: : Be [[ CREATIVE ]] : :

Well, to be honest, I'm not really a conclusion type person as I do not believe good things should come to an end...So instead I'm going to leave this blog with an open ending...

[[ OPEN ENDING ...

So, right now I'm just hoping that people found their way through this blog to this page and weren't completely freaked out by the term : : Ingredient Substitution : :

I also hope that you haven't completely emptied out your pantries or that they are not completely devoid of baking ingredients from all my tests your cake/muffin had to pass ☺.

Well, even if your pantry now looks like [[ this ]] : : at least now you know what ingredients to use to substitute them with *wink wink nudge nudge*. See, even if you didn't need the knowledge I have provided you with prior to this blog, now you do ☺.

Okay, so that last two words I am going to leave you with in regards to presentation (remember, it doesn't have to taste good...as long as it looks good, people will eat it ; ) ) as well as ingredient substitution are : :

: | : BE CREATIVE : | :

ILP. Complete.

♥ Inspiration ♥

: : Recipe #3 [[ Maple Passion ]] : :

This recipe was inspired by Australian Summers. Generally in summer we feel as if we don't want to eat something heavy or too sweet...or for that matter, hot - let's face it, heat is the last thing you need on 48*C days!

On top of a maple syrup sponge, I have added refrigerated (yes, that means cold people!) seasonal fruits (although, I did come up with this recipe in early Spring, so I have used seasonal Spring fruits) and drizzled the sponge and fruit with passion fruit pulp to cut through the sweetness.

: : Seasonal SUMMER Fruits in Australia : :

Because I haven't given a good indication in my pictures of seasonal summer fruits, here is a list of ingredients you can put in your fruit salad : :

♥ apricot
♥ mango
♥ peach
♥ nectarine
♥ kiwi fruit
♥ plums
♥ cherries
♥ grapes
♥ passion fruit
♥ berries
♥ banana

◙ ◘ ◙

IMPORTANT: Serves 8

♥ Preheat oven to 180*C
♥ Grease 8 pie tins (small) or 1 muffin tray (12)

◘ ◙ ◘

: : Ingredients : :

1 x cup maple syrup
1.5 x cup milk
2 x cup self-raising flour
2 x eggs
3/4 x cup butter (approx.)
1 x tbsp vanilla essence
1 x large tin of passion fruit pulp (or the pulp 12 fresh passion fruits)
Fruit

◘ ◙ ◘

: : Method : :

1. Combine the maple syrup, butter, vanilla essence and eggs
2. Add 1/2 cup of self-raising flour at a time (until 1 cup has been combined), stirring in 1/2 cup of milk (until 1 cup has been combined) whilst doing so
3. Repeat step number 2 so that a smooth consistency is achieved.
4. Pour mixture into pie tins 3/4 full to allow space of rising.
5. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the 'knife comes out clean'
6. Leave to cool before topping with seasonal fruit salad. Then drizzle the passion fruit pulp on top.

◙ ◘ ◙

Ingredients substituted in this recipe : : SUGAR

◘ ◙ ◘



Recipe by Rebekka Lord-Johnson. Photos by Rebekka Lord-Johnson.

◙ ◘ ◙ ◘ ◙

: : Recipe #2 [[ Bananas About Breakfast ]] : :

Serving Suggestion: Serve with Greek yogurt, honey and chopped almonds

Okay, so I know most of your thoughts about breakfast will probably contradict my oh-so-wonderful title for this particular creation of mine - but, although the pictures may not look all that appetising (I promise you, the first batch looked scrumptious...and I would have photographed it - but apparently they were just so scrumptious-looking that my step-dad thought so and decided to eat them...ALL! To say the least, I was very saddened by this and proceeded to curl up in our pantry and sob at my loss - yes, they were that good : ( ) I promise you they are ; ).





