21 Dec. Deadline for Menu for Hope Raffle

If you haven't donated yet, the deadline for participating in the Menu for Hope raffle is drawing near. As my raffle prize (code UE21), I'm offering a copy of Veganomicon and a six-pack of organic, raw agave nectar.

I know Amazon.com says they're out of stock on the agave nectar, but have no fear, if you are the winner of my raffle prizes, by the time the winners are announced on 9 January 2008, the agave will be in stock.



One of the questions I get a lot is "How much of my money actually goes to those kids in Lesotho?" Well, to quote Pim, the grand mistress of the Menu for Hope,

For every $100 donated to Menu for Hope, nearly $87 goes directly to the school children and farmers in Lesotho.

Here's how we came to that number:

0% go to Menu for Hope management
We don't take any cut at all from this. All the bloggers participating do it for free.

7% go to The UN World Food Programme
The WFP uses no more than 7% of their total funds raised each year for their operational overhead. You can see the entire 2006 operating report for yourself here.

Firstgiving 7.35% 6.35% go to Firstgiving
Firstgiving, the online fundraising company we use to manage Menu for Hope donations charges a service fee of 7.35%, which covers credit card processing, hosting, security, administrative, service, and all other services they provide.

Donors can make an online donation with a credit card. Firstgiving collects and processes the payments and, at the end of the campaign, transfers the donations in one lump sum to the WFP. This is a win-win situation for all parties involved. The bloggers never touch the money. The WFP don't waste overheads on processing mini-donations, the majority of which were between $10-$50, that's a whole lot of tenners to make up 60K.

Last year, Firstgiving was kind enough to donate back 1% of the total amount we raised back to the campaign. This is in lieu of a discount on their already small fees, so, basically, Firstgiving only charges our campaign about 6.35% fees! Thank you so much Firstgiving!

The rest, 85.65% ~86.65% goes to the children and the farmers. You can meet them here.

Knowing that so much of my donated money goes directly to the targeted folks is one of the key reasons I participate in this raffle. You can see what I bid for here.

To find out exactly how to participate, please see this post.

Win a Copy of Veganomicon and a 6-Pack of Agave Nectar

If you saw yesterday's post or the posts on Here and There, you know that we're almost two days into the Menu for Hope fundraiser.

Why are we expending so much effort? Well, while I sit here in my warm home with enough food in my cabinets and freezer for easily a month's worth of meals for a family of four, there are people who desperately need my help just to make today's meal happen.

Not only do I offer items for the raffle, but I bid on them as well. I participate in the Menu for Hope as a way of giving back and as a way of celebrating the miracles of the season. Instead of buying gifts for family, John and I make donations so that people in Africa can eat. I encourage you to give what you can to support these folks in their efforts to develop sustainable farming.

In 2006, Menu for Hope raised US$60,925.12 to help the UN World Food Program feed the hungry. Food bloggers like me host the Menu for Hope online raffle, offering an array of delectable culinary prizes. For every US$10, the donors receive a virtual raffle ticket toward a prize of their choice, which I hope for you is UE21, a copy of "Veganomicon" and a six pack of raw, organic agave nectar bottles (23-oz each).

I've outlined how to participate in Menu for Hope here.

If you'd like to see the people you would be helping, right click here and open a new window. The photos are well worth the viewing.

Menu For Hope 4 Has Begun -- I'm Offering Veganomicon and Agave Nectar as My Prize!

For the past four years, a fellow food blogger, Pim of Chez Pim, has organized the Menu For Hope fundraiser in support of the UN World Food Program. Five years ago, the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia inspired her to find a way to help, and the very first Menu for Hope was born. In 2006, Menu for Hope raised US$60,925.12 to help the UN World Food Program feed the hungry all over the world.

As Pim says, "We may never eradicate hunger from the face of the earth, but why should that stop us from trying?"

Each year, an ever-growing group of us food bloggers from all over the world join forces to host the Menu for Hope online raffle, offering an array of delectable culinary prizes. For every US$10, the donor receive a virtual raffle ticket toward a prize of their choice. This year, I'm offering a copy of "Veganomicon" and a six pack of raw, organic agave nectar bottles (23-oz each) for my raffle prize.


"Veganomicon," by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, is the third book by the famed Post Punk Kitchen Duo of Brooklyn. The recipes are very easy to produce, tasty and easy to alter, if necessary. Because there are so many different types of healthy and delicious recipes, it's a book everyone should have in their kitchen, not just vegetarians. The recipes use easy-to-find ingredients and most take fewer than 10 steps to make. Makes a great gift for a new cook as well as a seasoned chef.


