Bake #9: Jenny bakes Oatmeal Raisin Cupcakes

One word: comforting. Another word: it's really, really good! Ok, so that's more than a word but I must say, I am rather surprised that these Oatmeal Raisin recipe turned out to be another keeper. I was rather apprehensive, perhaps due to the last experience and the fact that this is such a stripped-down, plain, frosting-less, frill-less, alright, I'll say it: boring-looking cupcake in the book! But you know what they say - less is more.

The cake texture is tender  - reminds me a lot of the Streusel bake several weeks earlier. I made a few substitutions and additions to the recipe mostly because #1: simply for economies of scale, I always prefer to buy tubs or dairy but since consumption for sour-cream is usually very low in our household, I opted to buy a tub of yogurt instead. At least I can have that with my morning fruits or granola instead of just using teenie-weenie portions for baking then having to worry about what to do with the rest.  Secondly, I wanted to add some crunch to the cake, and in lieu of oatmeal bran, I simply added some of D's favorite morning cereal (some mixture of flax seed, cornflakes and toasted almond slices). Oh, for those of you who don't know, D is my husband, by the way. Then again, how many of you read this anyways?!

Just like its sister cookies, these oatmeal raisin cupcakes go very well with a tall glass of milk. So this is for photo styling......

........but by the end of this post, I've already downed couple cupcakes and gulped the entire glass of milk. So much so for 2-pounds-a-week weight-loss target!

This sounds like a broken gramophone but if you've not done so, please try out the recipes, bake along and do let us know how your bakes went - blog about it (don't forget to send your blog links to friendswhobake@gmail.com), post pictures on FB group page or heck, we'll even take feedback and comments! What are you waiting for?!? Our tagline is Rekindling old friendships, making new ones. We'd really love your help on the latter........

Bake #9: Tina Bakes Oatmeal-Raisins Cupcakes

Wholesome and delicious! Again, this feels more like a muffin than a cupcake and makes for a great coffee companion for breakfast.

Martha grouped this recipe under 'cookie cupcakes' but it doesn't taste cookie-ish at all, although the ingredients ~ oatmeal, coconut and raisins would be perfect in a cookie too.

I kinda cheated on this bake and substituted ingredients that I did not have with those readily available in my kitchen! I wouldn't say I skewed the recipe and twisted it to be my own as it wasn't by intention. Not quite my own invention although necessity is the mother of invention!

For starters, I couldn't find sweetened flaked coconut here in Malaysia (or could it be I didn't look hard enough?) so I used canned dessicated coconuts. And instead of bothering with traditional rolled oats and oat bran, I used instant oats :) hey! I needed an opportunity to deplete my stock of instant oats!!

And to my horror, half-way beating the ingredients, I noticed that I have used up all the sour cream in the fridge!! too lazy to run to the store, I used milk instead hoping that it would not make my batter too runny.

All my worries were unfounded as the cupcakes came out of the oven tasting great!! If you're looking for a no-guilt treat, this is it!!

Bake #9: Oatmeal-Raisin Cupcakes

This week I've chosen a slightly different cupcake - Martha calls it 'cookie-cupcake'. After weeks of cakey, glazed and frosted bakes, I chose this as it looks simple, healthier (?!?) and texture-rich.

The ingredients include rolled oats, raisins, oat bran and flaked coconut. Come and bake with us!! (and let us know if you need the recipe!)