Blueberry, coconut and white chocolate muffins

From a very early age my mother taught me how wonderful fruits are: apples, oranges, watermelon, strawberries, pears… We were a modest family, but there were always different fruits over the counter or in the fridge – my favorites as a kid were strawberries.

Some fruits are kind of recent in my life, such as raspberries and blueberries – these have become popular and easier to find in Brazil over the past years. I love raspberries – went picking them once with a dear friend in Surrey, England, back in 2007 – but blueberries I believe benefit from heat: after being cooked or baked, for example, they become more flavorsome: it is like they turn into little pockets of jam.

Blueberries and white chocolate are beautiful together, the flavors complement each other in a perfect way. I wanted to give these muffins a bit of a tropical flair, therefore the double addition of coconut, both desiccated and in milk form. The muffins turned out delicious, moist and tender, and I found out that coconut and blueberries can be truly great friends too.

 

Blueberry, coconut and white chocolate muffins

own recipe

 

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour

¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (25g) desiccated unsweetened coconut

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon table salt

½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature

½ cup (120ml) coconut milk

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (140g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)

2/3 cup (110g) white chocolate chips or small chunks

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12-cavity muffin pan with paper cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, coconut, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, coconut milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until ingredients are incorporated – do not overmix, or your muffins will turn out tough; muffin batter is lumpy, and not smooth like cake batter. Fork in the blueberries and the chocolate.

Divide the batter evenly among the paper cups (they will be rather full) and bake for about 20 minutes or until muffins are risen and golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12

Orange, blueberry and olive oil muffins and a lactose problem

I know how rare it is nowadays to post recipes on the blog on two consecutive days, and I am still running around like a headless chicken trying to do everything I have to do lately, but since next week will be even busier than the week ending today I decided to go crazy and bring you these muffins: again a speedy recipe, but a very delicious one. These muffins are golden and really moist, very tender and perfumed with orange zest.

I am a complete sucker for citrus as you all know and in these muffins the orange flavor compliments the blueberries in the most wonderful way. The addition of olive oil is a nice surprise, not to mention that this became my go-to muffin recipe after I was diagnosed as lactose intolerant, a month ago or so: I have made it using lactose-free milk with good results (next time I will try making them using almond milk).

Orange, blueberry and olive oil muffins
own recipe

¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 large egg, room temperature
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with 8 paper cases. Fill the empty cavities halfway through with water (this will prevent the pan from warping).

In a large bowl, place sugar and orange zest and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, olive oil and vanilla until smooth. Pour over dry ingredients and stir lightly with a fork just until combined – do not overmix or your muffins will be tough; muffin batter is not smooth as cake batter.
Stir in the berries. Divide the batter among the paper cases, then bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the muffins from the pan and transfer to the rack. Cool completely or serve warm.

Makes 8

Pear lemon muffins with almond streusel

When I cook or bake at home I many times start with a specific idea, something I saw somewhere or that I really want to eat at that moment. However, there are times that I open the fridge or the cupboard and decide what to make at the sight of whatever there is at home.

The muffins I bring you today came to existence when I was grabbing vegetables to cook lunch: I opened the fridge and saw the pears there. My husband had brought home some beautiful lemons so I decided to pair them with the pears, and the idea to add the almond streusel topping crossed my mind because I had baked a fruit crumble with almonds a couple of days before that.

While the whole process of how this recipe was created might be very mundane, I can assure you the muffins are everything but: they are tender, smell and taste amazing.

Pear lemon muffins with almond streusel
own creation

Streusel:
2 ½ tablespoons (25g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (25g) almond meal
1/3 cup (65g) demerara sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup (25g) flaked almonds

Muffins:
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
¾ cup (180ml) whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 small pears (about 400g/14oz in total), peeled, cored and chopped

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cups.

Make the streusel: mix flour, almond meal, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Add the butter and stir with a fork until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Still using the fork, stir in the almond flakes, but do not overmix. Refrigerate while you make the muffin batter.

Now, the muffins: in a large bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour them over the dry ingredients and, with a fork, gently but quickly stir to blend – do not overmix, or your muffins will be tough. Incorporate the pear pieces.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Sprinkle with the streusel and lightly press it over the batter to make it stick.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Makes 12

Panettone muffins - for the days with no time (or will) to work with yeast

Last weekend my oven worked like crazy: I baked different types of cookies to give as gifts to people I adore (one of them being pfeffernüsse, my favorite Christmas cookies) and I also baked these delicious, perfumed and oh, so tender panettone muffins – they are the perfect solution to those days when I crave panettone but don’t have the time (or sometimes the will, let’s be honest here) to work with yeast.

