Raspberry and almond muffins - The muffin book

I am delighted to say that my Kitchenaid mixer finally arrived today! After lots of deliberation and discussions I decided to go for it and order one. I was extremely lucky to have received some John Lewis vouchers from my colleagues as a leaving present from my job (I have worked there for 14 years) and so I felt that my Kitchenaid would be a fitting present to myself after 14 years hard labour in a busy east-end London hospital, and yes now she is here, it was worth the slog!!
I obviously could not wait to see it in action and so I needed something quick and easy to whip up. I decided on some muffins, both Marc and I had long train/car journeys in the morning as so I thought these would be a perfect little treat to wrap up and take with us.
This book, I bought from the book people for a fantastic price, for a few pounds I think. I have not used it as yet, mainly because I have a few tried and tested muffin recipes that always serve me well. Anyhow, I am pleased to say that these were perfection! Moist, soft but with a chewy texture, they were a great breakfast substitute, and as for the kitchenaid.....wonderful!
I halved this recipe in the end, purely as I did not have enough raspberries for the 12, but I would like to think the end result was in no way diminished. There was a mention of sprinkling some coffee crystals over the batter, which I have to say I ignored!

(makes 12 standard muffins)

315g self raising flour
160g granulated white sugar
90g ground almonds
2 eggs, lightly beaten
250mls milk (I used semi-skimmed, and it was fine)
60g melted butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
185g frozen or fresh raspberries
45g flaked almonds (I only had whole ones, so I just chopped them roughly)

Preheat the oven to 220oc and grease a standard 12 cup muffin tin

In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and stir through the sugar and almonds and make a well in the center

Combine the vanilla, eggs, milk and butter and then add to the flour mixture together with the raspberries. (This is where I used the mixer)

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling two thirds full. Sprinkle even amounts of the chopped/flaked almonds on top

Bake until golden brown (approx 15-20 mins), remove from the oven and cool in pan for 5 mins and either serve warm or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dense chocolate loaf cake - How to be a domestic goddess by Nigella Lawson

Awoke to a beautiful winters day, cold, crisp and the kitchen full of sunshine. I love mornings like this, the house is perfectly quite and I can potter in the kitchen, usually to do some baking. I decided upon this cake, as well it's chocolate (need I explain more..?) and I was attracted to Nigella's description of it's damp, squidginess. Cakes like that tend to last a few days longer, and so perfect with a cup of tea later in the week. I was slightly nervous though, a few people over at Violets have had a few troubles with this cake.
The mixing was a bit of a nightmare, in fact my hand held electric whisk almost gave up the ghost when trying to cream the butter and muscovado sugar. Thank goodness that I have recently ordered a kitchenaid mixer! In fact, I ended up putting the mixture in my magimix to beat. The kitchen was in real mess...discarded whisks, magimix bowls covered in cake batter, not the relaxed baking session I was thinking of! Anyhow, it finally came together and in the oven it went. I really do recommend that you follow Nigella's tip of placing the loaf tin on a baking tray, not only to catch any cake that rises over, but just for ease of getting in and out of the oven. The batter is very liquid and quite honestly dropping that all over the floor could send a girl over the edge!
After 45 minutes in the oven and a period of cooling, here is the finished result - cake perfection. Damp and dark and full of chocolate flavour, this cake is amazing. I served it with ice cream and raspberries, to a very appreciative boyfriend!