Penny Farthing - Cranberry, Coconut and Lemon

Im a sucker for an original flavour and Northcote's Penny Farthing have done me proud with their offering of the Cranberry, coconut and lemon.

Although sounding quite summery it was a beautiful accompaniment to a winters coffee date.

Presentation was elegant and simple – some things just don’t need to be over complicated and clearly the staff here know and have faith in their muffins.

Muffin top was perfectly crunchy despite no signs of browning – how do they do that?!!! 

Fruit to flavour ratio was good with fruit evenly distributed. 

They were generous on the cranberry while holding back for just a hint with the lemon.

The use of dry vs fresh fruit made the muffin a little dry for my taste but it was generous in size and not too sickly sweet.

Scores a good solid 3.9/5

In addition there is a fabulous wine list, great coffee and awesome people watching.

If you are looking for tattoospiration you should find some here.

Find them at: 206 High street, Northcote 

Amaretto Crumble - Storm in a teacup

Amaretto is a sweet, almond-flavoured, Italian liqueur. It is made from a base of apricot pits or almonds, sometimes both (wikipedia) *It is amazing in cakes!

Storm in a teacup needs no real introduction. 

http://www.storminateacup.com.au 

It has been hugely popular in melbourne since its inception and draws a loyal and a curious crown in equal measures.  On the day of our visit the bar was packed and the communal table was occupied by two women reading books opposite each other – not talking. Amazing. I dont know why i found this so amusing but it did distract me from the wait for my muffin.

OK, so the staff clearly called this a cake but according to Baking 911 this may just be due to the method used in baking as it certainly ticks off all of the other muffin characteristics.  

In addition it was clearly muffin like in appearance opposed to the other cakes in the cabinet which were served in slices. 

So this MUFFIN:

An old but great trick to distinguish your muffin from the crowd – go with a crumble topping!  Im a sucker for it and SIATC do it well.  Not sure how they didnt manage to burn the surface but the crumble was crispy without any signs of browning.  The muffin body itself was also cooked to perfection and contained generous amounts and sizeable chunks of pear -  5/5 on the fruit to flavour ratio!

I must confess I had to google amaretto – * hence the wiki quote above which I may have added to. 

I had heard the name but could not recall the specifics.  

One of the staff was happy to inform us that they made a variety of winter amaretto cakes in addition to the pear there is also a rhubarb variety that is thrown in throughout winter.  I should have asked about the summer version but will plan a trip back to find out!

As a perfect accompaniment the teas were beautifully and individually presented in their own unique glasses and serving tools.

Service was fantastic and staff had fabulous product knowledge!  It was also a bonus that we got to see them cook the goodies right in front of us! I recommend a bench/bar seat!  

So they also sell food – as in meals which I am yet to try.  Actually I imagine I never will as I will always be wooed by the cakes upon entry!

Overall scrore of 4.9 on the NBM  muffin scale. 

Mainly due to promoting it as a cake not the muffin that it is!

You can samlpe these muffins at:

  48A Smith Street

  Collingwood, Vic. 3066

But be quick – I dont think anything that good will last long!

Hazlenut Chocolate - Chew Chew

Chew Chew is located conveniently over the road from the Moonee Ponds Train Station 

(see what they did there?).

And again I am presented with the single muffin option – chocolate!  At least the muffins look good, baked in house they are served in their individual paper muffin cups with a sifting of icing sugar on top.

Initially I was disappointed with the size but after eating i was glad it was not bigger!

Muffin top was consistently crunchy all the way around and revealed whole dark chocolate melts.  The nuts must have been ground or I wasn’t lucky enough to get any and I would have loved them to add to the consistency.  Good flour to flavour ratio however the big chocolate bits tended to clump together making parts of the muffin too intense in chocolaty stickiness and other areas of the muffin left to sit and look blandly on.

