Fresh Apricot Muffins

It's been a busy old week this week, starting off with a [successful] trip to watch football at Wembley and a catch up with old friends and family, and ending with a day of housework and baking today, with a job interview, spot of work and juggling family life and half term in between. Thank goodness that the weather has been mostly good and the kids have been spending a lot of time outdoors playing football.

Last night I had a bit of a fright when I was closing the kitchen door for the evening, around 11.30, and almost squashed a frog in the doorway. I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to handling creatures so went to call for assistance. The eldest was still at work, middle child was at a friends, husband was away and youngest and his friend were fast asleep, but thankfully the eldest's girlfriend was still awake, but by the time we came downstairs the frog had hopped inside! Many comedy movements later and we'd managed to get the frog back out of the door with the assistance of a couple of flip flops. Hopefully it managed to make its way back to the pond sometime in the night, but I'll be keeping the doors closed tonight just incase.

A few weeks ago I started to have a weekly fruit box delivery from local business, B Taylor Fruit & Vegetables, and we've been enjoying loads of lovely fruits, including many that I wouldn't usually buy. This week we've received donut peaches, kiwis, apricots and strawberries along with the regular bananas, apples, grapes and oranges. It's a great way to enjoy seasonal fruits and the kids are loving the selection. I decided to use a few of the apricots to make some muffins for a friend who had a bit of an accident over the bank holiday, in the hope of bringing a little cheer to her. The recipe is nice and simple and a great one to make with the kids as it just requires a little mixing. The baked muffins are delicious straight from the oven with vanilla ice cream or custard, or left to cool they can be drizzled with a little icing.

Raspberry & White Chocolate Crumble Muffins

On a recent visit to our allotment I was surprised with a lovely crop of raspberries, just when I thought raspberry season was over. They don't last long once picked, so rather than filling my face with them I decided to make some muffins for the family to enjoy over the following few days.

Raspberry & White Chocolate Crumble Muffins - makes 12

300g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

150g caster sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

225ml milk (I use skimmed)

50ml oil (I used rapeseed)

125g fresh raspberries

125g white chocolate chips

crumble topping

50g plain flour

25g butter

25g caster sugar

• mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a large bowl
• beat the egg, vanilla, milk and oil together in a second bowl or jug
• add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine (making sure not to over mix)
• fold the raspberries and chocolate chips carefully through the batter
• pour batter into 12 muffin cases
• add the crumble ingredients to a food processor and blitz until a breadcrumb type consistency is formed
• spoon the crumble onto the batter
• bake in a preheated 180C oven for approx 25 minutes until golden brown

Tropical Fruit Breakfast Muffins

If you're trying to reduce your sugar consumption, but still like the odd sweet treat then these muffins could be right up your street. I prefer fruit muffins to cupcakes as they don't tend to be as sweet, and add some nuts into the mix then I'm completely sold. I suppose these are a cross between a muffin and a scone (although more moist than a scone), and could therefore be called a scuffin, or maybe a mone.

The kids weren't that keen, but I think that was down to the pieces of coconut rather than the lack of sugar, but that was fine as it meant more for me. Two of these and a coffee really set me up for the morning.

Tropical Fruit Breakfast Muffins - makes approx 12

200g self raising flour

75g muesli

100g dried fruit (I used Urban Fruit Tremendously Tropical)

50g caster sugar

1 egg

100ml vegetable oil

250ml milk

• In a large bowl mix the flour, muesli, dried fruit & sugar together
• In a second bowl or jug whisk together the egg, oil and milk
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry & mix until just combined
• Spoon into muffin cases in a muffin tray, and bake in a preheated 180C oven for 18-20 minutes
• Turn out onto a wire rack & allow to cool

I received samples of Urban Fruit free of charge

Apple & Granola Breakfast Muffins

If you have a bit of a sweet tooth and like a muffin for breakfast then these Apple & Granola Muffins could be for you. They are not overly sweet and have lovely soft pieces of Bramley apple in, which you may want to substitute with sweeter eating apple if you have a really sweet tooth.

I topped them with a little granola which was packed with nuts and seeds.

