Bran Flax Muffins

After having so much difficult finding recipients for Cakes I & II, I decided to go a healthier, more compact route for Easter. Unfortunately...I overshot it a little and only a few of these tasty little buggers were eaten. Apparently Easter isn't a time for healthy eating.

I used the recipe on the back of my flaxseed meal bag which, accordingly, called for copious amounts of flaxseed meal. Stirring this concoction together was like stirring chunky, drying cement. As a testament to their healthiness eating these muffins is an exercise in mastication, and leaves you feeling disproportiately full. I'm thinking they'll be breakfast muffins...

Please note the spiderman cupcake papers.

And! For your edification, the recipe:

1.5 c Unbleached White Flour
.75 c Flaxseed Meal
.75 c Oat Bran
1 c Brown Sugar (I added .75 c and some agave nectar...just 'cause)
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
.5 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
1.5 c Shredded Carrots
2 Apples, Peeled and Shredded
.5 cup Raisins
1 c Chopped Nuts
.75 c Milk
2 Beaten Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

Mix together dry ingrediants (including fruit, nuts and raisins). Seperately mix together the wet ingrediants, and pour them into the dry ones. Stir until moistened: do not over stir! Fill muffin cups 3/4 (they mean this!) and bake for 15 - 20 mins on 350 degrees. Yields 15 "medium" muffins.

Cake I

Cake I was my first attempt at making Red Velvet Cake (surprisingly simple) and fondant (simple in construction, difficult in application).

The decorations are plain, almost to the point of austerity. This was, for the most part, intentional; you don't want to venture too far out on your first attempt, right?

Recipes Used:

Red Velvet & Buttercream Frosting Recipes

Fondant Recipe


Strong Points: simplicity, fondant and cake mix both turned out well for first tries. Made an excess of fondant, which will work well for the next cake.

Weak points: using fondant proved more difficult than making it; I wasn't sure how to mold it or flip it onto the cake. It came out a little lumpy and uneven, as it was too pliable because of the Crisco. The cream cheese frosting underneath the fondant contained a ridiculous amount of transfat. I ran out of red food coloring, so the inside/outside color schemes don't match.

Next Time: Use cornstarch instead of Crisco when rolling out the fondant to keep it more manageable. Chill baked cake, and then buttercream frosted cake before applying fondant. Add flavoring (Almond? Lemon? Mint?) to fondant to make it more palatable to marshmallow-haters like myself. Use rolling pin to apply fondant. Know how to make 3-D bows instead of crappy improvised bow. When making 3-D shapes in fondant, allow these to cool.