Apple Custard Muffin : Something naughty for the weekend

Are you a kind of person who like to stay long in the bed during weekend morning, so long till the clock ticks twelve and still feeling lazy to wake up.  Ok you wake up now, once you brush your teeth the next thing on your head, what's for breakfast.  Bored and tired of having a bowl of cereals, orange juice, bread with egg for your whole weekdays and rushing to work.  It's time to keep aside all your guilty feelings, diet conscious and enjoy these scrumptious muffins for this weekend.

Rose Apple Muffin - Sweet Punch for August 2011

Hello Foodies,

 Okey I'm already a bit late for Sweet Punch this month, so I tried to post it today as early as possible.  This month our Sweet Punch team has chosen Strawberry Banana Muffin from Joy of Baking.  Yes it's Strawberry Banana Muffin, after looking out for strawberries a month, I gave up and thought will use cherries.

Ragi and Banana Muffin

This is a simple muffin modified from banana muffin.  My first experience with muffins was when we were in UK, it my earlier days there.  After a tired long day walk in a big shopping mall (Oracle), we went and sat down for some coffee in bb's, I think I remember the name right.

Eggless Poha Muffin

Poha is nothing but rice flakes.  This is my first trial with poha in muffins and eggless version.  I have to say it turned out quite successful . Simple ingredients which can be  mixed up in  minutes and bake it.  This simple and low fat muffin would make an ideal breakfast or snack.
Check our bloggers in marathon here Srivalli, Reva, Monika, Priya Suresh, PJ, Priya Vaasu, Jay, Azeema , Soumya.and Gayathri.,Usha

Ingredients:
Poha or rice flakes- 50 g
Wholewheat flour- 150 g
Brown Sugar- 70 g
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
Olive oil- 60 ml
Buttermilk- 150 ml
Banana- 1 mashed
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Bicarbonate of soda- 1/4 tsp


Method:
Soak the rice flakes in water for 10 minutes until they look soft and mushy.  Add all the dry ingredients to the rice flakes.
Mash the banana well, add the buttermilk, vanilla essence and oil, mix it well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 
Preheat the oven to 190 degree Celsius.  Grease a muffin tray and line with muffin cases.  Spoon the mixture equally among the muffin cases.  Bake it in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.  Serve the muffin while they are still warm drizzled with some honey or maple syrup.


Note:
Do not overmix the muffin mix, it will result in a stodgy muffin.  If you are looking for a light and airy muffin, mix until they are just combined.


This recipe goes to  Healthy Recipe Hunt- Poha by Kurinji Kadambam, Dish Name Starts With E, Any One Can Cook and Fast Food Not Fat Food.

Squash Muffin

 Nearly a week back I saw this recipe in Suhaina's blog, the golden yellow colour and the moist texture of the muffin attracted me so much and I  desperately wanted to taste that muffin. Since I couldn't get pumpkins , I used Winter squash and it tasted absolutely amazing. The good thing about this muffin, it remained  moist and soft even after three days. Thank you Suhaina for this gorgeous muffin.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 to 30 minutes
Makes 12 muffin

Ingredients:
Wholewheat flour- 1 cup
Rolled oats- 1/2 cup
Pureed squash- 1 cup
Olive oil- 3/4 cup
Brown Sugar- 3/4 cup
Eggs- 2
Orange zest- 1/2 tsp
Grated nutmeg- 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
Orange juice- 1 tbsp
Baking Powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Bicarbonate of soda- 1/2 tsp
Walnuts- 12
Rolles oats- 1 tbsp( to sprinkle on top)

Method:
Puree the squash:
Cook about 1 cup of squash in cooker by adding little water, cook upto 1 whistle. Once cooked, let it cool down and puree it in a blender and use 1 cup of puree for the recipe.

  Beat the olive oil and egg, until the sugar dissolves. Beat in the eggs, until it looks light and fluffy. Add the orange juice and all the flavours, mix it well. Then add the puréed squash and mix it well. Now sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb of soda and oats to this mixture and fold it gently.
  Preheat the oven to 190 degree Celsius. Line a muffin tray with muffin cases. Spoon the mixture into the cases, top it up with broken walnuts and rolled oats. Bake it in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
You can keep this muffin up to 4 days stored in an air tight container.

