The Apple & Pear Trilogy

This trilogy of Apple and pear bakes started off as a traybake recipe which then got reduced and squeezed into a brownie tin and cupcake bake. The Tray bake produced the the most pleasing result, with the cupcakes 2nd, and brownie tin 3rd. The brownie tin was just a little too shallow and produced the driest of the bakes due to the amount of baked surface area compared to insides. They did though produce the most snigger inducing results. What? Nipples? I didn't say nipples! Who said nipples!?! Shocking!

The final batch of cupcakes were also pimped up with a bored-out centre of creme fraiche icing which made a bloomin nice little combo!

Ingredients for 9" x 12" Tray bake

• 170g Self Raising Flour
• 170g Plain flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 2  Apples
• 1 Pear
• 115g Unsalted Butter (Room Temp)
• 170g Light Muscovado Sugar
• 1 Large free range Egg (Separated) 
• 3-4 TBSP Milk

Preparation:

• Turn oven on to 180c
• Sift the flours, salt, spices and bicarb into a bowl.
• Peel and core the apples. Chop one up and put in food processor. Slice thin rings from the other apple and put aside for top decoration. Then add the rest of the apple to the processor.
• Peel the pear and add to the processor.
• Blitz until puree.
• In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar together well.
• Keep mixing and add the egg yolk.
• Keep mixing and add alternate amounts of the flour and fruit mixtures until all added.
• Add enough milk and mix in so that the batter will spread easily in the tin.
• Whisk the egg white until it forms soft peaks.
• Gently fold the egg white into the batter mix until combined.
• Prep a 9" x 12" baking tray by greasing and lining with baking paper, or with cake release spray.
• Spread the batter into the tray evenly.
• Place the apple slices on top. Add a light sprinkling of cinnamon if you like. 
• Bake for approx 35-40 mins or until a cocktail stick come out of the centre clean.
• Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
• Cut into slices and munch :)

Ingredients for the 12 hole brownie tin and 12 cupcakes:

• 140g Self Raising Flour
• 140g Plain Flour
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
• 3/4 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 2 Apples
• 1 Pear
• 90g Unsalted butter (Room temp)
• 140g Light Muscovado Sugar
• 1 Free Range Medium Egg (Separated)
• 2-3 TBSP Milk

Preparation is the same as above :) Apart from you'll want 12 apple slices for the tops.

Soooo immature to think they look like nipples!!! You MGMT - Kids you!

3 ways to bake this, and a crackin vid from the 3 Beastie Boys - Sabotage

3 ways to bake this, and 3 Yeahs! Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll Oh Karen! :)

and for no reason at all apart from its beauty - Mazzy Star - Fade into You

and finally (I've heard that before! - ed.) The mighty Pendulum - Propane Nightmare (Did they split recently? Can't remember, will have to check....)

Stay pointy everybody, stay pointy!

Flappy Jam Jacks.

             A bundle of raspberry, white chocolate and oaty deliciousness! This is one of my little arsenal of tray bakes that, when I'm working, end up in my lunch tub to be eaten in unison with a yoghurt. They have an absolutely gorgeous texture to them with the kickin bonus of the jam and white choc layers. I would happily eat the entire 9" x 9" slab in one go! :) The basic recipe is another from the heavenly treat producing Mary-Anne Boermans's blog which, one day, I may have eaten the entire contents of!

Ingredients:

• 125g Wholemeal flour
• 90g Demerera sugar
• 1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 125g Unsalted butter
• 125g Rolled oats
• 200g Seedless raspberry Jam
• 100g White chocolate or White chocolate chips.

Preparation: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180c
2. Grease or spray a 9" square tin and line with baking paper.
3. Put the Jam into a small saucepan and heat gently whilst you...
4. Put the flour, sugar, bicarb, salt and butter into a food processor and mix until breadcrumby.
5. Add the oats and mix so that they're incorporated but not smashed to pieces.
6. Put two thirds of the mix into the prep'd tin and press flat and to the edges.
7. Pour the warmed jam onto this and spread across the surface.
8. Spoon the rest of the oat mix around on top of the jam and spread out flat and even and pressed down gently.
9. Bake for about 35 mins.
10. For the chocolate topping you can either melt the white chocolate and drizzle or pipe pretty patterns when the bake has cooled a bit. Or, do what I did and tip a bag of white choc chips over the top as soon as it's out of the oven, leave for a few mins and then spread about a bit with a fork. You can do this with chopped up white chocolate as well. 
11. Leave to cool and then cut into whatever sized pieces you will count as having 'just the one' :)
12. Eat (Just the one, or two...)

I also tried another version of these by chucking a tin of caramel in as a filling and topping with dark chocolate. They worked, and were very nice, but didn't quite have the 'OMG THESE ARE LUSH!!!' of the raspberry ones.

Right, kicking off with the obvious ones! The Flappy Jam Jacks with Down in The Tube Station At Midnight!

Pump it! Pump it! Pump it! Pump it! etc etc... Classic from Technotronic - Pump up the Flappy Jam Jack!

Whooooah.... It's Ram Flappy Jam Jacks - Black Betty!

Ooohhh, there's more! Pearl Flappy Jam Jacks with Do The Evolution! (Seriously, don't try and make these with pearl jam...)

Oh, wait, BREAKING NEWS!!!

...and more! Rolling Stones - Jumping Flappy Jam Jack Flash.

...and finally! Flappy Jam Jack White in his White Stripes incarnation with Blue Orchid.