Over all a 3.5 – good average muffin! I would be interested in a return visit to taste muffin variations and the area certainly has enough to tempt me to another half day trip.  Though the people watching wasn’t great and the crowd tended to be a bit older in the cafe – over the road was a different story with a very colourful display of local language to entertain us on the trip to BSL.

Puckle st is definitely worth a wander:  Highlights for me were the Chew Chew chandelier  and the BSL over the road J

Find Chew Chew opposite the train station at: 
7/9-11 Norwood Crescent, Moonee Ponds

Brotherhood of St Laurence: 24 Margaret Street, Moonee Ponds

Speakeasy - Chocolate, Peanut and Cinnamon Sugar

One great thing about starting a new job is finding your morning coffee haunt.  It took me 3 locations to settle on Speakeasy, a new addition to the Chapel street cafe belt.  

http://speakeasybar.com.au

Coffee is covered with the use of Dukes beans and the muffins which are always timed perfectly to arrive fresh out of the oven in front of me every visit, are a revelation!  

Not only are they cooked in house and are oven fresh but they have the most fabulous flavour combinations!  I could not resist the Chocolate, Peanut and cinnamon sugar offering of yesterday and despite having just eaten breakfast decided to purchase it and take it away for later consumption.  It was $2.50!?  

With any coffee purchase these generously sized muffins will only set you back $2.50!  I have no reason to go anywhere else!

Despite the wait time between purchase and devouring the muffin, retained the fresh baked feel.  Perfect consistency that was more cakey than I usually like but saved by the marbled brown and white colours and flecked with chopped up peanuts.  The peanuts were small in size and the perfect amount so as to add a welcomed texture contrast with crunc but not enough to overwhelm the subtle (perfect!) choc – or more cocoa and cinnamon flavours.  YUUUUUUUMMMM!

The muffin top was beautifully crunchy and broke away easily in the hands for on the go consumption.  This is close to being my perfect muffin!

Score 4.85!!!

So today I had to go back!  I have recruited the other half of NBM for a lunch muffin date and wanted to get a sneak peak of the flavour combo.  Not to be outdone by previous offerings todays is Pear, Kiwi, Almond and Caramel.  I cant wait!

You can find Speakeasy at 359 Chapel Street, Prahran, South Yarra.  Go! Now!

Auction Rooms - Trail mix, coconut and chocolate

The Auction Rooms has been gaining popularity in the Melbourne cafe scene as of late.... So obviously the cafe was on the must visit list for Nothin' but Muffin.

The cafe itself had a great eclectic space mixing antique feel with repurposed materials, ie. pvc tubes used in the light fittings.

Now to the most important indicator of a great cafe.... their muffin. The muffin of the day was the Trail Mix, Coconut and Chocolate. Nothin' but muffin team were impressed this muffin did not disappoint and proved to be a combination which was both interesting and surprising. The trail mix provided little pockets of different flavours from apricots to pistachio nuts. The addition of dark chocolate was subtle and gave the impression that this was a somewhat healthy treat to be enjoyed.

This muffin could be enjoyed with a latte, chai or hot chocolate. On a side note: their hot chocolate was divine being presented in its own little jug.

Overall, the Auction Rooms scored a 4.8 for muffin and experience. We recommend paying the Auction Rooms a visit at 103-107 Errol St, North Melbourne.

They appear to be eating muffins...

I like to think that Nothin but Muffin and Oscar Wilde would have been great friends!

In "The Importance of being Earnest" Wilde constructs a fabulous scene around

our favourite baked goods.

Despite the fact that this silly movie includes English muffins rather than "our" muffins, it is still fabulous!

If our film here isn't working you can watch it on Youtube

“How can you sit there, calmly eating muffins when we are in this horrible trouble, I can’t make out. You seem to me to be perfectly heartless."

"Well, I can’t eat muffins in an agitated manner. The butter would probably get on my cuffs. One should always eat muffins quite calmly. It is the only way to eat them."

