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Muffins & Quick Breads

Whole Grain Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Mini Muffins

By Denise Pare-Watson

What do you do when you have to bake for a young child who is unable to tolerate wheat or dairy? You can bake these delicious 8-grain or 4-grain mini muffins. This recipe for Whole Grain Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Mini Muffins uses a wheat-free hot cereal as a base. The cereal is soaked in non-dairy milk for 10-30 minutes before you add the remaining ingredients. The mini muffins have a wonderful crunchiness that is very pleasing. I have used either of Bob’s Red Mill 8-Grain Hot Cereal, or Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal (4 wheat-free grains) and both provide a very good result.

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Whole Grain Gluten Free airy Free Mini Muffins | urbnspice.com

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Filed Under: Baking Techniques, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Muffins & Quick Breads, My Recipes, Nut Free Recipes, Preservative Free, Refined Sugar Free Recipes Tagged With: Dairy Free, Gluten Free Recipes, Muffins, Refined Sugar Free Recipes, Wheat Free, Whole Grain

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Crunchy Topping

By Denise Pare-Watson

Everyone has a favourite recipe for banana bread. This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Crunchy Topping is a variation that you will enjoy trying – it ticks all the boxes for moistness, flavour and texture. The crunchy sugar-cinnamon topping is a flavourful addition. Although walnuts are traditionally used in this loaf, pecans pair very well with banana. Don’t forget to toast the nuts first.

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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread | urbnspice.com…

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Filed Under: Baking Techniques, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Muffins & Quick Breads, My Recipes Tagged With: Baking, Bananas, Quick Breads

Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

By Denise Pare-Watson

This recipe was made for Easter breakfast when my two daughters were very young, and it has been a favourite ever since. I am unsure of the origin of the recipe – it has been adapted several times over the years.  Try this recipe for Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins – they are ‘yummy in my tummy’ as my daughters often said.

Apple Streusel Muffins with Creamy Cinnamon Spread | urbnspice.com

Apple Streusel Muffins with Creamy Cinnamon Spread 

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Original content here is published under these license terms: X 
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License Abstract:You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Breakfast Items, Condiments & Accompaniments, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Muffins & Quick Breads, My Recipes Tagged With: Apples, Breakfast Pastries, Muffins, Streusel

Baking Dilemmas and the Fix

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Confident Kitchen Series

“I love baking, but baking hates me!!” This is a frequent comment that I hear, which clearly illustrates people’s frustration with baking. Typically, after just a few questions, it quickly becomes quite clear why they are feeling this way. There are several key issues which arise again and again. In this “Confident Kitchen” post, I am going to address some of the necessary fundamentals of baking. For the purposes of this post, I will discuss Baking Dilemmas and apply “The Fix” to a recipe for muffins.

One of the very best things about being a chef is that I am able to adopt a “pay it forward” approach to cooking and baking. There are many barriers that prevent people from attempting baking or cooking which can be resolved easily.

Example of a perfectly baked muffin | urbnspice.com

Example of a perfectly baked muffin | urbnspice.com

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2016-2017 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms: X 
License Type:Commercial
License Abstract:You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Breakfast Items, Muffins & Quick Breads, The Confident Kitchen Series, Urb'n'Spice Tips and Techniques Series Tagged With: Baking, Muffins, Quick Bread Methods

Bannock – Have you tried it lately?

By Denise Pare-Watson

Kids in the Kitchen Series

Have you made Bannock lately? Do you know what you are missing?  Bannock is a variety of fry bread.  It originated in Scotland and was passed on to the Indigenous Peoples of Canada by the Scottish fur traders.  Historically, bannock was cooked over an open fire in a cast iron pan or in front of a campfire on a stick.  When I was first shown how to make this traditional bread, I was taught to wrap the dough around a stick.  The stick was then placed in the ground near the fire, and the heat from the fire would bake the bannock in just a few minutes.  It is one of my favourite childhood memories that I enjoy sharing with children.Bannock | urbnspice.com

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Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast Items, Kids in the Kitchen, Muffins & Quick Breads, Scones & Biscuits, Traditional Foods Tagged With: Baking, Bannock, Breads, Kids in the Kitchen, Traditional Foods

Best Ever Banana Muffins

By Denise Pare-Watson

Kids in the Kitchen Series

I have been making these Best Ever Banana Muffins for so many years now that I know the recipe by heart.  What does this tell you?  It tells you that this Best Ever Banana Muffin recipe will become a family favourite in your household, too!