I used the same flavorings I had used for the actual panettone – orange and lemon zest, vanilla, Cointreau and Amaretto – and also the same dried fruit combo, with the addition of apricots. While I baked the muffins, my husband came to the kitchen to ask what I was making because of how wonderful it smelled. The muffins turned out insanely tender and really tasty, and two days later they were still great – just make sure you keep them tightly sealed in an airtight container at room temperature. They are also delicious toasted with a little butter on top – yum!

Panettone muffins
slightly adapted from King Arthur's little beauties

1 large orange
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup dark raisins
1/3 finely diced dried apricots
1/3 cup dried cranberries
¼ cup (60ml) orange juice
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Cointreau
1 teaspoon Amaretto
2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk, room temperature
2 tablesoons finely chopped crystallized orange peel
1 ½ tablespoons demerara sugar, for sprinkling over the muffins

Finely zest the orange and place the zest in a large bowl (you will use an electric mixer to make these muffins). Set aside.

Place the dried fruit and the orange juice in a small saucepan and heat over high heat until the juice starts boiling – remove from the heat and let cool completely.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases.
To the large bowl with the orange zest, add the butter, oil, granulated sugar and lemon zest, then cream until smooth and light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine. Beat in the vanilla, Cointreau and Amaretto.
With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions – start and end with the dry ingredients. Stir in the crystallized orange peel and the dried fruit with any remaining orange juice.

Divide the mixture evenly between the cases and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the muffins from the pan and transfer them to the rack. Cool completely.

Makes 12

Banana peanut muffins

As much as I try to stick to the ingredients I have at home when baking, that doesn’t always happen: I sometimes cannot resist some fruits at the grocery store or buying another bar of chocolate and/or a jar of jam (I was much worse in the past, if that is any consolation). :)

It is like buying another book when you are not even close to finish reading the ones you already have (that, luckily, I no longer do). But the ingredients… I sometimes give in. :)

Last weekend, however, I reached for a batch of homemade vegetable stock in my freezer and saw a couple of bananas there. There was another ripe banana in the counter, so I decided to bake with them. The idea started as a cake, but changed to muffins when I saw these on Olive magazine – I had each and every ingredient at home and that made me feel like a winner. :D

On top of using the bananas, I was able to go through my giant peanut butter jar a little bit more, use up the remaining peanuts from this recipe and also the peanut meal I found in a shop weeks ago (and of course I had to bring it home). :D Don’t worry if you don’t have any peanut meal at hand: the original recipe calls for almond meal, so you can use either one.

Banana peanut muffins
slightly adapted from the always great Olive magazine

1 ¾ cups (245g) all purpose flour
2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
3 tablespoons peanut meal (finely ground peanuts)
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) demerara sugar
3 ripe bananas, being 2 mashed and 1 chopped
100g smooth peanut butter
2 eggs
½ cup (120ml) buttermilk*
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
handful of toasted peanuts (salted are fine)

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a standard 12-hole muffin pan with muffin cases.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, peanut meal and sugar. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 mashed bananas, the peanut butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until well mixed. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a fork – do not overmix or your muffins will be tough; muffin batter is supposed to be lumpy, not smooth like cake batter. Stir in the chopped banana.

Divide the mixture between the cases and sprinkle with the peanuts – press them slightly with your fingers so they adhere to the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the muffins from the pan and transfer them to the rack. Serve warm or let them cool completely.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12

Chocolate, banana and coconut muffins

I love baking as a whole, and muffins are such favorites of mine: they’re easy to put together – no electric equipment involved most of times –, taste amazing right out of the oven – not need to wait for them to cool completely – and can turn any breakfast in a treat. I hadn’t, however, baked muffins in a long time, and I honestly don’t know why.

When the latest issue of the always wonderful Donna Hay Magazine arrived I immediately dug in and found several muffins recipes – they all looked mouthwatering and if it weren’t for the frozen bananas I had in my freezer it would have been difficult to choose which recipe to start with.

I found these muffins delicious warm, when the chocolate chips are melted – for some reason they are less interesting when cool, therefore they taste way better out of the oven – if there are any left, a handful of seconds in the microwave oven should do the trick.