"I say it’s perfectly heartless your eating muffins at all, under the circumstances.”

Brother Alec - Sticky date!

Up until today I thought sticky date was just a cake.  

Not even a cake that I overly enjoyed.  

But that was before I tasted todays muffin at High street hotspot, 

Brother Alec.

Brother Alec is an unassuming coffee shop that occupies one of the shop fronts just over the Clarendon /Normanby street intersection. 

 It used to be relatively out on its own but probably due to its huge popularity, it is about to be surrounded by the stream of cafes that seem to pop up daily.

Brother Alec has nothing to worry about.  

He has a loyal base of local fans who think he is just the coolest!

And so are his muffins! 

Introducing

..... The Sticky Date!

All of Brother Alec's dishes are served on these beautiful wood boards and the muffins come with a side of fresh butter.

This sticky date muffin was big!  I promise you that is not a trick of the camera or lighting.

The muffin top was perfectly crunchy in contrast to the soft inner cake and I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of plentiful poppy seeds!

The dates were more smooth than ultra sticky and seemed to just melt in my mouth.  There was no caramel like sauce or replacement to overpower their sweetness - genius!

The fruit to flour ratio was spot on and went perfectly with my chai latte.
Had I not already consumed more coffee that morning I would have gone for the "special" or single origin that Brother Alec hand picks and rotates regularly (see I told you he was cool!).  Instead I got beans to take home - they do that too!

Brother Alec is the perfect place to come for Breakfast/Brunch/MUFFIN or coffee.  All are consistently good!

If you come regularly the staff will get to know your name and you may get a bonus hug.


Although probably not....I'm sure they just save that for me.....? Right guys???

You can visit Brother Alec at:
719 High street, Thornbury

Mr Tulk - Banana and Walnut

I have such a soft spot for the CBD's "Mr. Tulk".

Nestled conveniently next to the State Library, and in close proximity to both Melbourne Central and RMIT university, Mr Tulk is an easy place for all to find!

This is how I imagine Mr Tulk...

Walking into Mr Tulk from La Trobe street you are immediately struck by the cake cabinets.
(Well, I cant be the only one!)

Drawing my attention in pride of place today was Mr Tulk's muffin of the day....

"The Banana and Walnut" 

The muffin top was perfectly crisp with maybe just a tad too much icing sugar.  The centre was light and fluffy rather than dense and the fruit:flour ratio was good.  

Walnuts were a good size but there could have been more for my liking.  

Overall, the mixture of the soft squishy banana, crunchy walnut and muffin top, along with the fluffy cake consistency was pretty close to muffin heaven!

Its another high score of 4.5 from me!

So light and fluffy! See!

The muffins displayed varied a lot in size and after my initial disappointment that I didn't get one of the larger ones I was glad in hindsight!

If you want to choose your own go for take away the larger ones would definitely suffice for a meal!

Final note:

The coffee is ALWAYS good and the staff are friendly.  

The communal table is a great place to eat if you are alone and the tables outside are worth waiting for if the sun is shining.....

Visit Mr. Tulk's website here.

And make plans to visit them in person ASAP!

When bad muffins happen to good people......

Recently we were recommended a visit to a little bakery on Nicholson street...

I knew nothing about 'Natural Tucker Bakery' before our visit 

but have since been impressed to learn that it occupies the site of one of Melbourne oldest bakeries!

Specialising in sourdough breads and baked treats like MUFFINS, 

it did not take much convincing for us to plan a visit.

Visit the Natural Tucker Bakery Website here.

The place was uber unassuming and though we were not lead to believe it would be an amazing place to sit down and soak up the atmosphere we did manage to get a table next to the window - fabulous for people watching!

The cafe was inhabited by only two other people when we arrived (other than staff) but quickly started filling up as it neared 3pm.  

It became obvious quite quickly that this was a haunt for locals.

Frequented by lycra clad fixie riders...

