Egg - free, millet flour muffins

Soft, fluffy, cocoa muffins. Made with millet flour, what makes them a healthy treat. The recipe comes form here. 

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 100 g millet flour*
• 150 g flour
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• 125 g sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50 ml oil
• 125 ml yogurt
• 50 ml milk
• few drops of vanilla extract

 * to make millet flout, place the millet in a blender and blend until smooth

Preheat the oven to 200. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

In a big bowl mix together the flours, cocoa,sugar, cinnamon, soda and baking powder. In separate bowl whisk the oil, yogurt, milk and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients into a dry ones. Mix them all until just combined. Spoon the batter into paper cases and bake for 20 minutes. 

 Enjoy ! 

Polish translation here. 

Gingerbread and banana muffins

Today I would like to present gingerbread and banana muffins. They were really good, moist, dense, spicy .... in my opinion they were just perfect. I have decorated them with white frosting, the same which is used to decorate gingerbread cookies. For additional spice I have sprinkled them with chopped crystallized ginger. What is worth to mention those muffins are egg free and they contain some wholewheat flour. The recipe comes form this website. 

Ingredients for 12 - 16 muffins *:

• 130g wholewheat flour
• 175g flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• pinch of nutmeg
• 90g Dark Muscovado sugar
• 3 bananas (about 275g mashed bananas)
• 145g black treacle
• 112g buttermilk
• 4 tbsp canola oil

* I have baked mine in muffin cases and cardboard molds.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

In a big bowl mix together the flours, baking powder, soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg. Set aside.

With a fork mash the bananas. Add the sugar, black treacle, buttermilk, canola oil and mix until smooth. 

Pour the wet ingredients into a bowl with dry ones. Mix until all ingredients just combined. Spoon the batter into paper cases, about 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 30 minutes. Check with skewer. If skewer inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean the cake is ready. 

Transfer to the wire rack to cool down.

In a meantime prepare the frosting. 

Frosting:

• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• chopped crystallized ginger

Place the egg white and icing sugar in a bowl and stir with spoon until smooth and white. Drizzle over each cooled down muffin. Then sprinkle with chopped crystallized ginger. 

Gingerbread rolls with plum jam

This is lovely combination of flavours. Spicy, chewy dough filled with sweet and sour plum jam sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Yes, they were chewy and dense not as regular yeast dough would be. The sugar gave them a nice crunch. We all enjoy them, even children. For those who willing to try recipe below.

Ingredients for 12 rolls:

• 250g bread flour (or plain one)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 70g sugar
• 130ml warm milk
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 20g melted butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 30g dark chocolate chips
• jar of plum jam
• cinnamon sugar to sprinkle (2tbsp sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon)

Put the flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon and allspice in an electric mixer bowl. Stir all ingredients together. 

Melt the butter. Warm up the milk. Pour warm milk into the dry ingredients mixture and start mixing with dough hook. Pour in the melted butter. Knead the dough for a while then add salt. Knead a few more minutes and add the chocolate chips. Continue kneading for 5 minutes. 

Then transfer the dough the bowl cover with cling film and leave it to rise in warm place for 1 hour.

Then with a rolling pin roll the dough into relatively thin rectangular. Spread with plum jam and roll along the longer side. Then with a sharp knife cut into 12 slices.  Place each slice in a muffin tin (you can slightly grease the tin before). 

Set aside in a warm place. Cover with kitchen towel and let the rolls prove.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Mix the sugar and cinnamon. 

Sprinkle the rolls with cinnamon sugar and insert into hot oven. Bake for 30  minutes. When ready remove form the oven, set aside to cool down and enjoy !

For recipe in Polish look there.

Seeds muffins

Those muffins are made of seeds only. Their main ingredient, which actually holds everything together, is the psyllium husk powder. Those seeds are very good to your health their help with weight lose, help to maintain the proper level of cholesterol... to read more about them look here. 

The idea to make them came to me when I baked the the life - changing loaf of bread. Although it is said that this bread may be eaten either  with sweet or savoury topping the coconut fragrance make me to think about coconut seed muffins. 

Ingredients for 12 mini + 2 regular size muffins:

• 60g sunflower seeds
• 60g desiccated coconut
• 70g rolled oats
• 2 tbsp psyllium husk powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 200ml water

Preparing those muffins is extremely easy.

Prepare the mini muffin tin. If the muffin tin holes are not coated with non stick layer then the holes need to be slightly greased. Set aside.