Okay, so in this recipe I have substituted : :

◘ flour
◘ milk
◘ sugar

*this particular recipe does not require any sugar as is not required to rise

◙ ◘ ◙

IMPORTANT: Serves 12

◘ Preheat Over to 180*C
◘ Prepare your muffin tins by greasing them

◘ ◙ ◘

[[ Recipe ]]

: : Ingredients : :

1 x cup honey
1 x cup milk
3/4 x cup fruit muesli
1/2 x oat bran
2 x eggs
1/2 x butter

: : Method : :

1. Combine eggs, butter and honey
2. Add the muesli to this mixture (fold in)
3. Add 1/2 cup of milk and combine
4. Add the oat bran and combine
5. Add the rest of the milk - more or less if required.
6. Bake in 180*C oven for 25 minutes or until 'knife comes out clean.

◙ ◘ ◙ ◘ ◙

Recipe by Rebekka Lord-Johnson. Photos by Rebekka Lord-Johnson

: : Recipe #1 [[ Tim Tam Temptation ]] : :

| : : Ingredients : : |

[[ serves 12 ]]

8 x Tim Tam : : flavour of your choice
1 x cup vanilla bean ice-cream
2 x cups self-raising flour
2 x eggs
2 x tbsp room temp. butter

NOTE: some measurements may vary from person to person - add more flour if the mixture appears runny and more ice-cream if it appears dry and heavy.

[[ IMPORTANT INFORMATION ]]

- Preheat oven to 180*C
- Grease a muffin tin (preferably for 12 muffins)
- Bake for 20 minutes or until "knife comes out clean"

| : : Method : : |

1. Prepare the Tim Tams by crushing them with a mortar and pestle until some are fine crumbs and others are uneven chunks.

2. Beat the eggs, butter the ice-cream until a smooth consistency is achieved.

3. Combine the flour with the wet ingredients until the mixture is smooth.

4. Fold in the Tim Tam chunks and crums, and fill the greased muffin tin to 3/4 to allow room for expanding.

5. ENJOY!

--- Best enjoyed hot out of the oven when the chocolate coating of the Tim Tams are still melted ---

"The main ingredients substituted in this recipe are milk and sugar."

| : | This is an original recipe | : |

| : | Recipe by Rebekka Lord-Johnson. Photos by Rebekka Lord-Johnson | : |

◙ ◘ ◙ ◘ ◙

: : 1 x [[ egg ]] : :

So, we come to eggs. Eggs are probably one of the least important ingredients when it comes to baking.

[[ Here is a picure of an eggless chocolate cake: ]]



[[ Let's compare this to a chocolate cake recipe which uses eggs : ]]




So,as you can see - there is not much visual difference between a cake with egg and one without; however if you noticed that one is slightly more compact than the other (the eggless), well done! Eggs, along with other ingredients assist with the rising of the cake/muffin.

More than anything though, eggs are used in baking to bind the ingredients together and to develope a smooth texture - yes,just like that silky (okay, and slightly off-putting) inside once you crack open that delicate eggshell.

Yes, yes, I know, I know...more to do with "eating with your eyes", but truthfully, a cake or muffin with eggs does not "retain that dear perfection" (yes, thought I might add in a bit R & J in there ☺) those that do contain eggs do.

How do eggs contribute to the overall presentation of a cake or muffin? You may ask...

Well, anyone who has ever seen the inside of an egg before (if not proceed to your fridge - or supermarket - get an egg...and a bowl, and crack open the egg) knows that there are two main parts of an egg.

The egg white and the egg yolk.

Notice the golden-orange colour of the yolk - this is what gives cake and muffins their beautiful golden colour. Funny enough, the yolk also assists in bringing out the cake/muffin's creamy texture.

If you really feel the need to substitute eggs for something else, here are a few things you can use:

: : Most of the following ingredients are based on developing taste or texture, not imitating the golden colour of the yolks : :

◙ ◘ ◙

[[ First of all, what can go wrong? ]] --- Yes, that means that yet again, a piece of your *cough fabulous cough* cake or muffin is required ☺.

Did your cake/muffin not rise?
Is your cake/muffin's texture compacted?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, the eggs you used were cold. Just like butter, the temperature of the eggs when you add them to your mixture is vital. They must be room temperature to allow air pockets to form when beated.