(we quickly lost count of the amount of times we were required to avert our eyes 

as one does when sitting at crutch height!) 

....the order of choice seemed to be a quick soy latte and hot pie.

And still .......the muffins looked promising!

 Generous in size and well presented with small slices of apricot on top they were also advertised as egg, milk, butter and sugar free!  

No flavour was listed but I felt safe in assuming apricot.

Cutting the muffin in half revealed that the fruit on top was indeed the only fruit in the muffin (aside from a small thread of what I hoped to god was coconut at the bottom).

Nothin but Muffin had been joined by a Mum for the day and even she was "unimpressed".   The coffee however was good and strong and kept her jittering all day.
(May explain the cyclists???)

The muffin was moist and chewy with not so much an offensive flavour as none at all.  When we enquired as to the flavour (????) we were informed that it was Apricot and Coconut.
Hmmmm.

On a positive note the service was super cheery and people 

(who chose not to have the muffins) 

were leaving happily.

I think this is definitely one for locals and you would have to pick your days. 

 If you need a quick snack on your bike - other lycra clad enthusiasts will make you feel at home but if your looking for a good muffin we would encourage you to head elsewhere. 

 Mum agrees!

Sometimes looks can be deceiving.....

Once upon a time in a street not so far away, 

Suzie and Jess discovered they were both in need of a good muffin!

Finding the area saturated with cafes they attempted to use their keen muffin sense to track down the finest in the land so they could take news of it back to their blog readers.

Both had heard amazing stories of a land of cakes ruled by the Queen Babka but on entering her realm

(see what urban spoon says here)

 discovered that despite plentiful cakes, she had no muffins to spare.

Jess and Suz hid their disappointment and stopped to collect their thoughts on the curb outside Babka.

Looking over the road the Fitz castle beaconed, inviting with its outside tables dappled in sunshine and its ever-flowing crowd of passers by.

Suzie peered into the window and sure enough!  There were a mountain of muffins on the counter under a glass globe!  Jess was keen to take a closer look and entered the castle to enquire as to the flavour.

"Apricot and Banana"

The girls looked at each other and smiled.  Surely this was the muffin they had been waiting for???  Neither had sampled the flavour and were keen to give it a try.

"We'll take two!" they cried in unison.

Jess and Suzie took up a seat by a window and basked in the sunlight streaming through.

The parade of people had not ceased since their arrival and they were treated to sighting of a rare (but not rare enough!) sighting of a bucks do troupe in full regalia (we will let your imaginations fill in the blanks there)!

After a minimal and entertaining wait, a waitress appeared at the girls table and with a flourish presented the muffins! 

The girls gasped.

Sitting regally atop crisp white platters, the muffins had been transformed by a dusting of icing sugar and a side of fresh strawberries and sauce (as pictured!)

The girls tucked in greedily and waited for the tastes to explode on their tongues!

And they waited........  Nothing.

Disbelieving they took a second bite.....

Still nothing!

The most promising muffins in all the land turned out to be rather bland.

(3/5 on the Nothin but Muffin scorecard)

Though the Fitz had presented them superbly and exceeded the girls expectation in entertainment, service and comfort, Jess and Suzie were "cursed" to continue the search!

Where would they find the finest muffin in all the land?

To be continued!....

While we continue the search, you can find the fabulous staff and great location of The Fitz at:

The corner of Kerr or 347 Brunswick st, Fitzroy

 Ph: 03 9417 5794

Mamabelly's Muffin Tin Mondays!

So according to those who like to cite 'the good food pyramid', 

its not healthy to live off sweet muffins alone...thanks Mum!

Well another mum has an answer:  Muffin Tin Mondays!!

Mamabelly describes herself as a military wife and mother of four trying to make healthy lunches amongst the chaos.  Well Mamabelly, if your site is anything to go by you are much much more!

