Hot Cross Buns & Rainy Days

Hey food lovers ,

So this week it has been all about rain , as for a weather I personally hate it especially if I had plans of going out or doing something, but when I have a free day I must admit that I don't hate it
as much , as it's  a great excuse to bake or cook and for this weeks post I had the pleasure to do so with my sister and nephew and enjoyed it so much.

We baked two goodies for this week, hot cross buns that came out delicious ,but without the cross on the top as the icing wasn't opaque enough and some coconut balls that are more kid friendly cooking as it requires only few ingredients and no baking so they are great to do with kids on rainy days  as when it's pouring  rain and super cold you can't really go anywhere so you're practically stuck at home and baking will surely help time goes by and on the bright side  you will end up with some scrumptious treats in the end.

 It may take longer if your baking with kids but its worth I had so much fun doing so with my 2 year old nephew and he looked as if he did so as well, as he helped me till the very end. He even helped out with the picture taking of the final products , so for this week I can say that I had the cutest little assistant helping me out.

Hot Cross Buns 

ingredients: 

• 450g flour 
• 250ml milk 
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp all spice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g dried fruit 
• 7g yeast
• 1 orange , zest only 
• 150g sugar 
• 50g butter 

1. In a mixing bowl add the flour, yeast, allspice , dried fruit , orange and the sugar and mix well.
2. In a saucepan melt the butter and add the milk once the butter is melted remove from the heat and mix in 1 egg and vanilla 
3. Fold in the Butter mixture into the flour to form a dough 
4. Knead the dough until smooth 
5. Split the dough in 12 pieces and set aside until the dough has doubled in size or for 1-2 hrs 
6. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees 
7. Line a baking tray  with baking paper and brush the buns with a beaten egg. Bake for 20-25 minutes
8. For the cross mix icing sugar with little bit of water and drizzle it in a form of a cross. 

And for the Junior Chefs.. 

Coconut Balls 

ingredients:

• 1 pkt plain biscuits
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 can condensed milk 
• 1 cup desiccated coconut 

1. Crash the biscuits until they are small crumbs and pour in a mixing bowl 
2. Pour in the rest of ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix everything well 
3. Pour some desiccated coconut in a plate 
4. Start forming the mixture in balls and rolling them in the coconut 
5. Let them set in the refrigerator for 45min to 1 hour to firm up  

Enjoy 

xxx 

Pretty in Pink

Hey Food lovers ,
Hope you had a wonderful week ... So after a busy week now it's time to relax and bake some goodies. For this week I have for you all some scrumptious sweet vanilla cupcakes with the cutest pink frosting to go with.

This week was so hectic and busy that I was so super looking forward to get to the point when I can just bake and get to write this blog post for you but on the bright side this weekend I have a family get away finally getting a break from the everyday hectic routine, in fact as I am writing this post I am looking and enjoying a splendid sea view and eating some delicious food that they serve here , its so beautiful and calm its as if I am no longer in Malta, and went some place else. You can check out instagram @numnumblog for photos of the views and food from this weekend

So first I had in mind to do black and white themed cupcakes as my sister bought me some black and white cupcake liner but then I went with some cute bright and fun pink frosted cupcakes as I finally found rose pink food dye , its so pretty and made the frosting look like cotton candy. Since the frosting is super sweet I did a plain vanilla cupcake to go with and they paired perfectly with the sweetness of the frosting and the subtle taste of vanilla.

For the Vanilla cupcakes it's an easy recipe that will get you a fluffy vanilla cupcakes ;
Ingredients: 

• Self Rising Flour (2cups) 
• Caster sugar (1/2 cup)
• Baking powder (1&1/2 tsp) 
• Melted Butter (1/3 cup)
• 3 egg whites 
• Milks (1/2 cup)
• Vanilla extract (1&1/2t tsp)

1. Mix the flour , sugar and the baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
2. preheat the oven to 250 degrees. 
3. Melt the Butter on low heat and add it to the mixture 
4. Add the egg whites, Milk and vanilla extract .
5. Mix well 
6. line the cupcake liners and fill them half way 
7. and bake for 15 to 20 minutes 

And for the Pretty pink Frosting;

• 1 cup white sugar 
• 1/3 cup water 
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 2 egg whites 
• confectioners sugar  

1. Beat the egg whites and vanilla until fluffy and can hold a small peak. 
2. In a small saucepan mix in the white sugar , cream of tartar and the water until the sugar is all melted 
3. while whisking the egg and vanilla mixture gradually add the sugar mixture and mix. 
4. Once whisked add confectioners sugar as for you consistency liking how thick you want your frosting to be. 

Bon Apetit, 
xx 

All About LOVE

Hey Numnumers,
This weekend is all about LOVE, whether you are in relationship or single .. everywhere you look there is something heart shaped or red and so I decided that this weekend is red and heart shaped themed baking .

This is a treat for everybody,  So if your single you can bake these goodies for you , your friends or family as to show how much you love them and appreciate them , as valentines day isn't just for couples its a feast of love. And those who are in relationship you should try these baked goodies as to surprise your loved ones with a  valentines day themed breakfast in bed or just to show your love , as everyone knows that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and lets face it even women cause who doesn't love a scrumptious ready cooked meal prepared by your partner . For those who are not big Valentines Day fans you should bake them as treat for yourself as its also important to love ourselves and using valentines day as an excuse for a cheat day is great way not feel guilty after devouring these goodies .

So since this is a special week I've decided to do two recipes . First we have red fluffy pancakes to kickstart the day on a cheerful love filled note and the second one are heart shaped chocolate brownies .

