I'm always on the lookout for new cake recipes as one of my favourite comfort food combis is coffee and cake. Because I work from home, my coffee break is something I look forward to, just to get away from the computer for a while, chill and read a few more pages of whatever book I'm on. Cake seems like the perfect finishing touch, don't you think?I found this recipe on a baking website and the part that attracted me was the sprinkling of cinnamon sugar over the top. Sounds yummy plus it negates the need for frosting which is such a hassle to make.
I first made this in a cake tin as called for in the original recipe and it turned out to be a disaster. The middle of the cake was grossly underbaked while the edges were hard and dry. I tend to have this problem, I'm not sure if this is the case with all ovens or only because I'm using a microwave convection oven.
So I went back to my trusty muffin pan once again. It's a little more work due to the layering but it's totally worth it.
Cake
160g unsalted butter
2 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
300ml sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
200g mini chocolate chips (or butterscotch chips)
Cinnamon sugar
Mix 1 tsp cinnamon and 100g sugar together in a small dish
Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Sift flour, mix together with baking soda and baking powder in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Mix in egg yolks and vanilla.
5. Alternatively add sour cream and flour mixture, beat until smooth.
6. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, then fold into batter.
7. Stir in chocolate chips.
8. Pour a thin layer of batter into muffin tray.
9. Sprinkle a layer of cinnamon sugar.
10. Top up with batter until 3/4 full.
11. Generously sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.
12. Bake for about 30 mins or until skewer comes out clean.
This cake is best served warm, especially if you're going to store it in the fridge. It's dense and moist, with a slightly gooey, stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth sensation and a crisp crunch of sugar on top. A little piece of confectionery heaven!
Yes to coffee & cake anytime! The muffins look yummy - I'll have to try this! Good to know I'm not the only one around using a microwave conv oven to attempt cake-baking :)! The few attempts I made did result in them being crisp outside/under-done inside .. so great thinking with the muffin pan!
ReplyDeleteHard to tell from the pic, but are these big, medium or mini muffins (6/12/more a tray)? And do you always use the paper 'cups'? (I tried them "naked" before but I think too much direct heat caused the sides/bottom to caramalise into a crisp - so much so my kids called them cookie muffins!! They were quite nice as long as you didn't think they should've been soft n fluffy like "normal" muffins!
Ada: I use the 12 muffin shallow tray, it's a little big and can't rotate in my oven so I have to manually turn it around halfway. But hey, at least it fits! Someday, maybe someday, I can get an actual oven but that would mean having to retrofit my entire kitchen, sigh.
ReplyDeleteI always use the paper cups, it's just so much easier to remove and store.
Usually my cupcakes don't turn out so big but these really rose, maybe it's the baking powder/baking soda combination. Be liberal with the cinnamon sugar, otherwise they dissolve into nothingness!
They look absolutely yummy!
ReplyDeleteI've made a new discovery for little cakes to go with coffee - FRIANDS. Try them (just google, but half the amount of butter and sugar in the angmoh recipes that you find).They're yummier than muffins and much healthier and even easier to make.
elan
Elan: I just did a search, the original French versions look like madeleines! Yum... May just try them out. Thanks!
ReplyDelete