Fresh out of the oven

Here is a fast and easy one AND they taste great.

Apple walnut muffins topped with cinnamon crumble.

There are 3 parts to the recipe.

Recipe:

1. Apple Caramel:
60 grams sugar
40 grams butter
200 grams cubed apples

1. Heat the sugar in a pan until it turns golden brown. Don't wait too long to take off the heat since it changes color very fast.
2. Take off the heat and add the butter. Be careful when adding the butter since the sugar  is VERY hot.  Add apples after the butter melts.
3. Put in a bowl and let cool.

Butter melting in the caramel

2. Apple Crumble:
30 grams butter (room temperature)
30 grams brown sugar
60 grams flour (sifted)
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Add the brown sugar to the butter & mix. Add the flour and cinnamon. Mix well.

3. Batter
100 grams butter (room temperature)
140 grams brown sugar
2 grams salt
2 eggs
100 grams milk
240 grams flour
8 grams baking powder
50 grams chopped walnuts

1. Mix the softened butter with the brown sugar using a whisk. Add the egg in portions.
2. Sift together the salt, flour & baking powder. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to #1 above and mix -- add 1/2 of the milk and mix. Repeat the process with flour & milk and mix well.  Add the nuts.

Putting Together:
1. Fill muffin cups about 1/3 full then add pieces of the apple caramel.  Add a little more batter and top off with the apple crumble.  Should make about 11 - 12 muffins.
2. Bake at 190 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes then reduce the oven to 180 and bake for 20 minutes.

Muffins ready for the oven

These are a great idea for a brunch or even Thanksgiving.

It is a simple dough filled with your favorite ingredients.  I made a mixture of chicken and fall vegetables such as carrots and mushrooms to fill these.

You can make the dough a couple of days before and fill them on the day that company is coming.








1. Sift the flour. You can use a food processor to mix the flour and butter. Add in the egg, water & salt. Mix together well. Knead together lightly and roll into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least one hour before using.

1. Cut the chicken breast & lightly fry and add the mushrooms.
2. Cut the carrot & turnip into small pieces and boil until soft.
3. Put the chicken meat into a food processor with the egg and mix. Put into a bowl with bread crumbs, carrots & turnips.
4. Roll the dough out and use a cookie cutter to cut shapes such as the leaf cutter below. You can also use a pumpkin shape or something similar depending on the season. Put a small amount of the filling into the middle of the shape and brush with egg around the outside. Place another piece of dough on top and brush egg on top. Keep the dough cool while working with it since it can soften quickly. I put the first group of cut dough in the refrigerator before matching them with the bottom piece.
5. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 25 - 30 minutes until well browned.

Use a cookie cutter to make shapes

Brush top with egg before baking Use a knife to decorate the top Make sure each piece is well sealed around the edges

Delicious Chocolate Mousse Cake

Pumpkins made from fondant

An easy way to make these cute decorative pumpkins is to use fondant. The one I used is from Wilton.

Fondant can be a little hard so to soften it just put a piece into the microwave oven for a few seconds. Only work with a small amount at a time so that it stays soft.

Also use Wilton colors to make the shade you need. Knead in the coloring - don't be surprised that this takes a few minutes to fully incorporate the color paste.

The pumpkin stems are pieces of clove. I brushed on orange and green powdered coloring which can be found at Sugarcraft baking supplies or other such stores.

This is a great activity for kids -- just think of all of the other fruit & vegetables you can make!!

Enjoy your decorating :)