Yogurt Peach Muffins

Today was a rain day and a good opportunity to do some baking . I was craving something sweet for afternoon tea/coffee and the only thing that would take 30 minutes from start to finish was muffins.

I haven't made them in a long time as I find them too sweet and if they have a crumble topping it's pretty much game over for me as I get such a sugar rush I need to lay down till the feeling passes.

I had some peAches in the fridge for I care not to remember how long, sometimes it just is that way and I am way too old not to keep it real , even for this blog. So the choices were either jam or some type of cake but then this brainstorm hit. After perusing some recipes I decided to combine a few recipes tweek them here and there and voila...what I think is the moistest best muffin recipe ever! 

However, be aware there have been many substitutions and additions only because it was a source of the moment recipe and I did not have all the proper ingredients. 

I should also mention that these muffins are not very sweet at all, but trust me quite delicious for my liking.

 

YOGURT PEACH MUFFINS

2 cups flour

1 T . Baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix above ingredients until well blended

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup honey

1cuo peach yogurt ( I did not have any so instead I cleaned up the Greek yogurt container and added some vanilla yogurt to make a one cup measure to.)

2 beaten eggs

Mix all wet ingredients 

Add dry ingredients to wet until well incorporated 

Peel and chop 2 large peaches ...I used 4 small ones

Fold the peaches into the batter

Spoon into a well greased 12 section muffin tin 

Bake at 350 for 18 minutes or until golden.

I increased it to 24 minutes as my stove needs a little adjustment and to be quite honest this recipe never really turns that golden brown as moist muffin recipes.

But trust me...moist...yummy just plain great!

LEMON CHIFFON CAKE II

I've been absent from  this blog mainly because when things get hectic meals become quick, plain, and unexciting. It shouldn't be this way, because when I look at the title of my blog it puts me to shame. Food should be a celebration, a meal with a loved one should not be rushed. We have become a society of everything being "Now" and "Instant" and sometimes I too need a little reality check, take a breath and just calm down and relax and enjoy the simple things that are meaningful , like preparing a meal with a little more thought and not  something that has become another chore on my never ending list of things to do.

This lemon chiffon cake was just another example of the "OOPPS", in my life lately.
I was in a hurry, seems to be my mantra lately, and wanted just a simple light no fuss cake. I have posted a fancier lemon chiffon cake in the past, but this time just wanted something that would go good with a cup of tea or coffee and could last all week as I  was under time restrictions.
Looking at this cake you can probably already see all the BooBoo's.
1. I used 1 tsp. of baking powder instead of 1 Tablespoon.
2. Then I wanted a light drizzle on the cake and well I don't quite know what happened but it turned into a big blob mess.
Let's just say it was one of those days when you just want to sit down and cry for no reason at all! Yes, I have those days also.
All in all, the cake really was delicious, even with all the mistakes I had made, so you can imagine how really good it can be had I not screwed up.Please give it a try.

LEMON CHIFFON CAKE
3-4 lemons
21/4C. cake flour
11/2C.sugar
1TABLESPOON baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 c. water
6 large eggs separated at room temperature
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

GLAZE
2c. icing sugar sifted, more if needed
2T. lemon juice , extra if needed
1T. heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
In a clean bowl combine the egg whites and cream of tartar.
With a whip attachment beat until soft peaks are formed.
Sift together flour, sugar , baking powder and salt on a sheet of parchment.
In another bowl combine oil, water, egg yolks, lemon juice and some lemon zest whisk until well mixed.
Switch to a spatula and combine dry ingredients into the wet and mix until combined.
Gently fold 1/2 of the white eggs into the batter until almost fully incorporated then add remaining whites until just combined.
Batter should be smooth but foamy, pour into tube pan.
Bake until toothpick comes out clean. 45-50 minutes at 325 degree oven.
Invert on a rack let cool completely for 45 minutes . To loosen pan, tap against counter top until cake disengages.
 For the glaze whisk ingredients adding more lemon juice as needed if too thick. Pour and let it drizzle along the sides.

TOU GIAOURTIOU or ALMOND and YOGURT CAKE WITH CITRUS SYRUP

 I know what you are all thinking, not another cake! Believe me I am also cooking not just baking, but I just had to blog about this delicious Greek ALMOND and YOGURT CAKE with CITRUS SYRUP.

The cake tastes even better the day after it is made,when it has time to fully absorb the syrup. Serve the cake on it's own or with vanilla  Ice Cream  or with fresh fruit ,or like I did with some whipped cream.

This Greek cake recipe comes from a lovely book called The Foods of the Greek Islands by Aglaia Kemezi. I hope to make some more recipes from this cookbook so please stay tuned.

DIRECTIONS

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs separated

2 T. unsalted butter softened

1 cup yogurt

1 cup fine semolina

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup brandy

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 cup coarsely chopped unblanched almonds

SYRUP

1 1/2 cup sugar or 1 cup sugar plus 3 tablespoons honey, or 4-5 tablespoons marmalade

1 1/4 cup water

Zest of 1/2 a lemon removed in strips with a vegetable peeler

3-4 T. Brandy

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Grease a 10 inch round cake pan or a springform pan

Set aside 2 tablespoons of the sugar. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the remaining sugar with the egg yolks until light colored, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the butter yogurt and semolina.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Beat the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, together with the brandy and lemon zest.

In a large bowl beat the egg whites until they form peaks. Fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the almonds. Press then lightly with a spatula so that they are almost completely submerged. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 T sugar.

Bake for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Meanwhile make the syrup

Stir the sugar , water and lemon peel in a small saucepan and bring to boil Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat if using marmalade add now. Add the brandy.

As soon as you remove the cake from the oven , remove the lemon peel from the syrup and very slowly spoon the syrup over the cake evenly and saturate the entire surface. Let cool before serving. Store at room temperature.

LEMON CHIFFON CAKE

Ron has a birthday over the long week-end. We had a quiet celebration with just the family. Ron wanted a lighter cake this year and as he loves lemon decided to make his own lemon curd to use in the recipe although I usually just use a lemon pie filling mixture..This is a great cake to make when you are serving a heavier meal as it it light and fluffy, and no matter how much my guests say they can't eat another bite, they always manage to have room for this cake.

I had egg whites left over in the fridge from another recipe,

and I never know how long you are able to keep them without them spoiling so... I also made a Dacquoise with almonds, had no hazelnuts, and we managed to eat both cakes quite easily.

. All in all a very enjoyable evening.

The Dacquoise recipe can be found in last years archives.

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 C. flour

1T. bakeing powder

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. oil

6 egg yolks

3/4 C. water

1T. grated lemon rind

6 egg whites

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

LEMON FROSTING/FILLING

3/4 C.sugar

1 C. whipping cream

2 1/2 C lemon pie filling

Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir well to blend Add oil, egg yolks, water and lemon rind. Beat with mixer until smooth. Beat in smaller mixing bowl egg whites,cream of tartar to form stiff peaks. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar beating until very stiff peaks are formed. Then fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture gently but thoroughly. Turn batter into 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes Invert and cool . Loosen edges when cool and shake pan  to remove cake.

FILLING: Beat whipping cream to stiff peaks fold in lemon filling, chill if necessary.

Assemble cake bycutting layers , I only cut the cake in half, putting filling mixture inside and then use remaining lemon filling  on the outside of the cake. Cake will need to be refrigerated before serving.