Pokémon – Poffins

Oh, Pokémon. How many times can you essentially release the exact same game over and over and how many times will I relive the experience, just to be bitterly disappointed by any new species that isn’t the original 150 (or 151 depending on who you ask). I mean, apart from Girafarig who is the best Pokémon of the new generations. Shut up. Anyway, Pokémon love Poffins. They can make them smarter, better, faster, stronger… As a combination of the words Pokémon and muffin I figured this had to be something soft and slightly sweet (just like the Pokémon themselves). I did a lot of research into cakes and breads and came across the delightful anpan from Japan - a type of sweet, milky bun. The classic anpan recipe was the perfect base to create the well known light and fluffy Poffin.

This recipe makes 6 Poffins.

What you will need: A large mixing bowl, a sieve, a baking tray and tin/aluminium foil.

Ingredients:

75ml / ⅓ Cup Milk

1 ½ Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Sugar

½ Teaspoon Salt

190g / 1 ½ Cups Strong White Bread Flour

1 Egg (Beaten)

½ Teaspoon Fast-Action Dried Yeast

Variety of Food Colourings (Optional)

For the Filling:

High Quality Berry Jam/Jelly

Use any variety of berry or berries you like; cherry, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry etc.

To Garnish:

Icing/Confectioners Sugar

Water

Sprinkles

Preparing the Poffins:

1. In a pot on a low heat warm the milk, butter, sugar and salt together until the butter melts.
2. Pour the liquid into a large bowl, sieve in half the flour and mix well. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir until well combined.
3. Add the remainder of the flour and ¾ of the egg, continue to mix with a spoon until the dough comes together then use your hands to form it into a ball. (At this point you can split the dough up if you’d like to add any colouring. Do this by adding a few drops and following the next step.)
4. On a lightly floured surface tip the dough out and knead for about 10 minutes. This will warm the dough and make it firmer and smoother.
5. Split the dough up into evenly shaped portions, these will become your Poffins. Place them in a large, clean bowl and cover with cling-film/saran-wrap to rise for about 50 minutes, they should double in size.

Filling the Poffins:

Feel free to leave your Poffins plain but if you’d like to add a filling follow these steps;

1. Take one ball of dough at a time and gently flatten it out a little. Spoon some jam/jelly into the middle.
2. ‘Pinch’ the dough around it, making sure it’s completely sealed. Turn it over and gently shape the dough into a Poffin shape, which is similar to an American football, and place on a baking tray.
3. Repeat this step for each of the potion of dough and feel free to fill each one with a different berry jam/jelly filling.

Making the Poffins:

1. Whether or not you’ve added a filling, leave the prepared Poffins somewhere warm to rest for about 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Gently brush them with a little of the remainder of egg on top then place in the oven to bake for around 10-15 minutes. (If your Poffins are coloured, you might want to cover them in tin/aluminium foil to stop them from browning after a few minutes).
3. Once cooked remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely. Make some icing by mixing the icing/confectioners sugar with a little water, this will act as a glue.
4. Dip the sprinkles of your choosing in the prepared icing and carefully stick them to the Poffin for the finishing touch.

There’s no need to invite 4 of your friends over to help you stir these Poffins, I assure you. Feel free to create your own mini-game though. Maybe get your mom to shout “Left! Right! Slower!” at you while you make them, it’s totally up to you. These Poffins remind me of doughnuts but with all the pleasure of freshly baked bread; they’re certainly lighter and healthier. If Poffins can make a Pokémon more beautiful, I see no reason why this isn’t true for humans - I’m expecting to see Z-list celebrities selling these on shopping networks in the coming months. 

Like this? You might also enjoy the Costume Quest - Pizza Sundae.

