muffins

Apple and Cranberry Muffins

~ louisehad ~ Leave a comment

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I love the cranberries. I love the tartness and I love the association with Christmas. These muffins are beautiful; they are lightly spiced and both sweet and tart. I have to say I did improvise a bit with this recipe as I couldn’t find half the ingredients and the measurements were in American cups. Anyhow, I think I got lucky because I can’t stop eating them!

Ingredients

110g sunflower oil

225g apples peeled and cored (I used Braeburn apples)

1 piece of pared lemon peel

juice of half a lemon

½ teaspoon cinnamon

200g soft brown sugar

50g date syrup (you could just add more sugar)

2 eggs

zest of an orange

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

225g whole wheat self raising flour

65g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

200g fresh or frozen cranberries

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Directions

  • Preheat oven to 180°c/160°c/gas 4 and line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases.
  • Make the apple sauce by cutting up the apples into small chunks and putting them in a small saucepan. Add the lemon juice, peel, cinnamon and a little water and cook for about 15 minutes on a low heat. When the apples have cooked through, take out the lemon peel and mash up the apples with the back of a fork.
  • Add the applesauce, sugar, syrup, eggs, orange zest and vanilla extract into the bowl of a free-standing mixer and mix on a medium speed until smooth.
  • In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: both flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg and salt.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until combined.
  • Use a rubber spatula to add the cranberries, leaving a few to put on top of the muffins.
  • Fill each of the muffin cases 3/4 full and decorate with the remaining cranberries and a sprinkle of the brown sugar.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes.

apple-and-cranberry-muffin

 

Rhubarb and Spelt Muffins

~ louisehad ~ Leave a comment

Muffins with rhubarb

As a child, I remember eating raw sticks of rhubarb from the garden dipped in sugar. I still have a love of rhubarb, but I’m not sure if I could handle it raw. I saw this recipe in Waitrose Magazine (February, 2016) and just loved the pinkness of the rhubarb. I was intrigued by the spelt flour in this recipe and thought it made the muffins sound healthy. However, it turns out that the benefit of spelt flour is that it made the muffins easier to digest. I made then anyway and they were a huge success. These muffins may look pink and sweet, but the contrasting tartness of the rhubarb makes them a clear winner for me.

 

Ingredients

 

60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

150ml buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 clementines, zest

85g plain flour

100g spelt flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

80g golden caster sugar

120g rhubarb, cut into 0.5cm slices

2 tsp demerara sugar

Muffins with rhubarb

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 18o degrees/160 fan/gas mark 4
  • Line 8 holes in a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
  • Combine the melted butter, buttermilk, egg, vanilla and clementine zest in a small bowl.
  • Put the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda  and caster sugar in a large bowl, then pour in the egg mixture. Fold together until combined, there should be no pockets of  flour, but it should still look lumpy.
  • Fold through most of the rhubarb, keeping some back for the topping.
  • Divide the mixture evenly between the paper cases, topping each with some of the reserved rhubarb, then scatter over the demerara sugar.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes, until risen and golden; a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
  • Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack before serving.
  • Rhubarb and spelt muffins

Butternut Squash, Cheese and Chilli Muffins

~ louisehad ~ Leave a comment

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I can’t believe how well these muffins turned out. To be honest, I’m not really a fan of muffins, either sweet or savoury. I made them for C, but when they came out of the oven, they smelt so good. I just had to try one. And well, I have been converted; this recipe has changed my whole attitude to muffins! These ones are cheesy, spicy and extremely comforting. This is a stunning recipe from Jamie Oliver’s new Superfoods book. I’ve been really impressed by the Superfood series on TV, not just by the ‘superfood’ concept but by the number of recipes I actually want to make. I’ve also made the tofu burgers which may sound boring, but were fantastic. Kudos to Jamie Oliver.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/sweet-potato-muffins

Ingredients

olive oil

600g sweet potatoes or ½ a butternut squash (I used butternut squash)

4 spring onions

1-2 fresh red chillies

6 large free-range eggs

3 tablespoons cottage cheese

250g wholemeal self-raising flour

50g Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

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  •  Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
  •  Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases or 15cm folded squares of greaseproof paper, then lightly wipe each one with oiled kitchen paper.
  • Peel the sweet potatoes or squash and coarsely grate into a large bowl.
  • Trim the spring onions, then finely slice with the chilli and add to the bowl, reserving half the chilli to one side.
  •  Crack in the eggs, add the cottage cheese and flour, then finely grate in most of the Parmesan and season with sea salt and black pepper. Mix until nicely combined.
  • Evenly divide the muffin mixture between the cases.
  • Sprinkle over the sunflower and poppy seeds, then dot over the reserved slices of chilli. Use the remaining Parmesan to give a light dusting of cheese over each one.
  •  Bake at the bottom of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes (if using squash, it’ll be a bit quicker – check after 35 minutes), or until golden and set.

These are amazing served warm 5 minutes after taking them out of the oven, and good kept in the fridge for a couple of days.

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