My little daughters helped make these often…(sometimes with surprising results).  Like the time the baking soda perhaps found its way into the mixing bowl a few too many times and our muffins tasted mighty soapy.  Or the time that we forgot the baking powder and they ended up a little on the flat side.

Baking with children is always an adventure and one that I would not have missed for the world.  We look back on those times with fond memories and now have carried it into another generation with grand kiddies.  They enjoy it just as much as their mommas did.

Banana Muffins | urbnspice.com
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Filed Under: Breakfast Items, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Kids in the Kitchen, Muffins & Quick Breads, Nut Free Recipes, Refined Sugar Free Recipes, Urbnspice Ultimate Recipe Series Tagged With: Baking with Children, Bananas, Breakfast, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Kids in the Kitchen, Muffins, Nut Free, Refined Sugar Free

Good Morning Cranberry-Coconut and Carrot Gluten Free Muffins

By Denise Pare-Watson

This recipe for Good Morning Cranberry-Coconut and Carrot Gluten-Free Muffins is bar none, one of the best gluten-free muffins, if not the best gluten free breakfast pastry I have ever tasted.  It is the closest thing to a Morning Glory Muffin that I can think of.  In my career as a pastry chef, I have made a ton of muffins for breakfast service and various morning events.   I mean A LOT of muffins!  I challenged myself to make a gluten-free muffin that no-one could differentiate from a gluten muffin.  I believe I have done that with this gem of a recipe.  The feedback that I receive from anyone who has tasted this muffin verifies my findings.  Try it!  Let me know what you think – I would love your feedback.

Good Morning Cranberry-Coconut and Carrot Gluten Free Muffins | urbnspice.com

Good Morning Cranberry-Coconut and Carrot Gluten-Free Muffins

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2016-2017 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms:  X 
License Type: Commercial
License Abstract: You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Breakfast Items, Dairy Free Recipes, Dietary Restrictions, Gluten Free Recipes, Muffins & Quick Breads, Nut Free Recipes, Refined Sugar Free Recipes, School Lunch or After School Snacks Tagged With: After School Snacks, Breakfast Pastries, Cooking for Kids, Dairy Free, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free, Muffins, Nut Free Recipes, Refined Sugar Free, School Lunch

Making Sense: Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Confident Kitchen Series

Today’s post will concentrate on, what exactly is the difference between Baking Soda and Baking Powder? In my day-to-day life as a chef, I am presented a lot of interesting questions regarding all kinds of stuff, such as:

1. What is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?

2. What does it actually mean when the recipe calls for “creaming” ingredients?

3. What is the difference between a conventional oven and a convection oven?

But first, I need to start with a story or two. Growing up in a family of five girls, there were lots of learning “incidents” in the kitchen. For example, there was the time that one of my sisters decided to make a cake. Her cooking experience up to that point was limited to scrambling eggs. That was exactly what she did when the cake recipe called for eggs! The addition of a leavening agent in this cake would have been helpful. None-the-less, the end result would still have been the same – the cake did have an “interesting” texture with all the yellow particles.

Recently, I was presented with a few recipes that had been used for quite some time in a bakery with a loyal clientele. One of the recipes was a bran muffin. While it was not a particularly extra-ordinary muffin, it was a regular on the list of items offered. I set to organizing the ingredients for the batter. The verbal instructions were: “you will have to overfill the muffin cups because these muffins do not rise at all”.  My inquisitive nature kicked in, so, I asked myself these questions, “Why is this muffin not rising to the occasion?” What is preventing it from becoming a star attraction?

One of my mentor culinary instructors, Chef Maxwell, always ingrained into our heads that we should first read any recipe for balance and accuracy. He was the first to say, “just because a recipe is printed in a book does not mean that it is correct, in balance, or makes sense.  So true, Chef, so true!

Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda: Happiness is working with Children | urbnspice.com

Making Sense: Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda

My Chef Mentor gave us very good advice.  Checking a recipe for balance and accuracy is now something I do with every recipe before I start.  When analyzing this particular recipe, I noted a few things:

a. There was baking soda listed as the only leavening agent in the recipe which had a lot of “heavy” ingredients (wheat bran, etc.)

b. The recipe had a good balance of acid (molasses and buttermilk) to counter the bitter effect of the baking soda. This balance is necessary to prevent the batter from tasting “soapy”.

c. When using baking soda, keep in mind that as soon as a liquid is added to the batter, the reaction is immediate (this reaction is caused by the acid); meaning, you should get the muffin in the oven quickly or it loses its effectiveness.

d. Baking powder is often used in addition to baking soda in a muffin recipe to give the muffin batter “lift” and tenderness. Baking powder is actually a combination of three ingredients and they all play an important role in the result.

e. You need to be careful when adjusting leavening products because if you use too much, you have a batter that will likely taste bitter – not very pleasant.

Here is a leavening formula that I use when assessing recipes similar to this one. It depends on the ingredients used, but as a general rule of thumb:

For every two cups of flour in a recipe, use:

a. 2 1/2 teaspoons double acting baking powder, or

b. 1/2 teaspoon soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

Making Sense: Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda

There are a few things that could affect the overall result of your recipes:

1. Was an error made in the preparation of the recipe? In other words, even though you may be diligent about gathering all of your ingredients before you actually start the recipe, did all the ingredients listed actually end up in the prepared item? (i.e. were you distracted by phone calls, doorbells, children tugging at your jeans or chocolate in the pantry? They can affect the overall result.

2. Was there an error made in writing the recipe? Many recipes are not triple-tested or edited for accuracy of ingredients and method. I have a recipe from a professional reference book for a spectacular lemon mousse recipe that completely omitted the sugar in the list of ingredients!

3. Is it inexperience or over-exuberance that affected the overall result of your recipe? I remember when my daughters (youngsters at the time) and I made “The Best Ever Muffin Recipe” together, as we had done many times in the past. This particular time, the muffins were quite inedible. We discovered that the baking soda had been “helpfully” added twice and the baking powder had been inadvertently omitted.

4. Is your oven temperature accurate? A simple and inexpensive internal oven thermometer ($ 5 – $ 10 in a hardware store) can help determine if your oven temperature is accurate. If your oven is set to 350oF and the internal oven temperature is 50oF higher or lower, it can be detrimental to the result of your recipe. Adjust the oven temperature accordingly, and you will be pleased with the results. Money well spent for peace of mind.

Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda: Best Ever Banana Muffins | urbnspice.com

This is an example of a perfectly baked muffin 

As for the problematic bran muffin recipe – it went through a transformation with the addition of baking powder which made a big difference to the end result. The muffin was no longer dense and flat, but tender and light with a nicely rounded top when baked, as it should be. (Go to Muffin tips and Techniques)

In summary, baking soda and baking powder are powerful leavening agents, and when used properly and accurately, will result in excellent baked goods. The “cooked egg” method of making a cake is not recommended! No amount of leavening agent could improve that particular cake.  However, it is interesting how this one particular baking misadventure has developed into an over-blown/inflated tale even after all those years ago!  Fun in the Kitchen – what are your baking stories?

You Might Also Like These Urb’n’Spice Posts:

The Best Ever Banana Muffins

Convection vs Conventional Ovens – What is the Difference?

Baking Dilemmas & the Fix  – See this Post

Additional resources:

David Lebovitz wrote recently about how to tell if your baking powder still works in this post

If you enjoyed this article, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy! 

Denise Pare-Watson - The Urb'n'Spice Chef | urbnspice.com

 

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

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Filed Under: Have you Ever wondered about Series?, Making Sense Series, Muffins & Quick Breads, The Confident Kitchen Series Tagged With: Baking, Baking Ingredients, Baking Tips

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Meet Denise – The Urbnspice Chef

Welcome to Urbnspice - A Taste of Heart and Home. Inspiration in my kitchen is often a trip to the market or an experimental coincidence! Come and join me on this culinary journey where I share my passion for the creative, technical and teaching components of the profession and unravel culinary quandaries for you with fun and easy to follow user-friendly recipes, tips & techniques.
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