Fluffy Red Pancakes ; 

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 Egg 
• 1 cup All Purpose Flour 
• 1/4 cup Sugar 
• 1/2 tsp Red Food Colouring 
• 1 tsp Baking Powder 
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 

1. Mix in a medium bowl , flour ,baking powder and sugar 
2. Add in the milk , egg and mix well 
3. Mix in gently the red food colouring and vanilla Extract 
4. Grease a pan and set on medium heat. 
5. Once pan is heated pour in the batter (1 tbsp for small pancakes) 

Heart Shaped Brownies 

Ingredients:

Brownies

• 1 cup all purpose flour 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp salta
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder 

Frosting 

• 3 tbsp melted butter 
• 1 tbsp honey 
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1/2 cup confectionaries sugar 
• 1/2 tsp Red food dye 

1. In a saucepan melt the butter , add vanilla and remove from heat 
2. Stir in the Sugar and Eggs 
3. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
4. In A large mixing bowl pour in the mixture and adding the flour , cocoa powder , baking powder and salt . Mix everything well . 
5. Grease a baking pan and pour in the batter. 
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 

1. for the frosting melt the butter and set it aside to cool. 
2. Once cooled add in the honey and sugar and mix well 
3. Mix in the red food dye and vanilla 

Lots of love & Happy Valentines Day ,

Croissants For Breakfast

Hey NumNumers, 

Today in Malta we had a public feast of St.Paul , Its like having a bonus weekend day in the middle of the week, a day off from the busy week routine. Everywhere is quite , shops are closed ,and the best thing to do is to stay home enjoying family time as no one has to go to work and I don't have any lectures to go to.

So for a 'special' breakfast as treat for everyone , I decided to bake some quick croissants filled with Nutella. They are quick and easy to do as I cheated a bit and used ready bought puff pastry to bake  them , but who has time and energy in the morning to prepare the fresh home made dough. If you decide to bake them you'll love them so much you will be wishing you baked a bigger batch as it happened to me . With their delicious smell and even more heavenly taste they will be eaten in no time. 

I love baking in the morning on a quite day , as it gets my day started on a positive note with a delightful smell as they are baking and a mouthwatering treat for breakfast. To bake these croissants it only just  takes  three ingredients and 30 minutes to bake and it's worth it I assure you , as the result are golden croissants with melted Nutella filling. 

Ingredients: 

• Puff pastry 
• Nutella 
• 1 Egg 

1. cut the puff pastry in triangles , and put about one tbsp of nutella in wide end part. 
2. roll up the triangle starting from the wide end 
3. brush them with beaten egg to get a nice golden colour 
4. bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees. 

Enjoy ,
 xx 

Chocolate and Marshmallow Cake

It's Sunday and that only means one thing .. Sunday bake ! . With spring approaching This weekend I decided to bake something that makes you think about winter as to enjoy the last few winter weeks and what screams winter more than a hot chocolate and marshmallow cake . 



It's the best winter weekend treat that everyone enjoyed I must say and that fact that the cake was devoured in just one day proves it. It's like as if having a hot chocolate with a hint of caramel taste but you get to eat it. 


To Bake this cake it only takes one bowl , few minutes and few ingredients that you probably already have home and you make and I am sure you'll make a lot of people asking for more after your Sunday lunch dessert. Cause come on let's face it who doesn't love chocolate and melted marshmallows . 

Ingredients :

- 1 and 1/2 cups sugar 
- 3 egg whites 
- 2 cups self rising flour 
- 1 cup hot chocolate powder
- 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder 
- 1/3 cup butter at room temperature 
- 1tsp oil 
- 1 cup milk 
- 1/2 cup mini marshmallows 
- 1 tsp caramel essence 
- Nutella 

1 . Mix the sugar, flour , hot chocolate powder and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
2 . Beat the egg whites and add to the mixture.
3 . Preheat the oven at 180 degrees 
4 . Add the milk, oil , caramel essence and butter and mix everything well. 
5 . Add the marshmallows to the cake mix 
6 . Grease the cake tin 
7 . Bake for 30 to 35 minutes 

8 . Once cooled down cover the top of the cake with Nutella . 

Enjoy,
 xx 

The Perfect Fluffy Vanilla Cupcake

 When having one of those days that nothing seems to cheer you up or get you going .. there is one thing to do , experiment until you find the perfect fluffy cupcake recipe and so I did . I have finally found the perfect vanilla fluffy light cupcake . It felt as if I was eating a vanilla flavoured cloud .

 The best thing about all this that is a super easy and plain cupcake but it I assure you it will still make your mouth water . At least I can truly say I loved every bite that I took since while writing this post I have already devoured two .

I chose not to do any icing topping for this as to enjoy their plain sweet vanilla taste but I am sure if you were to try it with icing it will still taste super amazing. And lets face it having children eating a cupcake full of icing is pretty messy so these are snack that will reduce the mess and so they can make a great travel snack for example for school or work .


Ingredients: 

• Self Rising Flour (2cups) 
• Caster sugar (1/2 cup)
• Baking powder (1&1/2 tsp) 
• Melted Butter (1/3 cup)
• 3 egg whites 
• Milks (1/2 cup)
• Vanilla extract (1&1/2t tsp)

1. Mix the flour , sugar and the baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
2. preheat the oven to 250 degrees. 
3. Melt the Butter on low heat and add it to the mixture 
4. Add the egg whites, Milk and vanilla extract .
5. Mix well 
6. line the cupcake liners and fill them half way 
7. and bake for 15 to 20 minutes 

Enjoy 

xxx