acid thing - baking powder is neutral, bicarb of soda, or baking soda, is alkaline. You use baking powder if the mix is neutral and soda if you have acidic components. I like to think my chemistry degree comes in useful now and again!
So glad to hear you got a new camera! The photos look great :) Sorry the muffins weren't a hit for you. I do agree with you that the pear flavor was mild but the cranberries and crumble made up for it for me.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on a new camera! How exciting! I'm going to use apples when I make these muffins; I'm hoping that will add a little more flavor.
ReplyDeleteGlad you have a camera again! I agree about the pears. I didn't think you could taste them all that much. But the cranberries were delicious with the orange zest (if you like cranberries).
ReplyDelete