Kitchen sink muffins

There is good few variations about kitchen sink muffins. This time I have tested Anna Olson recipe. They were delicious I truly recommend them.

Ingredients for 12 -14 muffins:

• 150g sugar
• 125 ml oil
• 2 eggs
• 165g grated apple
• 100g grated carrot
• 100g chopped pineapple
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 160g wholemeal flour (I used spelt flour)
• 60g porridge oats + some to sprinkle
• 2 and 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 70g raisins
• 65g sunflower seeds
• 40g dessicated coconut

Preheat the oven to 190C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

The flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, raisins, sunflower seeds and coconut place in  a bowl, mix well and set aside. 

In a separate bowl mix the sugar, eggs and oil. Stir well. Grate the apple, carrot and add them into the wet ingredients mixture. Then chop the pineapple and stir into the mixture. Then add freshly gated lemon zest (only yellow part) and juice. mix all ingredients. 

Add dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until just combined. Spoon the batter into paper cases about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with porridge oats. 

Bake for  about 30 minutes.

  Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Mini barnbrack

I have nearly forgotten I have this recipe to publish. I have baked those muffins during Halloween time. If you try to make them  I promise you will enjoy them even now. Barnbrack is traditional Irish Halloween cake usually baked with some hidden surprises so people who find coin, ring etc..could foreseen their future. Anyway it's very tasty. Packed with dried fruits and spices served with butter... yum. The recipe comes form this website . 

 Ingredients for 12 barnbracks:

• 225g dried fruits (raisins and cranberries)
• 2 cups strong tea
• 55 ml warm milk
• 2 tsp dried yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 350g flour
• 80g sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 35g soft butter
• 1 tsp salt

 Fruits place in a bowl and cover with tea. Leave them to soak overnight or at least one hour.

Pour milk into a cup add yeast and sugar stir well and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a meantime put the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg into an electric mixer bowl and mix them until combined. Then make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture add egg, butter and salt. Knead with hook attachment for about 10 minutes. After that time dough should be smooth. 

Drain the fruits, chop them into smaller chunks. Add to the dough and knead until fruits are well incorporated. 

Transfer the dough into a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside for minimum an hour to rise. 

Grease muffin tin holes or round baking tin.

Transfer the dough on the worktop and knead it for a few minutes. Then divide into 12 pieces and place each dough ball into muffin tin hole. You can easily place whole piece of dough into round cake tin. Set aside to prove for 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes for muffins or 35 - 45 minutes for cake.

Serve sliced with butter and hot tea.

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Hot cross buns cupcakes

Moist, aromatic, packed with raisins. Almost as good as original hot cross buns. The recipe comes form BBC GoodFood

Ingredients for 12 -14 cupcakes:

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 100ml milk
• 175g butter
• 175g self-rising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 175g brown sugar
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 100g ground almonds
• 3 eggs
• orange zest
• 100g raisins
• 1 medium apple

 Combine the lemon juice and milk and sit aside for 5 minutes. Peel and then great the apple. Melt the butter and set aside to cool down.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin with paper cases or slightly grease and dust with flour each muffin cup. 

Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, spice, almond and pinch of salt into a large bowl. Mix all ingredients together. 

Zest orange and add the zest to thickened milk. Then add the eggs and melted butter. Mix well and pour into dry ingredients. Combine all ingredients together until even. Fold in the raisins and grated apple. 

Spoon the batter into muffin tin, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes until well risen and golden. When beaked remove form oven leave the muffins for a few minutes in a tin then remove and transfer to the wire rack to cool down.

While the muffins are cooling down prepare the frosting.

Frosting:

• 1 tbsp apricot jam and splash of hot water
• 50 g full fat cream cheese
• 50g icing sugar
• 25g soft butter
• 1/4 tsp mixed spice

 Put the cream cheese, sugar, butter and spice in a bowl and mix with a spoon until smooth. Transfer to the icing syringe.

Put the jam and hot water in a small bowl and whisk them together. Brush each cold muffin with jam mixture. Then with the syringe pipe the frosting into the crosses. 

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

 

Pumpkin, pineapple and raisin muffins

Another pumpkin muffin recipe... :) This time with grated pumpkin not pumpkin pure as usual. Additionally those muffins were packed with chunks of pineapple and raisins. They were really tasty, sweet, moist with  delicious crust. Unfortunately they were falling apart so we had to eat them with spoons/pastry forks. The recipe comes form "The Australian Women's Weekly. Muffins."

