Cherry Bakewell Muffins

If you're looking for a tasty muffin recipe then you can call off the search here. I was rather taken with these little muffins...when they came out of the oven they looked alright and I thought they'd be ok but actually they were really quite tasty! The taste testers concurred...so if you're a fan of the Mr Kipling cherry bakewells, I'm sure you'd love these.

The texture of the muffins is spot on and they're lovely and moist too as the recipe includes 175ml Greek yogurt. The flavour comes from 100g of ground almonds and also from the almond extract. I used Neilsen-Massey's Pure Almond Extract which is very good, they also manufacture lemon, chocolate, orange and coffee extracts.

 

 

The distinctive cherry flavour of the Bakewell comes from a teaspoon of cherry jam that is baked into the centre of each muffin.

When it came to the cases, these red and white spotty cases from Culpitt were the perfect addition to the theme. I would definitely recommend Culpitt cases as they come in vibrant colours but most importantly they're greaseproof and therefore retain their colour after they have been in the oven.

On the whole, I don't tend to bake the same thing twice but I may have to give these another whirl next weekend for a charity bake sale as they were so tasty!

Ingredients

150g golden caster sugar
1 egg
125g melted butter
175ml Greek yogurt
1 tsp almond extract (Nielsen-Massey recommended)
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds
10 tsp cherry jam
150g icing sugar
Flaked almonds
5 glace cherries

Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4 and prepare your muffin tin with 10 muffin cases. These muffins are easy to make, have two bowls at the ready, one for the wet ingredients and one for the dry ingredients.

Mix the sugar, butter, egg, almond extract and yogurt in a bowl using an electric whisk. Sift the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl and then add the ground almonds. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix quickly, it doesn't matter if there are some lumps as apparently this helps to give muffins their texture. Spoon half the mixture into the bottom of the muffin cases, then add a teaspoon of cherry jam to each one. Finally, finish by dividing the remaining mixture between the cases to cover the jam.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, they should be golden and risen. Once the muffins are cool, make up the icing to a smooth but thick consistency and then spoon over the top of the muffins. Finish with half a glace cherry and sprinkle over some flaked almonds.

* Original recipe from BBC GoodFood

Wholemeal Spelt, Carrot, Apple and Pumpkin Seed Muffins

We're well into January now and apparently most people will have given up on their new year's resolutions within the next week. So to keep me on track I made these healthy muffins so I can take one to work tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to resist the urge to eat other sugary snacks!

There's no denying that these do indeed taste like a 'healthy' muffin...they certainly won't provide the sweetness and sugar hit of a regular muffin but they are still a tasty sweet treat which should stave off cravings for their more calorie-laden counterparts. Nonetheless there is a sweetness from the diced apple and the sprinkling of light brown sugar on the top. There's also a satisfying texture which is enhanced by the pumpkin seeds.

The recipe for these muffins contains wholemeal spelt flour, a little oil instead of butter and reduced sugar. There's also apple, carrot and pumpkin seeds, along with a hint of cinnamon. Along with the reduced fat and sugar content in these muffins, the pumpkin seeds also have many health benefits. Pumpkin seeds contain phytosterols, compounds that that have been shown to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol. Furthermore, its seeds contain very good levels of essential minerals like copper, naganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium. So you can feel just a little bit virtuous eating these muffins!

These muffins were extremely easy to make, it is just a case of mixing up all the ingredients and they take no time at all to whip up. They're the perfect thing to make on a Sunday...and then you've got a healthy, tasty treat which you can pop in a lunchbox throughout the week.

I used some tulip muffin cases to give that deli style finish which makes these muffins all the more appealing!

I'm entering these muffins into the January Calendar Cakes challenge which I'm hosting this month. The theme is New Year, New You...so we're looking for your healthy cakes and bakes, so if you happen to be making something that fits the theme then we would love you to add it to our January linky. My co-host is Rachel at Dolly Bakes and you can find out about February's challenge over on her blog on the first of the month.

Ingredients

2 eggs
80g golden caster sugar
3 tbsp vegetable or groundnut oil
150g wholemeal spelt flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 small carrot, grated
1 small apple, peeled, cored and diced
2 tsbp pumpkin seeds

Topping

3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
Light soft brown sugar to sprinkle

Makes 6 muffins

Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4 and prepare a muffin tin with 6 muffin cases.

Start by mixing the wet ingredients - oil and eggs with the golden caster sugar until they are well combined. Next place the flour, cinnamon and baking powder into a separate bowl and mix. Then add the flour mix to the wet ingredients and combine well using a spoon or spatula (not an electric mixer) and then add the carrot, apple and pumpkin seeds and stir until they are evenly distributed in the bowl.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin cases, each one should be about two-thirds full. Finally, sprinkle the remaining pumpkin seeds over the top along with a little light brown soft sugar. The muffins should be baked for around 25 minutes. Mine took about 20 minutes and I think these muffins don't go particularly brown on top, so don't wait for that otherwise they could end up a bit dry. When ready they should have risen and be springy if you gently press one on top.

These muffins will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container.