Chocolate, banana and coconut muffins
from the always gorgeous and mouthwatering Donna Hay Magazine

2 ½ cups (350g) purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
½ cup (50g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (30g) Dutch cocoa
2 eggs
½ cup (120ml) coconut milk
½ cup (120ml) canola oil
3 small very ripe bananas (400g), mashed with a fork
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
200g dark chocolate, in chips or chunks – I used one with 53% cocoa solids

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper cases.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, coconut, sugar and cocoa. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, oil, banana and vanilla. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir just until combined; do not overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until risen and a skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove muffins from pan and place on a rack until cool enough to handle. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe and got 8 muffins

Granola muffins

And since we were talking about food waste the other day, let me tell you that the granola saga did not end with the cookies I posted the other day: even after a large batch of cookies I still had two handfuls of granola left and no intention of eating it with milk or yogurt. :(

I was saved by the wonderful Nigella Lawson and her granola muffins recipe: it was easy and quick, and in her recipes I trust completely. When I weighed my granola, I had exactly 252g of it – I turned the oven on immediately. :D

The muffins turned out tender and tasted delicious – it was a great way to use up the unwanted granola. I think that a bit of cinnamon would have done wonders for them – just a hint to any of you who might have a jar of granola begging to be used, too.

Granola muffins
from the always delicious Feast: Food That Celebrates Life

1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk*
1 large egg
¾ cup (130g) light brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup (80ml) canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g granola

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, egg, sugar, oil and vanilla. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir just until combined; do not overmix. Add granola and stir just until blended.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until risen and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove muffins from pan and place on a rack until cool enough to handle. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12

Apple, sour cream and cinnamon crunch muffins

I have to be careful while cooking or baking with certain ingredients for the reason that I adore snacking on them! Cherry tomatoes, carrots, olives, cheese, nuts – I have to control myself not to eat everything before adding the ingredients to the recipe itself. :D

Depending on the ingredient, my husband does the same, and there goes dinner.

Add to that list roasted pumpkin seeds – they’re delicious and I have to avoid getting carried away by the fact that they’re healthy. While preparing these muffins, I set aside the 2 tablespoons needed for the recipe and measured out 2 more tablespoons so I could snack on while baking – they were gone in no time (I’d just whisked the dry ingredients together in the large bowl).

I told myself that it was better to eat a handful of pumpkin seeds than a handful of candy and stopped worrying about it. ;)

Feel free to use raw pumpkin seeds in these muffins – they’re the ones called for in the original recipe – I used roasted seeds because I had them in my pantry. The cinnamon, almonds and the apple make these muffins super tasty, while the sour cream makes them moist and tender.

Apple, sour cream and cinnamon crunch muffins
slightly adapted from Grains: 150 Recipes for Every Appetite

Topping:
70g almonds, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds – I used roasted seeds
45g light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Muffins:
100g whole wheat flour
100g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
75g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
75g light brown sugar
150g sour cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 large Gala apple (about 250g), peeled and chopped in small cubes

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases.
Topping: in a small bowl, mix together the almonds, pumpkins seeds, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Muffins: in a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, sour cream, egg and milk. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir lightly – batter will be lumpy; do not overmix. Stir in the apple and divide the batter among the paper cases. Sprinkle with the topping and lightly press it down the batter to adhere.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Leave to rest in the pan for 5 minutes before lifting the muffins out.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Makes 12

Apple-pecan muffins and being brave (?)

The thing I’ve heard the most in these nearly two weeks of a pixie cut is “wow, you’re so brave!”, and I still haven’t found out how to properly reply to that since I don’t think courage has anything to do with getting a haircut – I don’t feel I should be congratulated since I haven’t done anything, well, brave. :)

It’s obvious that I want my hair to look good, but I’m not attached to it in terms of length, have never been. I just don’t think that long = beautiful necessarily, but apparently most of the women I know do, my sister included. I was having my nails done the other day when I saw a young girl (early twenties, I thought) getting a pixie, and the hair stylist (a man) looked at me and said: “I’ve been cutting hair for as long as I can remember and I’m rarely asked for this kind of cut... I love it, but most women just don’t go for it. I guess that the ones that do don’t really care about other people’s opinion” – I smiled at him, nodded and remembered this text I’d read a while ago. I guess it is just my cheekbones (and my round face) against the world (and I know a thing or two about cheekbones, I’ll tell ya). ;D