Ingredients for 12 - 16 muffins:

• 375g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 220g caster sugar
• 100g finely grated uncooked pumpkin
• 4 rings canned pineapple in natural juice, drained and chopped
• 85g finely chopped raisins
• 60 ml cream (12% fat or more)
• 125 ml oil (I used canola oil)
• 2 eggs

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

In a big bowl mix the flour, baking powder, soda, sugar, pumpkin, pineapple and raisins.

In separate bowl mix cream, oil and eggs. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and combine until just moist.

Spoon the batter into prepared earlier paper cases, 3/4 full. Bake 20 - 25 minutes.

When ready transfer to the wire rack to cool down. 

Enjoy !

Very healthy muffins

This recipe comes from Muffin Tin Mania blog . When I saw those muffins I had to make them. As soon as I gathered all ingredients I started. Those muffins were extremely easy to prepare. They don't need to be bake. And the are very tasty. Crunch, chewy, sweet and full of goodness. We really enjoyed them. I think they are perfect snack.

Ingredients for 10 - 12 muffins:

• 100g rolled oats
• 50g rye flakes
• 150g chopped, pitted dates (I used half figs half dates)
• 60g shelled pistachios
• 40g sunflower seeds
• 50g raisins
• 60g cashew nuts ( I used salted)
• 30g cocoa nibs
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed (skipped)
• 250 ml brown rice syrup
• 60 ml almond butter

Place all dry ingredients into a food processor and process until slightly pulverised and mixed. Then add the brown syrup and almond butter and mix again until all ingredients clump together. 

Spoon the mixture into silicone muffin moulds. And press the with the back of the spoon. If the seeds stick to the spoon cover the spoon with thin layer of brown rice syrup. Try to smooth the surface.

Chill the muffins in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Then remove form moulds and wrap into parchment. 

 Store the muffins in the fridge.

 Enjoy !

Gingerbread cupcakes with orange icing

This is Ina Garten's recipe so it has to be delicious. If only you like moist, spicy filled with fruits cupcakes with sweet and fruity icing you will be delighted. Although  I reduced the amount of raisins as we don't like that many. And unfortunately  instead of thick icing I made thick sauce which was delicious too, but slightly messy.  

Ingredients for 12 big cupcakes:

• 150ml rum or water (originally 250ml)
• 130g raisins (originally 220g)
• 115g butter
• 185g black treacle (originally 16 tbsp)
• 200g sour cream
• 1 orange zest
• 350g flour
• 3/4 tsp soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 70g diced crystallised ginger

Place the raisins in a saucepan pour over the rum or the water and heat up until the liquid starts boiling. Then remove from the heat, cover with lid and set aside. Dice the crystallised ginger.

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

Into a separate sauce pan pour the black treacle add the butter and heat up until starts boiling. Then pour this mixture into an electric mixer bowl. 

While this mixture cools down prepare dry ingredients. Sift the flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt into a bowl and whisk them together. 

Add the freshly grated orange zest into a black treacle mixture, then add sour cream and beat them together. Beating continuously add the dry ingredients. When the batter is smooth gently fold in soaked raisins and diced ginger. 

Spoon the batter into prepared earlier paper cases about 3/4 full bake for 20 -25 minutes. When well risen remove from the oven, leave them for a few minutes in the muffin tin then transfer to the wire rack to cool them down.

While the cupcakes are cooling down prepare the icing. Unfortunately mine icing turn into a sauce, was a little bit runny but was really tasty.

Ingredients for icing:

• 225g cream cheese
• 115g soft butter
• 1 orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 225g icing sugar
• crystallised ginger for decoration

Place the cream cheese, butter, orange zest and vanilla extract in an electric mixer bowl and beat until all ingredients well combined. When ready add icing sugar and again beat only for a while. What I did wrong was that I was beating the mixture for too long, that is way it was too runny at the end. 

When cupcakes are cooled down spread the icing over each cupcake top, decorate with ginger and enjoy :)  

Carrot cake muffins

Carrot cake muffins were moist, sweet, aromatic, packed with nuts, raisins and of course carrots. Topped with mascarpone cheese frosting and decorated with walnut looked looked very elegant. The recipe comes from 'Easy muffins' cookbook.