Madhava raw organic agave nectar is 25% sweeter and one-third as glycemic as sugar. It's a vegan, delicious, and natural processed sugar substitute. It has the consistency of honey, but without the heavy flavor profile. It's perfect for
drizzling over Greek yogurt. Comes from agave cacti in Mexico. Kosher.

To Enter

If you're interested in participating in the raffle, here's what you need
to do:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from
our Menu for Hope at http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2007/12/menu-for-
hope-4.html

You also could visit the East Coast regional Menu for Hope 4 page to see what others in my region are offering (some pretty big stuff!).

2. Go to the donation site at http://www.firstgiving.com/
menuforhope4 and make a donation.

3. Please specify which prize you'd like in the
'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your
donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please
use the prize code. VERY IMPORTANT INFO: MY CODE IS UE21. Example:

Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize
of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for
EU01 and 3 tickets for UE21. Please write 2xEU01, 3xUE21. Example:

4. If your company matches your charity donation,
please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim
the corporate match.

5. Please check the box to allow us to
see your email address so that we can contact you in case
you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on
Wednesday, January 9, 2008 for the results of the raffle.

Thanks for your participation, and good luck in the raffle!

Tag! I'm It!

The lovely Ricki, of Diet, Dessert and Dogs tagged me earlier today for a meme. I have a vague memory of doing one like this on my other blog, but it's nice to re-think some things now and then.

Off we go...

FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD:

* In high school, I worked as a jewelry expediter for Service Merchandise, a department store of sorts.
* During college, I probably had the most conversation-worthy jobs. I spent several semesters working as a camera operator and audio engineer at CNBC in Fort Lee, NJ. Back in the late 1980s when I used to (gasp!) smoke, Morton Downey used to bum cigarettes off me. Boy could I tell you stories about the stuff that went on there. But I won't.
* Also, right before college graduation, I worked for a friend in Burbank, Calif. We worked on "special effects" for some pretty bad movies.
* Another interesting job was writing about new foods for a BBS. If you're too young to remember, that's where folks used to chat online before there was a World Wide Web. Makes me feel old just saying that, and I'm only 38.

FOUR PLACES I’VE LIVED:

* Sacramento, Calif., where I was born.
* Allentown, Penn., where I once graced the cover of "The Morning Call." However, you could not see my face. It was obscured by a giant Lincoln hat in honor of the U.S. bicentennial.
* Danbury, Conn., but only for my first year of college. That year, Danbury was home to a man who ran his wife through a woodchipper after murdering her. It was also ranked the number 1 place to live by "USA Today" that year. A federal prison is at the opposite end of town from where I spent my freshman year of college.
* North Caldwell, NJ, where I spent my teenage years.

FOUR PLACES I’VE BEEN ON HOLIDAY:

* Venice, Italy. Ah Venice.
* London, England. Great fun.
* Acadia National Park, Maine. You must go. You simply must.
* Zion National Park, Utah. Again, you must go. Especially if you're a tax-paying American. For Pete's sake, it's OUR LAND!

FOUR FAVORITE FOODS:

* Baked goods. Hehehe. My absolute favorite is the Halvah Shortbread.
* Pizza. There's a good place within walking distance, but there's nothing like making your own and having it fresh from the oven.
* Mom's matzo brei. It's like a giant mazto and egg pancake. Mmmmm. It's just the way she makes it. I can't duplicate it.
* Garlicky guacamole and hummus with chips tie for 4th. The lemony, the better.

FOUR PLACES I’D RATHER BE:

* Well, if I could always take John with me, anywhere is fine with me. But, if I must choose, here are my four: anywhere in Italy; Zion, Utah; visiting Dawn in Nashville; and northern California, driving along the coast.

Graham Crackers Redux

One of the nicest things about recipes is that you can always go back and tweak them. Here's another take of the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion's "The Best Graham Crackers." They're better this time around.

The movie is in two parts:

Two Cookies Fit for Gifts (or Cookie Jars)

The cookie on the left was a remake of a lovely Coconut Biscotti recipe from the Baking and Books blog. Except that I didn't make them into biscotti, I scooped out teaspoon-sized scoops and baked them once. They were fluffy and rich, not to mention light and tasty! However, I will bake them as biscotti soon because I just bought more coconut on sale. Yay!

The changes I made to that recipe were very small -- just agave for sugar, the baking time and style, the addition of 1/2 cup of very finely chopped dried apricots for a nice twang. Next time, I'd add even more apricots or even some great chopped dried pears.

The cookie on the right was a bit of an alteration of Veganomicon's Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies.