Place the sunflower seeds, coconut, oats, psyllium seed powder, salt, sugar into a big bowl and stir them well. Melt the coconut oil and stir it into the seed mixture. Then stir in the water. Spoon the mixture into prepared earlier muffin tin pressing the seeds into each hole tightly. 

Set aside the muffin tin overnight or for at least 2 hours. This time is needed for psyllium husk the expand and form a gelatin - like mass which will hold all the seeds into shape.

Preheat the oven to 175C. Insert the muffin tin into preheated oven for 10 - 15 minutes and bake until golden. Then remove from oven shake out the muffins onto flat baking tray and bake them for another 15 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Rhubarb pie tartlets

Delicious small tartlets filled with tasty rhubarb homemade jam the best served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Although they are easy to make it take time to prepare them as the dough has to be chilled. The recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients for 18 mini tarts:

• 300g flour
• 50g cornflour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 150g cold butter
• 60 - 125ml iced cold water

Make the crust. Place the flours, salt and sugar into a food processor bowl and pulse to combine. Dice the butter into small chunks. Add the butter and processes until mixture reassembles coarse meal. While the machine running pour in the ice cold water in a slow steady stream until the dough just holds together. Turn the dough onto a work surface, divide into two. Wrap each piece into cling film, flatten a little bit and place into a fridge for at least 1 hour.

In a meantime prepare the rhubarb filling. 

Ingredients for rhubarb filling:

• 400 - 500g of rhubarb
• 100g sugar
• 50g brown sugar
• 25 - 30 g cornflour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Dice the rhubarb, place it in sauce pan stir in the sugars, cornflour and salt. Place the sauce pan over medium low heat. Cook it stirring the mixture occasionally until rhubarb releases its juice, break down and creates chunky sauce. Set aside to cool down. 

   

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Place it on floured surface and roll with rolling pin until 0,5 cm thick. Cut out the circle shape 9 cm diameter. Place each circle in tartlet baking tin fill with rhubarb jam brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until crust turns gold and filing is bubbling. Remove from the oven cool it down and enjoy.

If you don't have the tartlet baking tin you can place dough circles on a baking sheet fill them with rhubarb jam and fold the dough border over rhubarb filling. Again brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar. 

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy !

Double chocolate avocado muffins

This recipe comes form the muffin tin mania blog.  It was interesting to find out that there is another person who is addicted to his muffin tin :). When I saw avocado in one of the recipes I have decided to try it out. When I tasted the muffins I was surprised not to taste any avocado. Personally I think hiding vegetables in a cakes is a brilliant way to introduce veggies to the children. I have to say my girls had no clue that something healthy is hiding inside their pudding. Those muffins were tasty, very chocolaty we really enjoyed them.

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 240 whole wheat flour
• 60g cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 medium -sized ripe avocado
• 210g maple syrup
• 175 ml milk
• 70g coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100g chocolate chips
• 70g walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper liners.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, cloves, cinnamon, baking powder, soda, salt into a big bowl and whisk well.

Peel off the avocado, remove the stone and put into blender. Add the maple syrup, coconut oil* and vanilla and blend until smooth.

* coconut oil turn into butter in room temperature you have to meld it down to turn it back into liquid

Pour the wet ingredients into dry ones. Stir until just moist. Then fold in chopped walnuts and chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into baking tin. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Remove form the oven and cool down a little bit.

Enjoy !

Chocolate and marzipan muffins

The chocolate and marzipan muffins recipe comes from The Vegan Forum website. Those are first egg free muffins I ever baked. They were tasty, very chocolaty with pieces of marzipan, but a little bit dry. I like them with a glass of milk although vegans would not be particularly happy about that.

Ingredients for 6 -8 muffins:

• 130g marzipan
• 50g dark chocolate chips or chocolate
• 175g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 70g sugar
• pinch of salt
• 35g cocoa powder
• 160 ml cold water
• 30 ml canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• some almond flakes to sprinkle

First dice the marzipan into smaller cubes. If you don't have chocolate chip dice the chocolate into smaller pieces. set them aside.

Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line muffin tin with paper cases. 

Into big bowl sift the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cocoa powder and whisk them together.

In measuring jug pour the cold water, add oil and vanilla stir together and pour into dry ingredients mixture. 

Combine all ingredients together. Do not over stir the batter. At last but not at least gently fold in prepared earlier marzipan and chocolate pieces. 

Spoon the batter into muffin cases, about 3/4 full. Sprinkle top of each muffin with the almond flakes. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until well risen.

Leave to cool in the baking tin for a few minutes than transfer to the wire rack. enjoy !