MBP Disaster

Blame it on Coffee. But all the sweet girl wanted us is to delve into sweets, to cook them and spread the sweetness. Did she tell us, Eat it ? No never. Its me who says, “Kya kare Control Nahin Hota” (what can I do I cannot control herself). I like eating sweets but I don’t have a craving for them. But if in my vicinity is a sweet I like, I just cannot stop myself . So I didn’t want to make something loaded with sugar which I would invariably gorge on and then blame who else but COFFEE !!!

When I saw The Orange and Pomengranate Muffins at Ahaar I liked them because that hint of Citrus lured me and also because Mandira had cut down a lot on the butter and eggs. Though the Pomengrate seeds would be very good, I avoided them because I know S would pick and toss them out. And instead of chocolates I added Chopped Dates. All was kind of ok till this planning phase and then things started going wrong for me…

In a hurry I tried to beat the butter before even it had come to room temperature. So that was a disaster at the onset. I had to scrape it from the blades and soften it in the microwave and then beat it.

Then all seemed to go well and I left the muffins in the oven to bake. They browned and the aroma was splendid but there was a glitch.

The muffins did not rise as they should have. They were very stiff, stubborn I should say and did not want to “rise to the occasion”. They did not realize how important MBP is, that hazaar people across the Blog world would see them, eye them, make them “eye candy” if they were worth it, heap praises on them. No, those muffins refused to understand the gravity of the situation and stood stiff like my 3 year old sometime does. Her I can still manage but with muffins…nahhhhhh. My coaxing, cajoling, my lure to give them other muffins if they were good fell flat.

So like worried parents we (yes both me & D) sat down to dissect their behavior. What made them do this, was it us, the environment, the society, their upbringing…WHAAAT ? We went through the recipe again and it seemed like we did all that was asked for. Yes I was a bit tense, and did mutter a curse or two but I swear ooops promise that was in hushed undertones. I did beat the butter and the eggs and the flour but that’s what was asked for, no one said anything about “not beating”, these were muffins not my 3 year old.

Finally it dawned on us. Instead of this…

we used this…

So what? Isn’t “Baking” the common term in both. And then we Googled (yes we Google a lot, it is our life line), just as we googled to see why my 3 year old stood stiff and refused to budge and this is what we found…

The recipe (for the muffins not the 3 year old, don’t get confused) called for Baking Soda while I used Baking Powder. Baking Powder can be substituted for Baking Soda but then we need to use more of it and also since we used Orange Juice the replacement might not work. I totally missed this point and added the same amount of Baking Powder. So it was not really the muffin’s fault, it was indeed their upbringing. I am the Bad Bong Mom. Next time I promise I will be good and raise good muffins.

Till then I am sending them to MBP to look at other well behaved Muffins and see what they could have been if they had been earnest and their Mom paid more attention to Chemistry

I am also sending this to Sushma's MCT.
Tip: Baking Soda is 4 times stronger than Baking Powder. So if your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would need four teaspoons of baking powder to produce the same amount of lift(Source: here) . However it is not that simple. Baking powder is made of baking soda + acid to react with the soda. If your recipe already has acidic ingredients that were going to neutralize the baking soda called for, you are adding other ingredients that may not sit well with them.
So substituting Baking Soda with Baking Powder is NOT a good idea and may not turn out right specifically if the recipe has acidic stuff like orange juice in my case

This is what my little girl gave me on Mothers Day. I forgot to say we had a fun picnic and D indeed skimmed the sub text but even he gave me a cute card, saying something about Wife's Day, blah, blah, blah...

Note: I will not be able to access internet for Blogging purpose this week so you may not see me storming your coments sections. Don't worry, shall be back by weekend.