Here are my alterations to those delicious and very well-spiced cookies:

1. Agave nectar for the brown rice syrup and brown sugar.
2. Almond milk for the soy milk.
3. Added 1 cup of chopped pecans (so good!).
4. Added 1 cup of unsweetened carob chips.

I underbaked them a bit and would definitely do that again because it gave the cookies almost a chocolate chip cookie chewiness. My step-Dad raved, "It's one of your better efforts." Believe me, that's a rave.

Overall, I prefer the vegan cookies in this pairing, purely for the spiciness (the recipe calls for cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice) and the wonderful oaty-ness. Relatively speaking, it's not a very unhealthy recipe due to the oats, whole-wheat pastry flour and low fat content. Yet another great reason to buy Terry and Isa's book!

The Rim of Deliciousness -- Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake

This is by far my favorite coconut cake ever. It comes from the brand new vegan cookbook Veganomicon, from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (authors of the wonderful Vegan With a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World).

Because I really think you should buy Veganomicon, I'm not going to reprint the recipe here. Instead, I will share with you in photos how I made the recipe and the substitutions I used. It's really a delicious, luscious cake that in no way tastes vegan. In fact, it tastes downright buttery from the coconut milk.

In my cake, I used "lite" coconut milk.



First, I combined all the wet ingredients until well incorporated.



Next, I sifted together the dry ingredients. For my version of this coconut lemon bundt cake, I used 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of coconut flour instead of 3 cups of straight AP flour because there would be so much liquid (1 2/3 cup of agave for the sugar).



In the photo above, you can see the ivory-colored coconut flour. If you've never tried it, you really must. It's great stuff -- low fat, high fiber, great flavor.

After adding the sifted dry ingredients to the wet ones in the bowl, I added in the unsweetened coconut and mixed well.



Then, I poured the batter into my non-stick bundt pan and baked it for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until my tester came out clean.



Isa and Terry recommend sifting some confectioner's sugar over the top of the cake, but I just sliced it and served it plain to the delight of many friends on Monday night. I had a few slices left over that kept well until I ate them with great pleasure. Truly, a tasty cake! Yay Vegans!

Pistachio Gelato Remix

Yes, my friends, it's another winning recipe of David Lebovitz's that I altered to use with agave nectar. Since I only made one alteration to his recipe (agave for cane sugar), I suggest you visit the original recipe for the ingredients and directions.

OK, make that two alterations. I used Heidi's Sweet Pistachio Butter recipe instead of the Bronte pistachio paste David recommended (however, he posted the link to Heidi's recipe as well). In that recipe, I selected salted and roasted pistachio meats (no shelling for me!) as well as dry roasted and unsalted almonds.



I also used agave for the granulated sugar when I used the stick blender to make the paste.



I imagine that the roasted state of the nuts gave the nut butter a different flavor than that of raw nuts. Last week, Trader Joe's had raw pistachios, so I'll have to try it again sometime soon. Robyn, you'll have to come down and try it. :) I know how you feel about pistachio gelato.

It's really thick stuff with a decidedly roasted almond flavor. It's not overly sweet or rich, but it was pretty grainy from the nuts. Perhaps if I use raw cashews with the pistachios, I'd end up with the same richness, but more pistachio flavor. I'd bet that the graininess disappears somewhat when raw nuts are used. What do you think?



It's not my favorite, unlike the vegan carob ice cream, but it's light enough to top off a heavy meal.

Applesauce-Carob Cake Two Ways

Remember that great pear pie I made recently? Well, I continued to dive into the lovely, yet out-of-print cookbook from Mollie Katzen, Still Life With Menu, and found a great no-fail cake. It's so great that I really pushed the recipe to its limits of alterability, and it tasted even better!

I made the cake twice in two weeks for the same large group (at least 20) of people. The second week, I served the low-fat version, which received louder accolades ("This is f&%$#ing good!")(I know, it's a family show, but that's what the guy said!)

The cake is greatly improved overnight, so make it a day ahead of when you want to serve it. It tastes very fudgy, but if you want it even more carob-y, feel free to add a cup of carob chips. It's not overly sweet, so if you're looking for a very sweet cake, add a cup of chopped Medjool dates.

Below are the two versions in their entirety. The second version is nearly vegan except for the eggs. So, use an egg substitute with the second version to veganize it.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) soft butter
1 1/2 cups agave nectar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup carob powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup finely ground walnuts (be careful they don't become a paste)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a bundt pan.
2. In your mixer bowl, cream together the butter and agave. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.