This recipe goes to Champa's Bake off, Bookmarked Recipes by Priya and Aipi, Suma's Baking event with a giveaway, CWF- Oats hosted by Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes started by Kiran and to Healing foods- Winter Squash by taste space, originally started by Siri.

Cranberry and Poppyseed Muffin

Cranberries are a source of  polyphenol antioxidants,phytochemicals which reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and helps improve the immune system.It also fights against the formation of kidney stones,reduces stomach ulcer,it's also good for skin.To read more about cranberries click here

Recipe adapted from the book BBC Good Food Magazine,101 Cakes and Bakes
Makes about 10 muffin
Ingredients:
Plain Flour-280g
Butter-100g
Eggs-2
Soured cream or butter milk-284 ml
Brown sugar-200g
Fresh or frozen cranberries-120g
Vanilla extract-1 tsp
Baking powder-2 tsp
Bicarbonate of soda-1 tsp
Poppy seeds-4 tsp
Maple syrup or honey to serve
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190 degree celsius.Grease and line a muffin tin with baking paper.
Melt the butter,leave it to cool,then beat in the eggs,soured cream and vanilla extract.
Sift the flour,baking powder and bicarbonate of soda,stir in the sugar and poppy seeds.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients along with cranberries.
Fill the muffin cases with the mixture and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.Lift it out and cool it on the wire rack,drizzle with maple syrup and eat while they are still warm.

Cherry and Almond Muffin

Recipe adapted from the book Good House keeping' Great Cakes'.
These muffins are best eaten on the day of making,can be served for breakfast or with afternoon tea.
Makes 12 muffin
Ingredients:
Plain flour-225 g
Brown sugar-75 g
Ground almonds-50 g
Milk-300 ml
Sunflower oil-50 ml
Egg-1
Dried cherries-100 g
Lemon juice-3 tbsp
Baking powder-1 tsp
Vanilla essence-1 tsp
Flakes almonds to decorate
Honey to serve
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190 degree celsius.Grease and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases.Sift together flour and baking powder,add the sugar,ground almonds and cherries,mix well.
Beat together egg,milk,oil,lemon juice and essence.Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients,stir well until they are just combined. The mixture should look lumpy,do not overmix,the muffins will get tough.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin cases.Sprinkle with flaked almonds,bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until well risen. Take it out,leave it to cool in the tin for 5 minutes,transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Banana muffin

Source:bbc

Ingredients:

75g-melted butter

250g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

115g/4oz caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large ripe bananas mashed

2 medium eggs

125ml milk

10 walnut kernels (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degree celsius. Butter and line the muffin tin. Sift the flour and baking powder and all the dry ingredients except walnut. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and mashed bananas. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and top with broken walnuts. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Oat and Honey Muffins

These are really fluffy and light, ideal for breakfast or as a snack. Serve it while it is still warm.

Source:Good Food Magazine

Makes 8

Ingredients:

Plain Flour-250 gm

Porridge oats-85 gm

Baking powder-1 tbsp

Milk-200 ml

Sunflower oil-75 ml

Eggs-2

Raisins-45 gm

Light muscovado sugar-50 gm

Cinnamon-1/2 tsp

Clear Honey-5 tbsp

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 degree celsius/ fan oven 180 degree celsius. Butter and line the muffin tin. In a large bowl combine flour, baking podwer,cinnamon,oats and raisins. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs,milk,sugar and honey. Stir this into the flour mixture until just combined, don't overmix, the mixture should be quite runny. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until well risen and firm to touch.

Squash,Pumpkin Seed Muffins

These muffins are made with butternut squash or winter squash. They have a quiet dense texture, ideal for breakfast or with a cup of tea.

Source: Good Food Magazine

Makes 12

Ingredients:

Plain flour-280 gm

Butter-85 gm melted

Milk-175 ml

Light muscovado sugar-175 gm

Butternut squash -300 gm peeled and grated

Eggs-3

Baking Powder-1 tbsp

Ground Cinnamon- 2 tsp

Small handful of green pumpkin seeds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 degree celsius, fan oven 180 degree celsius. Butter and line the muffin tin with paper cases. Sift together flour,baking powder and cinnamon. In a large bowl mix the eggs,milk and butter. Add the sugar and beat well. Add the flour mixture and beat to give a lumpy batter. Stir the grated squash.

Fill the mixture into the muffin tin and sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until well risen and firm to touch.

Cool slightly in the tin and turn it onto a wire rack.