Now, if you really wanna talk courage, bake these muffins and eat only one – that is what I call being brave. :D

Apple-pecan muffins
slightly adapted from the delicious The Seasonal Baker: Easy Recipes from My Home Kitchen to Make Year-Round

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 tablespoon + ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup (120ml) canola oil
2 large eggs
¾ cup (180ml) whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
150g chopped pecans, lightly toasted and cooled + 12 pecan halves for garnish
demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced apple and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar, and cook until the apples are tender but not mushy, 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Butter a standard 12-cup muffin pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar and the oil to blend. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and whisk to blend. Add to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula just until the flour has been absorbed – do not overmix, batter will be lumpy. Gently fold in the cooked apple and chopped pecans.
Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Top each muffin with a pecan half and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until muffins are golden and risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold and transfer to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe and got 8 muffins using this pan

Banana-jam swirl bread and versatility

As I opened my freezer to get egg whites to make financiers I found four frozen bananas stashed there, sitting next to a bag of peas. I immediately thought “ok, financiers and banana cake” – nothing wrong with that, right? :)

Then I opened the fridge to get some butter and saw a jar of raspberry jam (I can’t live without jam, so I bought another jar right after I used what I had around to make these blondies) – that triggered my memory: I was almost 100% sure I’d seen a jam swirled banana bread somewhere (here, to be more precise). So I decided my banana cake (or bread, in this case) would have a jam swirl, but raspberry, since I find strawberry jam a tad too sweet. The marbled effect looked beautiful and the flavor was great, too.

Banana cakes or muffins are versatile little beauties, aren’t they? They taste delicious plain, with berries, chocolate, coconut, maple syrup, honey, with lemon icing and with jam – they remind me of the talented (and handsome) Mark Ruffalo, who I saw this morning being cute and funny in the trailer for Begin Again, and physically transformed and dark in the movie I most want to watch this year.

Banana-jam swirl bread
from the delicious Better Homes and Gardens Baking: More than 350 Recipes Plus Tips and Techniques

2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup very ripe mashed bananas (about 4 medium)
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
½ cup (120ml) canola oil or melted butter (I used ¼ cup of each)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 22.5x12.5cm (9x5in) loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.
In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, sugar, oil and vanilla. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Transfer batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Spoon jam on top of the batter and use a knife or thin metal spatula to swirl jam into batter. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serves 8-10

Banana raspberry muffins, Cate Blanchett and switching sides

The Oscar nominees were announced yesterday and several of my favorites are part of the list: Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Martin Scorsese, Judi Dench, Alfonso Cuarón, Amy Adams... I don’t trust the award but it is a joy to see talented people being recognized for their work.

After watching Gravity a couple of months ago – and being pretty much blown away by it – I wanted, with all my heart, to see Sandra Bullock walk up the Kodak Theater stairs (without tripping, of course) to receive the Best Actress in a Leading Role award: she’s amazing as Ryan Stone, a performance that to be honest I wasn’t expecting from her – I adore Sandra, but had no idea she could stretch her acting like that. It was a nice surprise and I wanted her to be recognized by it. However, I watched Blue Jasmine yesterday and Cate Blanchett accomplished what I would call sheer perfection on that film – up to this moment I cannot stop thinking about her as Jasmine, the way she builds the character and express her emotions, with no vanity whatsoever, completely available for what the script and the director wanted from her. I’ve been a fan of Cate’s for years and thought I’d seen the best of her acting in Elizabeth, but apparently I was wrong – Blue Jasmine is the peak of a career packed with amazingly crafted and portrayed characters.

I am sorry, Sandra, but I am switching sides. ;)

And since I am being very fickle today, I’ll no longer say that my favorite add in to a banana muffin are blueberries – yes, they’re great paired with banana, but the slightly sour flavor of raspberries are even better mixed in the tender, delicious muffins.