Request: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Cheesecake

This is a special request from my good friend Geoff and it is in fact his 25th birthday present from me to him. Geoff spent quite a while deciding that this was what he wanted and I could hardly deny his request because frankly… it’s pretty awesome. I’m a big fan of Castlevania but after watching a play-through of the most recent instalment, Lords of Shadow, on the 360 I’ve yet to brave it myself (seriously one of the greatest endings to a game ever ). I had been tempted to do a Castlevania entry before, often distracted by the German-esque “bakery” levels filled with breads and treats that sometimes fly at your face. So I was glad that Geoff pointed out this delicious looking cheesecake. According to its description on the Castlevania Wiki it is “with chocolate chips” but one drunken conversation later we agreed that the strawberry topping angle was the way to go for maximum tastiness and Alucard would probably pick around the chocolate chips anyway.

This recipe serves 6-8.

What you will need:

A 20cm cake tin, baking/greaseproof paper, rolling pin, large mixing bowl, wooden spoons, whisk, small bowl, pan.

For the Base:

85ml Melted Butter

140g Digestive Biscuits

1 Tablespoon Golden Caster Sugar

For the Cheesecake:

600g Cream Cheese

170g Golden Caster Sugar

2 Tablespoons Plain Flour

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice

2 Large eggs

1 Yolk 

150ml Sour Cream

For the Strawberry Glaze:

500g of Strawberries

150g of Caster Sugar

2 Tablespoons Ground Arrowroot

Making the Base:

1. Prepare the cake tin by buttering and lining the base and sides with baking/greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 160C.
2. Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin (should your claymore be at the cleaners) to bash them into crumbs, then place in a bowl. 
3. Melt the butter in a pan on a medium heat and pour over the biscuit crumbs along with the tablespoon of sugar. 
4. Mix well until the butter has been absorbed and then press the biscuit mixture firmly and evenly to the base of the prepared cake tin. Place in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, remove and set aside to cool - make sure it has cooled completely otherwise you will end up with a soggy base like I did.

Making the Cheesecake Filling:

1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese gently until creamy and slowly add the sugar. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir in slowly making sure to clean the sides of the bowl. 
2. Whisk in the vanilla and lemon juice. Add the eggs and yolk one at a time and then the sour cream whisking gently, being careful not to over-mix. 
3. Pour the filling over the buttery biscuit base, gently tap or knock the tin to remove any air bubbles. 
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 160C, then reduce to 90C and cook for 20-40 minutes. I found just keeping an eye on the cake until the centre was a little wobbly but firm was best. 
5. Leave it out to cool, the top may crack but don’t worry as this will be covered. After an hour you can put it in the fridge to continue cooling.

Making the Strawberry Glaze:

1. Chop the 500g of strawberries, place in a pan, bring to the boil with about 6 tablespoons of water and the sugar.
2. In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons of arrowroot with some water to create a runny paste.
3. Once the mixture has boiled in the pot, add the arrowroot water a teaspoon at a time until it begins to thicken then remove from the heat and leave to cool for several minutes.
4. Once cooled slightly pour/spread the strawberry glaze over the cheesecake and return to the fridge to chill for several hours.

I have never made cheesecake in my life. The making of was relatively easy but then the lengthy cooking and cooling process is something I wish I’d planned better and well in advance… because as I write this it’s later than I would like and I’m praying I can post this before the clock ticks onto midnight and ruin my Wednesday posting spree. It might be a little rough around the edges, but it’s still a cheesecake! And it’s one hell of a tasty one. Despite the upset tummy and ills I may incur I had to steal a little piece to taste. I will make this again most likely, only with 3 days before it’s actually needed so I wont have to cry into a pot of boiling strawberries (the tears make it taste sweeter). You see Geoff, you SEE the lengths I go to for you?! It was great to have a challenge for once though, not everything should run so smoothly all the time and the result did taste pretty excellent - it’s just one of those things you need to make a few times to perfect. The base ended up a bit softer than I would have liked, so I’ve edited the recipe accordingly - other than this it tasted perfect! I can’t seem to think of a Castlevania qu-whip without it sounding too cheesy… oh, oops. (Also sorry for the late posting - I’ve had the flu this week)

Like this? You might also enjoy the Sims - Key Lime Pie.