Low-fat Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Lately i've been really into low-fat cream cheese, I think it's all the Philadelphia cream cheese ads on the tv all the time! So I came across this recipe online and remembered I have some frozen blueberries in the freezer- perfect! Once I started cooking the recipe, I decided to change it a bit- it wasn't very low fat. I swapped the regular sugar for brown sugar and the plain flour for wholemeal self raising flour (to give it a big more volume). I was really surprised how easy these muffins were. 

What you need:

-2 Cups wholemeal self raising flour

-1/2 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp cinnamon

-1/2 tsp salt

-1 cup brown sugar

-1 egg

-1/4 cup veg oil

-1 cup frozen blueberries

- 1/2 cup low fat cream cheese

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 tbsp caster sugar

-1/3 cup milk

How to make them:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (360F)

2. In a bowl combine your flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and sugar. 

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar oil and blueberries. It should be pretty think.

4. Add wet ingredients slowly to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Try not to mix it too much, otherwise the blueberries will get mushy.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk cream cheese, vanilla extract and caster sugar. Whisk it nice and fast so it combines completely. 

6. Fill 12 muffin tin holes with baking cups. Fill each 1/3 of the way up with the batter. Place a small dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the centre. Fill the cups with the rest of the batter on the top of the cream cheese. Make sure you don't over fill the cups- a few of mine were filled right to the top, so when they cooked and rose, they leaked over the edges.

7. Bake for about 30 minutes, the muffins should be a light golden brown. 

Wait 10 minutes till they cool till you take them out of the muffin tin. Eat them while they're hot!!!

Hands down, best tasting muffins i've ever made! They are crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Definitely try them people! you won't regret it :)

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Hello happy blog readers :)
I know, I know... I've been pretty slack lately I haven't blogged a recipe for a very long time. So, lend me and ear and here my excuses; I started a new uni degree this year which has been pretty hectic and assessments have gotten the best of me. But... excuses no longer, I'm going to try my best to post as often as I can, because I enjoy it! 
So today i've been home, sick. Yesterday I woke up with no voice...just like that- it just rudely disappeared with no warning. In between the coughing and tv watching I needed a sweet snack to lighten the mood. And what's sweeter than sugar- literally nothing! I randomly came across this recipe and even just looking at the recipe made me feel better. Personally, I would call cinnamon a comfort food. It makes me feel warm, loved and happy. This recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread jumped out to me because frankly, i've never seen or eaten 'pull-apart' bread before, and it looked ever so scrumptious! It's pretty much a first for me, i've never really worked with dough before.
I'm not going to lie, it took quite some time it put together but it was actually pretty fun and relatively easy! It takes patience and time, perfect for a day at home in-between movie watching.


So here's what you need:
For the dough:
-2 x 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-2 x 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces unsalted butter (30 grams)
- 1/3 cup whole milk
-1/4 cup water
-2 large eggs, at room temperature
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


For the Filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned (30 grams)


How to do it:
1. In a large mixing bowl mix together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.
2. Whisk the 2 eggs together in another bowl and set that aside too.
3. In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two.
4. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are mixed into the batter. The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together.  Keep stirring!  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes.  The mixture will be sticky...perfect!
5. Place the dough in a large, greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  
6. While the dough rises mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned.  Set aside.  And lastely, grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch  loaf pan and leave that for later as well.  
7. Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.  If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay.  Just roll it as large as the dough will go.  Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  It seems like a heck-of-alot of sugar, but hey, its called a sugar-pull apart bread, so don't stindge on the sugar!
8. Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.  You’ll have six stacks of six squares.  Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.
9. While your dough is rising for the last time...thank goodness because you won't want to wait any longer for this yumminess, pre-heat your oven to 180degrees Celsius (350F). Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.   Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto  a clean board.  Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the  upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.  Serve warm with coffee or tea... yum to the max!! Make sure you eat it while its warm!!