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 280g flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• pinch of salt
• 115g brown sugar
• 200g grated carrot (about 2 medium size carrots)
• 50g chopped walnuts
• 50 raisins
• 2 eggs
• 175ml milk
• 6 tbsp flavourless oil like grape seed oil, sunflower oil
• 1 orange juice (about 50 ml)

Peel of the carrots and grate them. Set aside. Chop the walnuts and set aside. 

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

Sift the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and salt into a big bowl. Add the sugar and whisk well. Then stir in the carrots well. Gently stir in the walnuts and raisins.

In separate jug whisk the eggs add the milk, oil, orange juice and whisk well. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients bowl. Stir gently until just combined. Do not over mix.

Spoon the batter into paper cases. Bake for 20 minutes. After that time poke the muffins with with toothpick if it comes out clean it means that cake is bake din the middle. Transfer the muffins into wire rack and leave them to cool down.

In a meantime prepare the frosting.

Ingredients for frosting:

• 140g mascarpone cheese
• 35g icing sugar

Put the icing sugar and cheese into a small bowl and whisk the with a fork. Be gentle as sugar may dust all around. Whisk until light and fluffy.

When the muffins are cooled place a spoon of frosting on each muffin top and spread. Decorate with the walnuts. Enjoy !

 

Sugar-top apple and raisins muffins

Those filled with apples, raisins and spices muffins are extremely good. They have a lovely crunchy and sweet top, inside they are moist and aromatic. For me they are the perfect muffins. They do not look spectacular but their taste is divine. Good with freshly brewed tea :) The recipe come from 'Muffin sampler' by  Jan Siegris.

Ingredients for 12-14 muffins:

• 100g raisins
• 125ml water
• 180g flour
• 150g wholewheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 130g sugar
• 60ml grape seed oil
• 160g applesauce
• 160g baked apples
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Put the raisins into a small bowl pour over the water. Soak the raisins in the water for at least 15 minutes. 

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

In  a large bowl combine the flours, baking powder, soda and freshly grated nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the egg and sugar until fluffy.  Stir in the oil, applesauce and baked apples. Add this mixture into the dry ingredients mixture until just moist. At last gently fold in the raisins with their water. 

Spoon the batter into paper cases, about 2/3 full. 

In a small bowl combine remaining sugar with cinnamon. Sprinkle over the batter in each cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave in the baking tin for a few minutes then transfer to the wire rack to cool. Enjoy !

Apple muffins with raisins and ricotta cheese

Moist, chewy with crunchy crust, filled with chunks of apples and raisins that I think would be the best description of those muffins. The cake is very like pancake batter. If you like pancakes you will like them. This time I baked my muffins in extra large muffin cases. They look huge but we ate them all.

Ingredients for 6 big or 12 standard size muffins:

• 4 small apples
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 250g flour
• 2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 100g raisins
• 250g ricotta cheese
• 150 ml milk
• 100g sugar
• 125g melted butter
• 2 eggs
• icing sugar for dusting

Peel off the apples, remove seeds. Dice the apples, place them in a small bowl add the lemon juice and set aside.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool down.

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

In a big bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, salt add the raisins.

Into electric  mixer bowl put the ricotta, milk, sugar, cooled butter and eggs. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Beating continuously add spoon by spoon dry ingredients. When all ingredients are incorporated gently fold in diced apples.

Spoon the batter into muffin cases, 3/4 full. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. When ready remove form oven and cool down on wire rack. You may dust with icing sugar but for me they were sweet enough.

Enjoy !

Bran muffins with bananas, raisins, walnuts and black treacle

This is another recipe for banana and bran muffins on my blog. I wanted to try this one as well because those muffins are packed with goodies and sound very healthy at the same time. The recipe comes from Ina Garten colection. 

Ingredients for 12 -18 muffins:

• 40g wheat bran
• 225ml buttermilk
• 55g soft butter
• 60g light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 6 tbsp black treacle
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 210g flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 120g raisins
• 2 bananas
• 50g walnuts

Combine buttermilk and wheat bran and set aside.

Dice the bananas, chop the walnuts and set aside.

