Why doesn’t saying “eeeeeeee!” repeatedly make the bacon fat splatter any less?

The friends of mine who have made amazing blueberry muffins don’t hide the fact that their recipes will be going with them to the grave.

So I’m left to my own devices (and the wider Interwebs) to try to find my own ‘perfect recipe’.. of which I will share with you once I figure it out.

Last week, I tried Paul What-his-face’s recipe. I liked the idea of a muffin mix that sat in the fridge overnight, ready to be popped into the oven the next morning for some fresh muffin-y good times. His recipe is pretty rich and was more cake-y. It also needed to be doubled. And it didn’t remind me of those bouncy, airy muffins my friends have made. Tasty all the same, but it wasn’t quite what I was after.

So this week I tried this recipe, complete with crumbly topping — very much like what my friends have made in the past.

^ They sure look the part! Great rise and some muffin-top action happening.

^ Fluffy and airy and moist inside. Yes! I added a bit of orange zest as that’s all we had in the house. I cut back on the amount of sugar seeing as it was an American recipe, but actually the muffin could’ve done with more sugar.

Removing them from the pan was a bit of a disaster, as the muffin tops kept separating from the base. Muffin cases for me next time I think!

I adjusted the recipe using the website’s tools to make 12 muffins, but that still only yielded 7. So I need to double the recipe for 12 muffins.

This recipe was actually much easier than Paul’s, as there was no creaming of butter and sugar at all. It’s also getting there in terms of similarity to my friends’ recipes.

To bulk out the muffins a little more (and to sneakily get my gran to eat more fibre), I’ll add some oat bran to the mix next time.

^ Dad caught some mackerel the night before, so I thought I’d try making this dish. Pretty good for a light summer dins. Definitely would make this again, but leave it to pickle for at least 6 hours.

I had a creative writing block the other day. So I decided to make some choux creams. When I say choux creams, I really mean choux pastry shells with custard in them — but in Japan I got used to choux creams = choux custards.

^ Hey hey! Check ‘em out! Lovely and puffed. I followed this recipe. Pros: look at that puff! Instructions were pretty much spot-on. Cons: tasteless pastry. Shell doesn’t stay crispy.

^ Hello my filled dear..

^ Oozy goodness. Custard was a shop-bought one BTW. We had one sitting in the fridge. It was a bit on the runny side. Messy as hell to pipe.

^ Same recipe, but I added 4 teaspoons of sugar and a pinch of salt to the flour. This led to a much tastier shell. Again, it didn’t hold its crispiness. I wonder if leaving it to dry in the oven actually steams ‘em up.

^ We bought a much thicker custard this time. And I whisked into the custard a bit of vanilla bean paste and heeeaps of runny clover honey. The flavour was much better this time round. But unexpectedly, the next morning, the beautifully thick custard had turned completely liquid. It kinda reminded of this scene from the first X-Men movie.

The final step to perfecting my ideal choux cream is to get that crispy shell… and so the hunt continues! I’m looking at Japanese recipes now..

What to do with rapidly ripening bananas? Why, make a banana tart tatin of course!

^ I made this rough puff pastry (AKA ruff pastry) all by myself. Managed to keep the mess to a minimum. And look! It’s puffing ‘n’ everyfink.

^ Here she be! My banana tart tatin. She was a winner. And, despite all the cooking tips I’ve read and seen on-line about making caramel, stirring the crap out of it actually WORKED. Screw you Internet and TV chefs, I’m sticking with my grandma’s advice.

^ I was hoping more of a lavender kick. Think I need to wait until the flowers are at their most fragrant. Pretty good though. I bought a wee kitchen flame thrower. Or whatever it is those things are called.

^ Tap. Tap. CRACK.

^ Sampled!

^ Nigella’s ruby red plum amaretti crumble. I’m calling it a plumble. Recipe was pretty much spot on. I don’t normally like almondy things, but this was yum. The tartness of the plums (I added a weency bit less sugar) was a bit dangerous in that I didn’t find it sickly sweet… and kept eating more.

^ So good! My first attempt at making it. Very pleased. Big ups to Claire for being both the hostess with the mostest and my guinea pig.

^ Oh it’s such a terrible flashed-out photo.. but I had to document this entire candied orange sitting inside this pudding. I went to Melbourne and this, of all things, was the only souvenir I brought back to Wellington.

I didn’t get to try these sell-out puds when they first came out in London, so it was a bit exciting to see Coles in Oz selling them. Naturally I had to buy one.

My London mates found it a bit rich, but surprisingly, my family (who don’t usually like sweet things) quite enjoyed it.

I loved the squidginess of the orange. Definitely good with a bit of whipped cream to cut back on the sweetness.

^ Claire had the perfect ingredients for me to whip this up. Shame she had to go to work.