I was truly inspired by this savoury offering and as someone who usually sees savoury as a "process I have to go through to get to dessert" that is no mean feat!

So if you have kids or like me, you are still a big kid inside visit Mamabelly and get inspired!!

I think I'm going to rock these out at my next dinner party!

Muffin_Tops_Foster

'Muffin_Tops_Foster' 

was the phrase that introduced me to the work of Leah Foster 

(whose legs can be seen here amongst that array of sweet goods).  

Searching for visual inspiration, or what my husband likes to refer to as 'muffin porn' I was immediately taken by this image! 

It turns out 'Muffin_Top_Foster' or more aptly, 'The Inspirational Leah Foster' is a New York based mixed media artist who works with....wait for it..... Muffin tops!

Thats her above with one of her installations, looking a lot like Shoshona from Girls.  

That can only make her cooler, right?!

Just in case your not kicking yourself hard enough for a "why didn't I think of that?" moment, did I mention that she is only 25 years old??!!!  

Leah uses the 'muffin' (or 'cupcake' but lets use Muffin) as a vehicle to explore gender based body issues and what she refers to as the 'duality of the Muffin' ...(ok she totally used cupcake but go with me) ...the simultaneous attraction and repulsion of these amazing baked goods.

To hear her talk about her work with the muffins click on the following link:

/http://backofhouse.morganshotelgroup.com/culture/obsessed-with-leah-foster-part-1/

Clearly she is headed for big things and I cant wait to see what comes next!

You can find her website here: http://leahfoster.carbonmade.com

And Leah if your reading, I'm sure we'd be like best friends!

Merry Muffin Land!

I have no idea how I missed this but Mattel, those also responsible for Barbie, created a series of dolls in the late 80's that lived in Muffin Land!  Merry Muffin Land to be exact!

You can check out more information at this fabulous site here: http://www.merrymuffinland.net 

So the main character was Cherry Merry Muffin and she hung out with her friends; Apple Amy, Banancy, Chocolottie, and Berry Betty.  Lilly Vanilly, Greta Grape, Bubblegum Becky and Penny Peppermint came later.

Anyway, they all lived in Merry Muffin Land in little muffin houses and baked muffin treats for each other all day long!

What a beautiful role models these baking goddesses could have been to millions of girls and boys everywhere!

Look at those accessories!

So there was a bunch of stories, mainly in German and Italian but, luckily for us some of the recipies included in them have been translated.

You can find the recipies for the following:

Muffins Cherry Merry with Magic Cherries
Purple Cow Shake
Vanilla Dilly Ice Cream Sandwich
Cherry Dream Waffle
Pink 'n Pretty Peppermint Ice Cream
Merry Muffin Land Cookies
Blueberry Shortcake
Cherry Sparkle Drink

Checkout the accessories below...more can be found on the website.

Super cute doll accessories!

They obviously have a cult following as there are also some examples on the website of people dressing up as the characters for cosplay.  Look at this gorgeous creation..... I want her hat!

Now if you excuse me, I need to get on ebay!!

For More information try these links:

http://www.angelfire.com/blues2/80sdolls/CherryMerryMuffin.html

http://www.ghostofthedoll.co.uk/cherrymerrymuffin.htm

Slowpoke - Chocolate and Nut

As regular readers will know, I am not usually a fan of chocolate in a muffin but as I have been reviewing quite a few of them favourably recently I may not be able to say that for much longer!

Case in point:


Slowpoke is conveniently located on Brunswick st and offers a choice of sweet or savoury muffins to go with their lovely coffee and great service.

Yesterday I caught up with a girlfriend for coffee and was lucky enough to score the one and only booth out the back.   I walked past the cakes and could not resist the lonely muffin, ordering it without enquiring as to its flavour.*

*The panic over securing the last muffin often causes momentary lapses in judgement.

Slowpokes last sweet muffin at 11am! 

The muffin was delivered to my table in a flourish and was presented well enough to make my friend order the savoury version.