Banana raspberry muffins
slightly adapted from the wonderful Olive magazine

250g all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
50g light brown sugar
50g granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 large very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk*
75g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 heaping cup frozen raspberries, unthawed

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugars and salt. In another bowl, mix the bananas, eggs, buttermilk, butter and vanilla. Pour them over the dry ingredients and mix lightly with a fork – the batter will look lumpy and it’s OK, don’t overmix or your muffins will be tough.
Divide the batter equally among the paper cases and top with the raspberries, pressing them gently into the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold, transfer to the rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12

Banana poppy seed muffins with almond streusel topping

Last week I had a sudden urge to eat banana cake, but it was a busy Sunday and I would not have enough time to make the cake and then wait for it to cool. Stephanie Alexander's muffins, topped with Thomas Keller's streusel, turned out to be a delicious and very fast alternative to my cake cravings, and they turned out so tender I had to be super careful removing them from the pan, even with the paper liners.

For a little more color and caramel flavor, brown sugar might be used to replace half the granulated sugar in the batter.

Banana poppy seed muffins with almond streusel topping
adapted from two wonderful sources: The Cook's Companion and Bouchon Bakery

Streusel topping:
60g all purpose flour
60g almond meal
60g granulated sugar
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, cold and diced
handful of sliced almonds

Muffins:
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
150ml canola oil
¾ cup (180ml) whole milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large bananas, mashed with a fork

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan (1/3 cup each cavity) with paper liners.

Streusel: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, sugar and salt. Add the butter and rub with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the sliced almonds. Refrigerate it while you make the muffin batter.

Muffins: in a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk in the sugar and poppy seeds.
In a small bowl, mix the oil, milk, egg, vanilla and bananas until combined. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until combined – don’t overmix. Transfer batter to the pan and pack the streusel on top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully unmold (they’re very tender) and transfer to the rack.

Makes 12

Banana and blueberry muffins

Every time I have a surplus of ripe bananas at home and I can't find a way of using them immediately I place them in the freezer - they last long there and can be used in most baking recipes after being thawed. However, when there is only one frozen banana to be used things get a bit more complicated, since most recipes call for 2-3 bananas, or even more (that was when I had to drop the idea of making Rose's banana cake with white chocolate frosting). These muffins were the solution I needed: the recipe called for only 1 large banana (exactly what I had at hand) and the blueberries make them even more interesting, delicious and nutritious.

Banana and blueberry muffins
slightly adapted from here

225g all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 large ripe banana, peeled and mashed
1/3 cup (80ml) canola oil
2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed), tossed with 1 teaspoon all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan – 1/3-cup capacity cavities – with paper cases.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and mix well. In a small bowl, whisk together with a fork the banana, oil, milk, egg and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until just combined. Don't over-mix. Fold in the blueberries.
Fill each paper liner ¾ full and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through (test with a toothpick).

Makes 12

Marmalade muffins + moments of stress in the kitchen

I was talking to my father about my mother the other day and I remembered something she used to do when my brother and I were little: every time she made a cake she would let us lick the bowl, which was something we both enjoyed very much (I might have told you that already but I’m not sure – 936 posts will do that do one’s mind). :) She was a fabulous baker and baked very often, not only because she loved it but also because she wanted my father and I to have something tasty in our lunch boxes.

Licking the bowl is a sport I still practice – in fact, I’ll gladly try most doughs and batters before actually baking them. What I did not expect was that this habit would actually save me a great amount of stress after a baking session: Sunday morning and I set out to make muffins. I chose Delia Smith’s marmalade muffins because I love anything marmalade and wanted to give that beautiful book a try. The batter was ready in no time and soon the muffins were in the oven. While they baked, I started making the bed and all of a sudden it hit me: I hadn’t added any sugar to the batter!!! O_O I ran back to the kitchen, grabbed the recipe and read it again – no, there was no sugar in it. It wasn’t my mistake. Then I remembered how good the batter tasted and felt instantly relieved: the marmalade alone would be enough to sweeten the muffins. Phew.

These muffins are not too sweet – obviously :) – and the marmalade topping make them even tastier. I’m a sucker for marmalade but I believe these could work with other preserves, too – apricot comes to mind, or maybe raspberry paired with lemon zest.

Marmalade muffins
slightly adapted from the master Delia Smith (mine was bought here)

225g chunky orange marmalade
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
finely grated zest and juice of 1 large orange
whole milk, if necessary
1 heaping tablespoon almond meal
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
50g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

To finish the muffins:
2 heaping tablespoons orange marmalade

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 1/3-cup capacity muffin pan with 9 paper liners and fill the remaining cavities halfway up with water.
Place the marmalade in a small bowl and give it a good stir to loosen it up. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Zest and juice the orange, then measure the juice – you’ll need ½ cup (120ml); if you don’t have enough juice, make it up with some milk.
In a small bowl, whisk together the zest and juice (and milk, if using), almond meal, egg, vanilla and melted butter. Pour these ingredients into the flour mixture and lightly whisk with a fork – do not overmix or your muffins will be tough. Fold in the marmalade. Divide the batter between the muffin liners and bake for 18-20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack and cool. You can serve these muffins warm or at room temperature – before serving, spread the extra marmalade on top of each muffin.