Apple & Granola Breakfast Muffins - makes 12

120 butter or margarine
100g caster sugar
 2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean extract
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
125ml milk
2 Bramley apples, peeled, cored & chopped into small pieces
75g granola*

• Beat the butter and sugar together until light & fluffy
• Beat the eggs in one at a time, along with the vanilla
• Mix the flour & baking powder together
• Add one third of the flour and baking powder & mix well
• Add one third of the milk and mix well
• Repeat with adding the flour and milk alternately until all combined
• Stir in the apple
• Line a muffin pan with muffin cases
• Divide the mixture between the muffin cases
• Sprinkle each with approx 1 dessert spoon of granola
• Bake in a 190C preheated oven for 20 minutes
• Cool on a wire rack

Follow the hashtag #BreakfastWeek on twitter for more breakfast inspiration

*I used Midfields Granola (mixed seeds) in these Muffins which I received in my hamper as part of Breakfast Week.

52 Cook Books : Chocolate Chip Muffins

For this week's 52 Cook Books Challenge I picked a chocolate chip muffin recipe from 500 Cakes and Bakes by Martha Day, a book full of various sweet and savoury recipes (although mostly sweet) including pies, tarts, breads, cakes, muffins and novelty cakes.

Muffins that I make usually have oil or melted butter in whereas these were made more like a cupcake, by beating the butter and sugar together. The recipe also called for 175g chocolate chips and I only had 100g but this was more than enough.

The recipe states that it makes 10 but I made 13 good sized muffins that were lovely and light.

 

Chocolate Chip Muffins - makes 10-13

115g butter or margarine
75g caster sugar
2 tbsp dark soft brown sugar
2 eggs
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
120ml milk
100g chocolate chips

• Beat the butter and sugar together until light & fluffy
• Beat the eggs in one at a time
• Mix the flour & baking powder together
• Add one third of the flour and baking powder & mix well
• Add one third of the milk and mix well
• Repeat with adding the flour and milk alternately until all combined
• Stir in the chocolate chips
• Line a muffin pan with muffin cases
• Divide the mixture between the muffin cases
• Bake in a 190C preheated oven for 20 minutes
• Cool on a wire rack

  

Gin & Elderflower Muffins

Last week I had a bit of addiction according to my daughter "you used to be addicted to making muffins, and then it was cookies and then it was Hello Fresh and now back to muffins", and then she sighed like only a 10 year old girl can.

I don't think she was complaining about my muffin making addiction though as the batches of muffins disappeared from the tins before I could even make myself a cuppa. I knew there was only one thing for it, make muffins that the kids won't eat. There's not a lot that my kids won't eat but things with alcohol in is one of them - they can even tell if there's a hint of red wine in a casserole. I was sent some supplies to make cocktails and two of the ingredients were gin and elderflower cordial, a marriage made in heaven so I thought I would pair them up in a muffin and see how they tasted. I was really pleased how they turned out but unfortunately the husband was too and he was making the most of his sugar levels being in the normal range. If you prefer the taste of elderflower more than the gin I would recommend that you switch the quantities as they were quite strong!

Gin & Elderflower Muffins - makes 8

125g Plain flour
50g caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
50ml vegetable oil
1 egg
50ml gin
25ml Elderflower cordial

• Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder together
• Beat the egg with the oil, gin & elderflower cordial
• Mix the dry ingredients quickly into the wet until just mixed
• Spoon into muffin cases
• Bake in a 180 C oven for approx 20 minutes
• For a syrupy topping mix equal parts gin, elderflower and sugar together & spoon over the muffins as soon as they come out of the oven
• Allow to cool on a wire rack

White Chocolate and Cherry Muffins

It's a very sad month as it's the final month of the Swallow's Charity Recipes for Life challenge on Bangers and Mash. I've really enjoyed the monthly challenges since the start in February and I hope the guys from Swallow have managed to achieve what they set out to do, which is to find some simple recipes to go in their cookery book which will be used to help adults with learning difficulties lead more independent lives.

Did I also mention that I won the challenge in March, April and May!

This month the challenge has 3 basic ingredients - milk, eggs and flour. So what can be made with these ingredients? My first thought was pancakes...and my second thought was muffins...there is still plenty of time for pancakes but for today we have muffins. I rummaged through the cupboard to see what I could put in them and found a bar of Green & Black's white chocolate and half a tub of glacé cherries, so the decision was made.

White Chocolate and Cherry Muffins - makes 10

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

75ml milk

75g butter, melted

150g self raising flour

120g white chocolate

10-15 glacé cherries

• Beat the sugar, eggs, milk & melted butter together
• Chop the chocolate and cherries and stir into the flour
• Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined
• Spoon into a muffin pan lined with muffin cases
• Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 18-20 minutes
• Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack

Sugar Free Banana & Blueberry Muffins with Truvia

This week we seem to have rather a lot of bananas that need eating up. I've no idea why we have more left than usual but I don't think anyone is complaining as over-ripe bananas mean cake. I decided to use some Truvia, calorie free sugar replacement, that I'd been sent in these muffins, and no-one noticed any difference, polishing them off in under 24 hours.