Muffin top was crunchy, and it took me a while to discern flavour.  Whole nuts were dotted throughout which made a nice contrast to the soft cake and the chocolate was not too overwhelming.

More nuts would have been awesome but overall a nice surprise!

This muffin scored a 4/5 from me and I look forward to visiting again!


You can find slowpoke at:

157 Brunswick St  Fitzroy VIC 3065
(03) 9942 7813

Hours:

 

Wednesday hours 7:00 am–5:00 pm

Pomona - Mixed Berry Spelt

                                        

Pomona has got to be one of 'Nothin' but Muffin's favourite cafes in Melbourne.

The chefs at Pomona specialise in spelt and gluten free cooking.  Though it can get quite busy on the weekend it is never too busy to find a seat and the staff are amazing. Always quick and professional they  are never too frazzled to provide good, friendly service.

But lets cut to the crunch, THEIR SPELT MUFFINS ARE TO DIE FOR!!!!  

The original gifted muffins that made me want to try more!

Mr Geoffery was not impressed the muffins were for his host.....

My friend, Jean introduced me to Pomona via gifted muffins in return for some country respite.  Though I am not a huge fan of chocolate chip muffins I overlooked that because they were....well, muffins!

I was super impressed with the subtle dark chocolate flecks and to my surprise, really enjoyed a choc chip muffin for the first time.  Due to the chocolate chips Jean's pooch was not allowed to share our delight and made no attempt to hide his disappointment (thats him to the right).

It was not hard, on this evidence to convince the other half of 'Nothin but Muffin' that we needed to go check them out! We visited Pomona shortly after and have been returning over and over since.

Not only do Pomona cook with Spelt flour which me (and my belly) love but they have an ever revolving muffin menu that has never been repeated on my (embarrassingly regular) visits.

Mixed Berry Spelt Muffin on Pomona's beautifully illustrated comunal table.....

I am a sucker for a Berry Muffin but Pomona's has got to be one of the best I've ever had.  

Packed full of not too sweet and nor too tart berries (the above photo does not do it justice), the fruit to flour ratio was spot on perfect! 

The muffin top was golden and crunchy in a way that I am yet to see in a wheat muffin and the simple presentation hinted at a quiet confidence that the flavour would do all the talking.

All up a near perfect, 4.85/5 from me!

The decorations in the restaurant behind the kitchen draw on old biology texts...

As the muffin was SO good I have also sampled their other food primarily as muffin foreplay.

All  has been great!

As if the muffins aren't reason enough to seek them out?!

You can find them at:

474 Murray Rd  Preston VIC 3072 (03) 9478 0026

Alice Nivens - Fig and Orange

Finally got to sample the elusive daily muffin at 'Alice Nivens' yesterday and boy were we not disappointed!

This is our second visit in just 4 days and the Fig & Orange muffin is just one of the many delicacies available at this gorgeous 'Alice in Wonderland' inspired eatery!

Because we were there we had to try a few of the featured goodies:
Chocolate cupcake with ganache centre, iced in creamy lime and topped with shards of dark chocolate!
Lemon and blueberry tart
Orange and date cake
Vanilla and Strawberry cupcake.....

The clear stand out however was the muffin: Fig & Orange

Awesome and original flavour combination had us excited before the first bite. 
Fabulous fruit to flour ratio with fig slices evenly distributed throughout muffin body (how do they even do that???!!)

Presented in muffin paper with a light dusting of icing sugar that didn't overwhelm the flavour.

Crunchy muffin top broke easily of for easy consumption during conversation.

Muffin texture was perfect! Light without being too moist - close to being our perfect muffin.

Overall a score of 4.8!!!!!

Alice Nivens Cafe bakes a "muffin of the day" most days.  Muffins and Alice can be found at:
Port Philip Arcade, Shop 13 (enter off Flinders Lane), Melbourne, Victoria