Makes 9

Hot-cross muffins

These delicious and tender muffins, perfumed with spices and moist from a sugar syrup, are a great way to avoid a chocolate OD during the Easter holiday: they're perfect for breakfast or brunch and are very quick to make, unlike their yeasted cousin.

Hot-cross muffins
from the always mouthwatering Delicious - Australia

Muffins:
135g dried cranberries
1 cup (150g) golden raisins
375g self-rising flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2/3 cup (160mll) canola oil
1 cup (250ml) buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

Syrup and icing:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ cup (70g) icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases.
Soak the cranberries and raisins in just enough boiling water to cover for 10 minutes. Drain well, then pat dry with paper towel.
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and spices into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, eggs and sugar until combined. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Gently stir in the fruit. Divide the mixture among muffin cases, then bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan and transfer to the rack.
Syrup: place the granulated sugar in a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons water and simmer over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Brush the glaze over the muffins.
Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add lemon juice and just enough hot water to make a thick, pipable icing. Use a piping bag or drizzle from a spoon to draw a cross on each muffin. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12 - I halved the recipe above, used 1/3-cup capacity muffin pans and got 9 muffins

Ginger plum muffins

Quite a while ago I made some peach muffins spiked with ginger and they turned out absolutely delicious; now I've learned that ginger goes really well with plums, too, again in muffin form (but please don't ask me to pick a favorite). ;)

Ginger plum muffins
slightly adapted from the delicious Tate's Bake Shop: Baking For Friends

150ml whole milk
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (65g) light brown sugar, packed
½ tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup diced plums (about 4 small)
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°. Generously butter 8 cavities of a 12-hole muffin pan – 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity each.
In a small bowl whisk together the milk, melted butter, egg, vanilla and lemon zest.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ground ginger, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and add the liquids. Stir with a just until combined; do not overmix. Fold in the plums and crystallized ginger. Divide the batter among the prepared muffins pans. Fill the empty cavities halfway up with water.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool in the pan on wire rack for 5-7 minutes; carefully remove muffins from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

Makes 8

Blueberry crumb muffins

I was reading the trivias on IMDb – which is something I love doing – when I got to the trivia for “A Simple Plan” – which is a movie I deeply adore – and read the following: “Between 1994 and 1996, Ben Stiller was set to direct this film with Nicolas Cage to star”; a couple of minutes of shock later I thought of what a wonderful idea it was to replace both gentlemen, and what a dreadful movie “A Simple Plan” would have been on the hands of those two.

And speaking of wonderful ideas, adding a streusel topping to blueberry muffins is definitely one of them. :)

Blueberry crumb muffins
slightly adapted from the absolutely gorgeous and delicious Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours

Streusel topping:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup (50g) almond meal
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 ½ tablespoons (35g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Muffins:
1/3 cup (80ml) canola oil
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
finely grated zest + juice of ½ large lemon
1 large egg, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (160g) all purpose flour
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
½ tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
¾ cup (100g) blueberries, fresh or frozen – I used fresh
1 tablespoon all purpose flour, extra, for dusting the berries

Position a rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 200°C/400°. Generously butter 8 cavities of a 12-hole muffin pan – 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity each.
Make the streusel: combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, mixing with a fork until crumbs form. Refrigerate while you make the batter.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, lemon zest and juice, egg and vanilla.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center and add the liquids. Stir with a just until combined; do not overmix. Lightly dust the berries with the extra flour, then fold them into the batter. Divide the batter among the prepared muffins pans and generously sprinkle with the streusel, lightly packing it with your hands so the crumbs adhere to the batter. Fill the empty cavities halfway up with water.
Bake for 10 minutes; decrease oven temperature to 190°C/375°F and continue baking until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, about 15 minutes more.
Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; carefully remove muffins from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

Makes 8

Molasses and caraway apple muffins

New ingredients always intrigue me: I love trying new flavors in my kitchen. I got even more interested in baking with different flours after making Alice Medrich's fabulous chestnut pound cake and also after purchasing Kim Boyce's fantastic cookbook; Kim's carrot muffins turned out delicious, so when I saw a new recipe for muffins made with a bit of spelt flour I had to try them - these are made with molasses and apples and come from Dan Lepard's delicious column at The Guardian.