Sugar Free Banana & Blueberry Muffins - makes 12

175g Self Raising Flour

25g Ground Almonds

1 tsp Baking Powder

25g Truvia (or 50g caster sugar)

200g Mashed Banana (2 medium bananas)

2 Eggs, beaten

75ml Sunflower Oil

150 ml Milk

100g Fresh or frozen Blueberries
Sprinkling of Cinnamon

• Mix the flour, almonds, baking powder & Truvia together
• Mix the banana, eggs, oil & milk together, stir in the blueberries
• Add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients - do not over mix, it should be lumpy
• Divide mixture between muffin cases 
• Sprinkle the tops with a little cinnamon
• Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 18-20 minutes
• Cool on a wire rack

I was sent some Truvia for use in my baking

Sugar Free Raspberry Muffins

I felt a bit guilty after I'd made muffins with my husband's favourite chocolate so I thought I would make him something nice to make up for it. The very same day I received some Total Sweet* sugar alternative in the post so decided to give it a go in muffins.

Sugar Free Raspberry Muffins - Makes 10-12

175g Self Raising Flour

25g Ground Almonds

1 tsp Baking Powder

50g Total Sweet

150g Mashed Banana (2 small bananas)

2 Eggs, beaten

75ml Sunflower Oil

150 ml Milk

100g Frozen Raspberries

• Mix the flour, almonds, baking powder & Total Sweet together
• Mix the banana, eggs, oil & milk into the dry ingredients - do not over mix, it should be lumpy
• Break the raspberries up and stir gently into the mixture - just a couple of mixes
• Divide mixture between muffin cases 
• Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 18-20 minutes
• Cool on a wire rack

The husband thought these were THE best muffins, and I must admit they do seem to be improving every time I make a batch. He now has a sweet treat that he can enjoy without worrying about having too much sugar. My regular muffins only have 50g of sugar in (per 12) anyway and considering your average low fat yoghurt has around 17g of sugar in, one of my muffins surely has to be better for you!

* some of the benefits of Total Sweet - low GI value, non artificial, aspartame free, suitable for diabetics, 40% less calories than sugar. Excessive consumption may have a laxative effect, especially in children, so eat sparingly

I was sent some Total Sweet to try out in my recipes

Cadbury Fruit & Nut Muffins

The husband loves Cadbury Fruit & Nut but on his birthday he got told he was diabetic. By this time he'd already opened a couple of bars of the chocolate which he just put to one side. He also received some for Christmas a few days later as he hadn't yet shared the news of his diabetes with everyone.

Sooo, 'waste not want not' and all that, I decided to make some muffins for the rest of us to enjoy...

 

Cadbury Fruit & Nut Muffins - makes 12

175g Self Raising flour

120g Cadbury Fruit & Nut, roughly chopped

1 tsp Baking powder

50g Caster sugar

100g mashed banana (1 medium banana)

3 Eggs, beaten

75ml Sunflower oil

150ml Milk

• Mix the flour, chocolate, baking powder & caster sugar together
• Mix the banana, eggs, oil & milk into the dry ingredients - do not over mix, it should be lumpy (I had a momentary lapse of concentration & slightly over-mixed, resulting in some flat topped muffins)
• Divide mixture between muffin cases 
• Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 18-20 minutes
• Cool on a wire rack

Now, I don't wish to blow my own trumpet but these were good, really good, so good in fact I would go so far as to say they are better than Costa Coffee muffins....if you don't believe me then try them for yourself!

Muesli & Banana Muffins

These are great for using up the last dregs of the muesli, which we always seem to have after everyone decides they like muesli, I buy a box and then the novelty wears off. They are like banana muffins with a bit of added texture from the muesli. They're very moist and not dissimilar to banana bread, so you could slice them in half & spread with butter.

I used greaseproof paper instead of paper cases as I watched Lorraine Pascale do it, and it's a lot cheaper than using the fancy tulip cases - just a little more rustic. I've also used Almond Milk instead of regular milk, just because I love it, but it also means that they're dairy free.

