The Friday Shop

A.K.A the Friday Shop

There is so much to love about a Friday. There's no grumpy Monday moaners lingering on a Friday, I love this. But what I love most about Friday's is, of course, the Friday Shop.

If you haven't heard of it you must be living in a dark cave at the bottom of the ocean... or maybe you just don't live in Dunedin. I used to live in Melbourne, the food capital of the world, the place where every street has an amazingly unique cafe. Before I moved to Dunedin I was so scared to leave my beloved food and damn-good coffee behind. I was worried about coming to a tiny city at the bottom of New Zealand, a place I used to believe didn't know the difference between instant coffee and freshly roasted barista coffee. But to my absolute joy, as I mourn for Melbourne for these years while I study, life is not so bad with places like the Friday Shop. So thank you Friday Shop for your exquisite pastries that light up my life, every week. 

As you would expect since the bakery is called the Friday Shop, it is only open on Fridays. And because of this it turns into the busiest place in the South Island at 6am on a Friday (I might be exaggerating but then again, I might not). You got to be in it to win it when it comes to these things. So most Fridays, I set my alarm extra early and drag my zombie-like boyfriend up to Roslyn. He secretly loves it. The reason I say most Friday's is because if we went every week my fingers would be too chunky to type this up, if you know what I mean, and I quite like being able to type on my iPad without sausage fingers. The pastries are fantastic but as I would say to the kids I look after, they are a 'sometimes food'. Mind you, the Friday Shop do sell beautiful soups, meatballs and other meals but to be honest, who would buy that when fresh steak and cheese pies, chocolate tarts, or various pastry quiches are screaming at you?! Remember, sausage fingers...

I do love doing my own baking but it takes hours to make croissants and when you can buy amazing pastries in seconds there is something so satisfying about it. You can taste the love and time that has gone into each treat. The first week we visited the shop we stood there for a good 15 minutes not knowing what to do. Dozens of people came in, gathered their tarts and croissants, and then left all while we stood there. How on earth can you choose between perfect pastries? I wanted them all! So we compromised with one treat each and then something to share. Now everytime we visit this is what we do. 

Yesterday this is what our popping eyes and greedy stomachs chose...

Apple turn-over Danish was Matts choice. The perfect sweet puff pastry complimented the apple sauce that oozed out as you bit into it. An absolute MUST!

My choice, however, was not as good as Matt's. It was still beautiful but I am still forever a die-hard fan of Danish type pastries rather than sliced Apple tart. It was still beautiful. Oh and as for the picture, some is missing because I took a sneaky bite before we even got home...

Last but not least... The almighty chocolate tart. I don't have much to say other than perfection. I was simply lost for words when I ate it because it was so decadent. So rich, so silky, so Devine. You simply have to try it to be able to understand. The pastry and then the two layers of chocolate, a fudge-like bottom layer and a chocolate ganache on the top. I have to try and make my own chocolate tart!

You have to see it to believe it and you have to try it before you can testify it. So here I am showing you and my evidence is proof that the Friday shop is amazing. And I am being a little over-excited about food, as usual. 

Bon-appetite!

-Fee

Quadruple Chocolate Banana Muffins

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!! I love to bake with chocolate, and to tell you the truth, I love it so much that I always have blocks of chocolate stored up just for baking. By blocks of chocolate I don't mean ‘cooking chocolate’, I mean chocolate such as Cadbury or Whittakers. I vary between the two brands (depending on what is cheapest at the time usually). I prefer to use this good quality chocolate because it gives my baking the quality it deserves.

And so, being the sweet tooth that I am, I just had to choose a sweet recipe to start with. Here is an easy favorite...

For these muffins I used Cadbury's top-deck and old gold chocolate blocks. I only used half of each block for one batch of muffins, saving the rest for another time. I love this combination of chocolate because the bitterness of the dark chocolate counters for the sweetness of the lighter chocolates. Sweet, but not over powering.

I like to bake these muffins with oil instead of butter because this makes the muffins nice and moist. Oil is excellent for making muffins (and cakes) moist because unlike butter, it is a liquid at room temperature. This plays a huge part in keeping baking from becoming dry or tough when cooled back down to room

I have already mentioned how I always have chocolate ready to bake with, another thing I always like to have handy is frozen ripe bananas. As soon as any bananas become too ripe I chuck them in the freezer. It is incredibly easy to grab a frozen banana out of the freezer, put it in the microwave for a minute, peel off the skin, and then add it to any recipe. Once microwaved for a minute or so, I find that the bananas are usually so soft they don’t need much more mashing, therefore they can be added straight into the mixture!

!

(Microwaved frozen bananas are the best!)

This is a really simple recipe to follow, anyone is capable of making these delicious treats!

 Salt you say?! Often people become nervous about adding too much salt to their baking and therefore don’t add enough, or none at all. Don’t be one of these people! Yes, it does say 1/2 a teaspoon (this seems like a lot), but never be afraid to put the whole amount in. Salt is important when it comes to baking, even in the sweet things. Salt helps to bring all of the flavors to life and to balance them all out at the same time. Don't skip any ingredients, they all matter!

 The combination of the banana, egg, and oil shows just how nice and moist these muffins are...

I love chunky pieces of chocolate and so does my man, so I always cut rough pieces (so much better than pathetic chocolate chips you buy in the packets). Whenever I am cutting the chocolate up I can’t stop my self from having a piece, or two… doesn't it look beautiful?

On another note, when the recipe says fold, it means fold. Over mixing can cause muffins to become dense and tough. All you need to do is fold the wet ingredients in until everything is only just combined. The mixture may look like a lumpy mess and not smooth at all but this is good! This helps to keep air in the muffins, keeping them moist but also light! 

One more tip, when making these muffins I always use butter (or margarine) when greasing any sort of baking tins. Butter never sticks. Not only is it non-stick, but it always tastes great. Make sure you fill each muffin tin up to the top rather than only 3 quarters fill. This way you will get ‘large top’ muffins, just the way I like them!

I guarantee that everyone will love these muffins, they are truly delicious. Not the most healthy, but hey, we can treat ourselves every now and then!

Ingredients:- 1 1/2 cups flour
– 1 cup caster sugar
-‘heaped’ 1/4 cup cocoa
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 3-4  medium mashed ripe bananas
– 1.3 cup oil
– 1 egg
– chocolate chopped up (read above)

Method:
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and cocoa into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt. In a separate bowl combine mashed bananas, oil and egg. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until only just combined. Do not over mix. Finally, fold in the chocolate chunks. Spoon the mixture into medium sized greased muffins tins. Fill each tin almost to the top. Bake at 160 degrees on fan bake for 20-25 minutes. They are finished when a skewer comes out clean or the  muffins bounce back up when pushed slightly.

Enjoy 

~Fee