Molasses and caraway apple muffins
from Dan Lepard’s column at The Guardian

100g unsalted butter, melted
50ml canola oil
50g molasses
1 cup (175g) light brown sugar, packed
3 medium eggs
3 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoon caraway seeds
150g all purpose flour
150g spelt flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 small apples, peeled, cored and diced
flaked almonds, to finish

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F; butter a 12-hole muffin pan or line it with paper cases.
Whisk the butter, oil, molasses and sugar until smooth, then beat in the eggs one at a time, until evenly mixed. Add the vanilla and caraway, mix well, then add the flours, baking powder and salt, and stir just to combine. Fold in the apples, divide the mixture between the cases, filling them almost to the top, and scatter almonds on top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes then carefully remove the muffins from the pan and transfer to the wire rack.

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe above using 1 ridiculously large egg and 1 ridiculously large apple; I used a muffin pan with 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity cavities and got 7 muffins

Orange and oat muffins

I am crazy for strawberries and my husband knows that very well: last Friday he brought home two baskets full of perfumed and delicious strawberries – it was a sweet surprise. My plans were to eat half the berries with just a sprinkling of sugar and to bake with the other half, so I set out to make the lovely strawberry cupcakes I’d seen in one of my recent purchases; I guess I was out of my baking mojo that day because the cupcakes turned out horrible and ended up in the garbage can; the following morning, desperate for something freshly baked but unable to deal with another baking disappointment I turned to someone whose recipes never fail, and to make things even better I was able to rescue a lonely orange left in my fridge. :D

Orange and oat muffins
slightly adapted from the always wonderful and foolproof Short and Sweet (mine was bought here)

finely grated zest of 2 oranges
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (124g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) canola oil
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (95ml) fresh orange juice
4 tablespoons rolled oats + a bit extra for sprinkling
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Butter 9 pockets of a large muffin tray or line them with paper cases. In an electric mixer, using the wire whisk, beat the orange zest, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla for three to four minutes, or until pale and thick. Stir in the juice and oats, then sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold together until smooth but barely combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, filling each cavity ¾ of its capacity. Sprinkle the tops with the extra oats.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until risen and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold and transfer to the rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature (I liked them better warm).

Makes 9 – I made the exact recipe above using a muffin pan with 1/3 cup-capacity cavities and got 11 muffins

Rangpur lime and almond muffins and a grumpy baker

I must be honest: these muffins did not get the best of me while I was making them – little old grumpy me kept thinking “muffins are supposed to be practical and quick to make!”, and “with these many steps I could be making a cake!”. Yes, I know, not very civilized of me, but it IS a fussy recipe and there ARE too many steps and too many ingredients. But in the end the result was so good I had to let it all go and share the recipe with you, especially because less than 30 minutes after the muffins had been placed in the oven I was biting into one of them already, which is something I would not be able to do with a cake. :D

The original recipe called for lemons, but I decided to use the super fragrant rangpur limes I had around instead.

Rangpur lime and almond muffins
slightly adapted from one of my latest purchases

Topping:
½ cup (55g) sliced almonds
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Muffins:
1 ¼ cups + 1 tablespoon (185g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (46g) confectioners’ sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 ½ tablespoons whole milk
1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream
finely grated zest of 1 rangpur lime
1 tablespoon rangpur lime juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (36g) sliced almonds, toasted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter a muffin pan with twelve 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin cups – you’ll use 10 of the 12 holes.
Make the topping: in a small bowl, mix together the almonds, sugar, milk and vanilla. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, confectioners’ sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, rangpur lime juice and zest and vanilla.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar and almonds on medium speed for 1 minute. On low speed, slowly drizzle the liquid ingredients into the bowl – the mixture will look lumpy. By hand, quickly fold in the flour in 3 additions but do not overmix.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, filling each cavity 2/3 of its capacity. Place spoonfuls of the topping on the top of each muffin. Before baking, fill the empty cavities halfway up with water.
Bake until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.
Let cool in the pan over a wire rack for about 7 minutes then carefully unmold and place on the rack to cool.

Makes 10