3. Stir in the vanilla and orange zest.
4. In a separate, large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.



5. In a third bowl, whisk together the applesauce and yogurt until well blended.
6. Add the dry mixture and applesauce mixture alternately to the butter mixture. Do not overmix.



7. Spread the batter into the prepared bundt pan.



Bake for 45 minutes, making sure your oven temp does not go above 325 degrees F. Test the cake to make sure a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just the barest amount of crumbs stuck to it.



Low-fat, Nearly Vegan Version

Ingredients:

1/3 cup white bean puree (I used cannellini beans)
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 cups agave nectar
2 eggs (vegans, use egg substitute here)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup carob powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup finely ground pecans (be careful they don't become a paste)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup soy yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil a bundt pan.
2. In your mixer bowl, cream together the pureed beans, oil, and agave. Add eggs/egg substitute one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Stir in the vanilla and orange zest.
4. In a separate, large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
5. In a third bowl, whisk together the applesauce and yogurt until well blended.
6. Add the dry mixture and applesauce mixture alternately to the butter mixture. Do not overmix.



7. Spread the batter into the prepared bundt pan.



Bake for 45 minutes, making sure your oven temp does not go above 325 degrees F. Test the cake to make sure a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just the barest amount of crumbs stuck to it.



Slice and enjoy!

Rich, Cashew Carob Cookies

I've been having so much fun lately visiting the wonderful vegan and gluten-free bloggers. Their blogs have great recipes, and they are warm and friendly people. One one of my favorite vegan blogs, Have Cake, Will Travel! had a tasty recipe for carob peanut butter cookies that looked like it would be a good candidate for my kind of tinkering. It was a good guess because the resulting cookies were rich and fudgy.

Next time I make them, I'd probably substitute coconut flour for the barley flour, adding a bit more oil to compensate for the dryness of the coconut flour. Other than that, I can't think of another change.

Here are the alterations I made when I used the recipe:
1. Agave nectar for maple syrup (and I cut it by 1 tablespoon)
2. Cut the oil by 1 tablespoon
3. Used cashew butter for peanut butter
4. Used unsweetened carob chips
5. Baked at 325 degrees F at the same timing in the original.

If you make these, be careful to take the cookies out before you think they're done. That way, they stay fudgy and slightly chewy. My cookies did not spread. In fact, when I used a cookie scoop and didn't push down the top of the cookie, they stayed in the scooped shape.



The scooped cookies crumbled a bit, but the tamped-down version (shown in the top photo) didn't. I was really pleased with these cookies and definitely intend to make them again (with continued, minor alterations). I also thought the addition of chopped, dried apricots might be really interesting.

Here's a shot of the innards:



The cashew butter is so lovely, but I wonder how these would be with tahini? What do you think?

A Mighty Tasty Pear Pie

This was indeed one of the best pies I've tasted (if I do say so myself). I brought it to a baby shower yesterday, and the mommy-to-be ate two pieces. One of the outstanding features of this pie is that the only butter (or for my vegan friends, margarine) is on the pan. It's a no-butter crust! The key is that the recipes uses the naturally buttery flavor of walnuts instead.

I've made a short movie (yes, I know it's been a while) to show you how to make the pie. The recipe follows below the film.



adapted from Pear Pie with Walnut Crust, from "Still Life with Menu" by Mollie Katzen

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 tablespoon soft butter or non-dairy buttery spread
2 cups walnuts
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons agave nectar
dash salt

Filling:
5 ripe red pears
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons agave nectar
zest of one lemon
juice of half the lemon
dash salt

Directions:

Make crust first:
1. Generously grease 9-in. pie pan.
2. In your food processor, pulse the walnuts until they're in 1/4 in. chunks.
3. Add the flour, salt and cinnamon to the processor and pulse until the walnuts are down to a mealy texture.
4. Slowly add the agave nectar, one tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together.
5. Remove the crust from the processor and gently press it into the prepared pie pan. Reserve 1/4 cup of the crust for topping the pie. Set the shell aside while making the filling.

Make the filling:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Core and slice the pears. Don't peel if they're as nice as the ones in my little film.
3. Toss the pears gently with the flour.
4. Add the cinnamon, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Toss gently.
5. Add the agave nectar and toss gently.
6. Scoop the pears into the crust and bake for 20 minutes, loosely covered with a piece of aluminum foil that has a hole cut for the middle. (This is done to keep the shell from burning.)
7. After 20 minutes, pull out the pie, crumble the reserved crust to make a nice, even topping. Bake for 17 more minutes.
8. The pie will be pretty wet, but as it cools, it will set nicely. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

The Perfect Vegan Scoop

This is a double review of sorts, although not so much a review of "The Perfect Scoop," as much as a confirmation of its recipes' flexibility. I was able to completely veganize and make a carob version of David Lebovitz's "Chocolate Ice Cream, Philadelphia Style" without much of a fuss at all. More importantly, I was able to produce a rich, fudgy carob ice cream that is just about the tastiest dessert I've had in a while.