Muesli & Banana Muffins - makes 12

175g Self Raising flour

120g Muesli

1 tsp Baking powder

50g Caster sugar

175g mashed banana (2 small bananas)

3 Eggs, beaten

75ml Sunflower oil

150ml Almond milk

1 tbsp Demerara sugar

sprinkle of cinnamon

• Mix the flour, muesli, baking powder & caster sugar together
• Mix the banana, eggs, oil & milk into the dry ingredients - do not over mix, it should be lumpy
• Divide mixture between muffin cases (or squares of greaseproof paper)
• sprinkle the top of each with a little demerara sugar and cinnamon
• Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 18-20 minutes

Caramel Banana Muffins

When there are a couple of manky looking bananas left in the fruit bowl they are crying out to be made into cake. As I also had a can of caramel condensed milk brought especially for Jenny's I love cake linky this month I thought I would combine the two in a muffin. I've recently been sent some lovely Great British Bakeware so it was also a good opportunity to try out the 12 cup deep muffin tray.

Caramel Banana Muffins (makes 12)


150g Caster Sugar
150ml Sunflower oil
3 Eggs
75ml Milk
2 over-ripe bananas300g SR Flour
1 tsp cinnamon 
Caramel Sauce - I used around half a can of Carnation condensed milk caramel

• Whisk the sugar, oil, eggs and milk together
• Lightly mash the bananas and add to the mixture, leaving a few small lumps
• Stir in the flour and cinnamon, until just mixed
• Line a muffin pan with cases
• Add a spoonful of mix to each case
• Top with a teaspoon of of caramel and then cover with more muffin batter
• Bake in a preheated 180 degree (C) oven for 20 minutes

 

I was sent some Great British Bakeware for the purpose of reviewing

Chocolate Oreo Muffins

Our cake box had run dry so it was time to fill it back up again. I'd stocked up on eggs yesterday so I was ready to go. I decided to make chocolate muffins but upon checking the cupboard realised I was out of cocoa powder so it was time to improvise again using some other chocolate products that I did have in the cupboard.

Chocolate Oreo Muffins.

150g Dark Muscovado sugar
150ml sunflower oil
100g dark chocolate
4 tbsp yoghurt (I used vanilla)
3 Eggs
300g Self Raising flour
12 Chocolate Oreos
40g Chocolate spread

• Heat the sugar and oil in a pan over a low heat until the sugar starts to dissolve
• Remove from heat & stir in the chocolate, until it has melted, allow to cool
• Beat in the yoghurt and eggs
• Stir in the flour until just combined
• Spoon into the cupcake cases to about 1/3 full (I did it to half full but I think 1/3 would be better)
• Place an Oreo on top and then 1/2 tsp chocolate spread
• Fill with remaining muffin batter
• Bake in a 180 degree (C) oven for 15-18 minutes

Raspberry & Almond Custard Breakfast Muffins

A couple of weeks ago Foodies 100 were looking for bloggers to take part in a recipe competition with Blue Diamond Almonds and sent a carton of Almond Breeze almond milk to help us on our way. The challenge is to come up with a breakfast recipe using the milk.
Almond Breeze is a great alternative to dairy milk as it has less than half the calories of skimmed milk and is a good source of calcium and vitamins, therefore, when you eat a custard filled muffin made with Almond Breeze for your breakfast you know it's going to be good for you....right?

Makes 12 Muffins

For the Custard (make in advance & allow to cool)

100ml Almond Breeze milk (unsweetened)

tsp vanilla Extract

1 Egg yolk

20g Golden Caster Sugar

1 tbsp Cornflour

• Bring the almond milk to the boil & remove from heat
• Whisk the vanilla, eggs, sugar & cornflour together
• Whisk in the almond milk & return to the heat, stirring constantly until thickened
• Pour into a bowl, cover and allow to cool fully

Muffins

150g Golden Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla extract

75ml Almond Breeze milk (unsweetened)

150ml Sunflower oil

200g Self Raising flour

100g Ground Almonds

1 tsp Baking Powder

150g Frozen Raspberries

Cooled custard

handful Flaked almonds 

• Beat the sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk and oil together
• Fold in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder until just mixed together
• Reserve 12 whole raspberries and crumble the rest into the muffin mix (if you don't have frozen raspberries then cut them into quarters)
• Line a muffin pan with cases
• Fill each muffin case half full with mix
• Place a teaspoonful of custard into the centre of each muffin case
• Place a raspberry on top of the custard 
• Divide the rest of the mix between the cases, making sure that the custard and raspberry are covered completely
• Scatter over some flaked almonds
• Bake in a 180 degree (C) oven for approx 20 minutes
• Remove from tin and place onto a wire rack to cool

These are great served warm whilst the custard is still runny