* Adapted from Easy Cakes and Cookies (Publishers - Ryland, Peters & Small)

Jammy Doughnut Muffins for AlphaBakes

The recipe for these Jammy Doughnut Muffins promises a tasty doughnut treat but without the deep frying! These certainly had all the classic elements of a doughnut with a lovely jammy centre and the sugary top, I even tried to eat one without licking my lips...I didn't manage it! ;-)

 The mixture has sunflower oil instead of butter and it comes together almost like a dough.

To get the jammy centre there's no need to inject the jam a la the Great British Bake Off. You just need to half fill the muffin case with batter and then add a teaspoon of jam before covering over with the remaining mixture.

The recipe stated that it would make 6 muffins but I actually ended up with 10, so I filled half with Wild Strawberry jam and half with blackcurrant jam.

To finish the muffins were dipped in melted butter and then rolled in granulated sugar. This gave a lovely sugary, crunchy top which was definitely the best part of eating these muffins!

These jammy doughnut muffins definitely tasted doughnut like but they didn't quite hit the spot as a doughnut would. I would make these again but a real doughnut would win out every time.

The letter of the month for November's Alpha Bakes is J, so I'm entering these Jammy Doughnut Muffins. AlphaBakes is hosted alternately by Ros at The More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline over at Caroline Makes.

Ingredients

75g sunflower oil
150g plain yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
275g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicar of soda
Pinch of salt
100g granulated sugar
75g jam ( I used blackcurrant and strawberry - but not together ;-)

Topping

25g unsalted butter, melted
50g granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 190c/170c fan/gas 5.

Measure out the wet ingredients into a bowl - oil, yogurt, vanilla extract and eggs and beat together.

In a seperate bowl sift in the flour, bicarb of soda, salt and sugar and mix. Carefullly pour the wet ingredients into this dry mix and quickly stir until just combined. It will come together into a slightly doughy texture.

Put a tablespoon or so of the batter into each muffin case and make a little bit of a well in each. Spoon a teaspoon of jam into each one before covering with the rest of the mixture. The recipe suggested that it would make 6 muffins, however I seemed to have enough mixture for 10!

Bake the muffins in the oven for 18-20 minutes until well risen and golden. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before finishing with the topping.

To give it that final jammy doughnut touch, melt the butter in a saucepan and then either brush the top of each muffin or dip each one in before rolling in the 25g of granulated sugar. I put my sugar on a plate for rolling. Leave to cool and then enjoy!

* Adapted from Easy Cakes & Cookies

Nigella's Apple & Cinnamon Muffins

I don't very often make muffins...I'm not sure why as I'm more than happy to eat them! However, when I saw the theme for this month's Forever Nigella was 'Packed Lunch Stars' I leafed through my Nigella cookbooks and came across this recipe for Apple and Cinnamon Muffins. The recipe is from 'Kitchen - Recipes from the heart of the home'.

These muffins are perfect for a packed lunch...they're a little sweet treat but they're also healthier than a regular muffin as they're not laiden with sugar. The apples give them a natural sweetness so they'll be a hit with the kids. Nigella describes them as a 'wholesome treat' which is exactly what you want to find in your packed lunch. These muffins were also made with spelt flour which is a first for me as I've never used it. For those of you like me who aren't very au fait with spelt, it's a non-wheat flour that gives a slightly nutty flavour.

The muffins were really moist and had a lovely hint of cinnamon. The tops were sprinkled with an (unblanched) almond, sugar and cinnamon rubble and there were also almonds in the muffin batter which gave them a contrasting texture. I think the optimal time for eating these is the day after making as the flavour had developed a little...but don't leave it too long to eat them as after a couple of days the apple made them a little too moist! Nigella also suggests they can be eaten warm or if you make a batch and wish to freeze them then they'll last for around 2 months...perfect for busy mums! :-)

As I mentioned this was my first time using spelt, it was also my first time using Tulip muffin cases...I loved the results, the muffins look so pretty and professional...just like you'd see in a cafe!

 

Why not check out this month's Forever Nigella, the theme is 'Packed Lunch Stars'. This month's guest host is Working London Mummy and the creator of Forever Nigella is Sarah over at Maison Cupcake.


Ingredients

2 eating apples
250g spelt flour (or you can use plain flour)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
125g light brown sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
125ml honey
60ml natural yogurt (not set)
125ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
75g unblanched almonds

Heat your oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 6 and choose your muffin wrappers and line the muffin tin, this recipe makes 12.

Peel the apples and then cut into small 1cm cubes. Next weigh out the flour, baking powder and a teaspoon on cinnamon into a bowl. In a seperate bowl measure out the brown sugar, honey, yogurt, vegetable oil and eggs and mix together.

Chop the almonds (I used a mini food processor but it gave quite varying sizes of almond). Add half of the almonds to the flour and pop the other half in another small bowl. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and 4 teaspoons of sugar to the small bowl of almonds...this is the 'rubble' topping for sprinkling on top of the muffins.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and then fold gently. Next add the chopped apple and combine. Spoon or use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter between the 12 muffin cases and then sprinkle the almond, sugar and cinnamon topping over each one.

Bake for around 20 minutes. The finished product should be risen and golden. Once removed from the oven leave in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring the muffins to a cooling rack.