To do this, I used Mimicreme, a new non-soy, non-dairy cream substitute and almond milk for the dairy products. According to the Mimicreme site, the ingredients of the unsweetened version I used comprise: Purified Water, Almonds, Cashews, Bicarbonate Soda, Rice Starch, and Salt. After trying this recipe, I have to say that for the ice cream trial, Mimicreme lived up to its promises. I plan to try it in different applications soon since I have a bit of it left over from this recipe. Any requests for trial recipes??



At first, I had my doubts about Mimicreme since it appeared so gray.



But, I poured out some almond milk and saw that it was around the same hue, and I realized that the color would be completely carob-y when all was said and done. Thus, I stopped fretting about Mimicreme.



One of the primary reasons this recipe is so rich and fudgy is that it contains both carob powder (Dutch process cocoa in the original) as well as unsweetened carob chips. It's a pretty easy recipe, and the most time consuming part of it is waiting for the mixture to chill before freezing it in the ice cream maker. That always takes too long for my taste, so it's best to make it before going to bed, so you can chill your soon-to-be vegan frozen delight over night.

Here's the recipe as I made it:

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups Mimicreme
6 tablespoons sifted carob powder
3/4 cup agave nectar
Pinch of salt
6 oz unsweetened carob chips
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Directions:

1. Whisk together the Mimicreme, carob powder, agave nectar, and salt in a large saucepan, heating until it just boils.



2. Cut the heat and whisk in the carob chips until they melt completely. Make sure you use a silicone spatula to get the carob that might stick in the corners of your saucepan.



3. Whisk in the milk and vanilla until completely incorporated.
4. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, blend the mixture until completely smooth. (I used an immersion blender, but I poured my mixture into the container I would chill it in before blending.)



5. Chill the mixture for at least 6 hours.



6. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.



7. Enjoy!

Altering A "Baking Sheet" Recipe -- Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins

Not long ago, I became a subscriber to the King Arthur Flour Baking Sheet newsletter. The first recipe that caught my eye was a carrot cake muffin filled with a sweet cheese filling. Like the author of the printed recipe, I too made a few tweaks to suit my tastes (and dietary restrictions). The result is a soft, sweet muffin that is more carrot cake than muffin.

When I took my mini-muffins to a gathering recently, I had a lot of filling left over. I scooped it into a pastry bag with a star tube at the end so I could pipe out frosting for the muffins. Yes, I know you don't normally frost muffins, but these were so cakey that I simply had to do it. And, my tasters were very happy that I did. These were a big hit.

Caveat: Be careful to use enough muffin batter to top the filling. My filling ended up coming up and out the top of the muffin, so I didn't have a creamy filling the way the photo displayed on the recipe page shows.

Here's the recipe the way I made it:

Ingredients:

Filling:
1 8-oz package Neufchatel cheese
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon tangelo zest (use oranges, they are probably easier to find)

Muffin Batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup agave nectar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons tangelo zest (see suggestion above)
1 oz freshly squeezed tangelo juice
1 3/4 cups finely grated carrots
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line two mini muffin pans with liners (you will have extra, so line 4 cups of a regularly sized muffin pan with liners as well).
2. To make the filling, heat the cheese in the microwave for 40 seconds. Then, whisk in the agave nectar and tangelo zest until smooth. Set aside while making the muffin batter.



3. Whisk together the dry ingredients.



4. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and the agave nectar until light and fluffy.



5. Mix in the eggs one at a time. The butter will appear to "break," but don't worry, it will be fine. Just make sure to beat it all well so that the eggs are incorporated into the butter mixture.
6. Mix in the zest and the juice. The zest may stick to your beater, so clean it frequently.



7. Add the dry ingredients until just combined.



8. Mix in the carrots.
9. Mix in the raisins.
10. Mix in the walnuts.



11. Place one tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup (two for the large cups).



12. Place one tablespoon of filling on top of the batter in each cup.



13. Distribute the remaining batter over each cup.



14. Bake for 18 minutes, or until the tops of each muffin spring back when lightly touched.



15. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the cups from the pans, cooling completely on a wire rack.
16. Frost with remaining filling. Keep refrigerated until they disappear into happy hands!