Cooking School Saturday

Today I made sure that I had no work hanging over my head, instead I just bumped it all forward till Monday. Nothing like burying one's head in the sand when it comes to dealing with a huge workload.

And being free of work, meant I could indulge in something a little more fun. Like baking.

I love baking sweet treats.

My family loves me baking sweet treats.

So I decided to try something from my new recipe book. I then had the bright idea of blogging this little cooking adventure, success or disaster as it may be.

But I then wondered if I had enough people reading this blog to make it worthwhile, and even if anyone would be interested in seeing what I bake.

And then I thought "To hell with it. This is my blog and I'll cook if I want to".

So, whether you like it or not, I proudly present to you : Choc Chip Jaffa Muffins.

And how I made them.


1. First gather the ingredients. (Duh!).




2. Sift flour into a large bowl, then rub in small cubes of butter. (or just throw in large chunks of butter haphazardly, whatever you prefer)




3. Add sugar and an egg to the mix. (whilst artistically arranging remaining ingredients in the background).



4. Stir in milk, being careful not to over stir. (Pouring milk slowly left handed, while taking a photo with the right is not as easy as you might think).




5. Add chocolate chips and orange rind. (Admiring the how well the colours look together as you do so).




6. Carefully spoon mixture into a prepared muffin tray and place in oven to bake. (I guess there should be an emphasis on the word 'carefully'.).




Hmmm..... I'm not sure what to do with the leftover mixture?




Problem solved.




And ta-da. Choc Chip Jaffa Muffins fresh out the oven.




They even look like muffins should. I just hope they taste like it too.

Hang on a minute!!!!!

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.

Only 8?............. I made 12 muffins!




Now I'm a little suspicious. What's that going on in the background?





Oh, it's a satisfied customer, I believe.

At this rate, next time I'd better bake two batches.

I think that qualifies today's cooking adventure as a success!

Join me next time for how to make a Chocolate Caramel Slice, or at least something resembling it, I hope.
(I'm currently halfway through making it as I write, but you'll have to wait to see if I can successfully blog and bake at the same time!)


Edited to add complete recipe, as requested.

Choc Chip Jaffa Muffins

2 1/2 cups of self raising flour
100g cold butter, finely chopped
1 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I didn't have this so just used plain milk)
1 egg
3/4 cup dark Choc bits
2 tsp finely grated orange rind

1. Preheat oven to 180 C and grease 12 hole muffin pan
2. Sift flour then rub in butter
   
3. Stir in sugar, buttermilk and egg. Don't over mix, should be lumpy
4. Stir in Choc bits and orange rind
5. Spoon into pan and bake about 20 mins. Stand in pan to cool for 5 mins, before putting on wire rack to cool.