◘ ◙ ◘

[[ One WHOLE egg ]]

♥ 2 yolks and tablespoon of water
♥ 1 egg white and two teaspoons of oil
♥ Any other egg substitutes
♥ [[ baking only ]] 2 tablespoons of water and ½ teaspoon of baking powder
♥ [[ baking only ]] 2 tablespoons of flour, ½ tablespoon of shortening, ½ teaspoon of baking powder, 2 tablespoons of liquid (that is used in recipe)

◘ ◙ ◘ ◙ ◘

: : 1 cup [[ milk ]] : :

Okay, so right now I'm thinking of a way to open up this entry with a 'punch'. So I am currently looking for a fitting 'milk quote' (weird eh?) on : : http://thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/milk/

Oooh, yay, I found one : :

“I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.” --- Woody Allen

Now, let us all be thankful of baking where you can still consume milk, laugh and it still will not come out of your nose ☺.

WARNING: You may choke instead...

◙ ◘ ◙

Okay, so milk basically just adds moisture to your cake or muffin.

Too little : : texture = dry
Too much : : Why hello pancake!

◘ ◙ ◘

[[ The substitution side of things ]]

Because milk's only purpose in baking is to provide moisture, the main thing we have to look out for when substituting milk is something that provides that same or similar extent of moisture.

: : Useful ingredients to substitute milk with : : 1 cup | : |

♦ 1 cup Greek yogurt
NOTE: Do NOT use any type of yogurt! Greek yogurt is the only variety of yogurt that does not separate when heated.
♦ 3/4 cup cream, 1/4 cup water (combined)
♦ 1 1/2 cup water (many of the dry ingredients absorb water quickly)

◙ ◘ ◙ ◘ ◙

: : 1 cup [[ butter ]] : :

...And we come to butter. Yes, that golden (...hm, trying to think of appetising ways to describe butter, which is difficult as I do not like it myself), creamy solid that melts in your mouth whether it is simmered into a sauce or spread on your morning toast with jam.

Okay - I thought I might just add (before I begin on the substitution side of things) that when using butter in baking, make sure it is used at room temperature. This is very important as it allows as much air as possible to enter the butter/sugar mixture when it is being 'creamed' (pardon the pun - oh yes, I am very funny ☺).

◘ ◙ ◘

[[ So, what does butter contribute to the end result of your cake or muffins? ]]

The use of butter in baking is very similar to that of eggs; however butter is vital whereas eggs are not. Butter largely contributes to the flavour, colour and texture of cakes/muffins.

◙ ◘ ◙

[[ So what happens if the wrong amount of butter is used? ]]

Did your cake/muffin rise?
Is your cake/muffin compact in texture?

If you answered 'yes' to both of these questions, when you creamed the butter with the sugar, the butter was the wrong temperature (in this case, too cold). Make sure if you are using butter in a recipe that the butter is room temperature (see above).

Does your cake/muffin leave your fingers oily?
Does your cake/muffin taste obviously and strongly of butter or oil?

If you answered 'yes' to either of these, you have literally drowned your cake/muffin in butter.

◙ ◘ ◙

[[ So what can you substitute butter with in baking? ]]

: : 1 cup butter : :

♪ 7/8 cup oil plus 1/2 teaspoon salt
♪ 7/8 cup lard plus 1/2 teaspoon salt
♪ 1 cup margarine
♪ 7/8 cup oil

USEFUL TIP: If you decide to use oil to substitute butter with, choose a scented oil such as 'vanilla oil', 'cinnamon oil' or 'apricot oil' to give it that extra bit of depth of flavour.

[[ So, you may be wondering why the '♪'s. Well, I decided that seeing as so many people adore butter, they may just love it enough that it makes their 'heart sing' ☺. No, I'm just kidding. I just pressed "Alt" and a random number (which happened to be 13) and that's what popped up. ]]

◙ ◘ ◙ ◘ ◙