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

In an electric mixer bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, for about 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed and add one egg at the time. After the eggs add the black treacle, orange zest, vanilla and bran/buttermilk mixture. Combine all ingredients.

In separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Gently fold in the flour mixture into wet ingredients mixture. Do not over mix it. Fold in the bananas, walnuts and raisins with rubber spatula.

Spoon the batter into paper cases, fill them to the top and bake for 25 minutes.

Enjoy !

Sweet potato and raisin muffins

This recipe comes form Carol Pastor cookbook '75 best - ever muffins'. I baked them as I was really curious about their taste. Potato in a muffin ?  Hmmm... But they were tasty, not extremely delicious but just ok. Day after their taste reminded me about doughnuts. For those who want to try recipe and method below:

Ingredients for 12-18 muffins:

• 225g sweet potato
• 350g flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 225g margarine melted
• 250 ml milk
• 50g raisins
• 50g caster sugar
• icing sugar for dusting

Peel off the potato skin dice the potato into smaller pieces and cook in the boiling water until very tender then mash and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 220C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Melt the margarine stir in the milk and set aside.

When the potato mashed is slightly cooler add the flour, baking powder and combine together. Pour into this mixture milk and margarine and add whisked egg. Whisk everything together just to combine all ingredients. At last but not at least gently fold in the raisins and sugar.

Spoon the batter into paper cases up to the top. Bake for 25 minutes until well risen and brown on the top. After baking leave to cool in baking tin then transfer to the wire rack. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy !

Breakfast bran muffins

Delicious breakfast muffins. Packed with brans, fruits, seeds give the energy for all day. The recipe comes from 'Cake days. Recipes to make every day special. The hummingbird bakery'.

Ingredients for 7 muffins:

• 90g wholewheat spelt flour
• 25g porridge oats
• 25g All-Bran Kellogg's cereals (or different bran cereals)
• 10g raisins
• 10g sunflower seeds
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 60g brown sugar
• 125 ml milk
• 1 egg
• 40g melted butter

Preheat the oven to 170C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool down.

Sift the flour, oates, cereals, raisins, sunflower seeds, baking powder, soda and salt into a  big bowl and whisk them together. In a jug whisk egg and milk together. Pour this mixture and prepared earlier butter into bowl with dry ingredients. Combine all ingredients together. Do not over -stir them. Spoon the batter into paper cases 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes.Serve warm all cooled down.

Easy sticky buns

When I saw them for a first time in Ina Garten "Barefoot Contessa" show I immediately put them on my things  to bake list. I was not sure if I should present them on my blog, as they are not real muffins or cupcakes. But, you see,  they are baked in muffin tin and they are so good .. :) They were very easy to make and tasty to eat, too tasty to eat actually.  The recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients for 12 buns:

• 170g soft unstalted butter
• 60g light brown sugar
• 75g chopped pecans
• 1 package frozen puff pastry

For the filling:

• 2 tbsp  unsalted butter melted
• 100g light brown sugar
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 90g raisins

Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the muffin tin on a cupboard.

Melt the butter in microwave or in a sauce pan and leave to cool down. Combine 100g sugar and cinnamon set aside.  Chop the pecans.

In an electric mixer bowl combine 170g butter and 60g sugar. Divide this mixture evenly among muffin tin cups. Sprinkle sugar and butter tops with chopped pecans. Set aside.

Lightly flour wooden board. Unfold 1 sheet of pastry. Brush the whole sheet with half of melted butter. Sprinkle with half of the sugar and cinnamon mixture and raisins.

Roll the pastry like a jelly roll. Slice the roll in six equal pieces. Mine were a little bit to tall, so cut them no more then 2 inches wide. 

Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with remaining pastry to make 12 buns.

before baking

after baking

Bake for 30 minutes until brown. Remove from oven. Be careful - they are very hot.

Let them cool down for a while in a tin. In a meantime prepare parchment and invert the buns to the paper. Scrub remaining pecans whit a spoon and place on the top of buns. Let them cool down completly.

Do not worry about baking tin. It looks messy but caramel - the butter and sugar changed into, easily comes off.

 

Apple pie cupcakes

I have received bag of cooking apples yesterday. When I saw them, I immediately decided to bake apple pie cupcakes. For a pastry I used my family recipe. My mum used to bake apple pie according this recipe and it never turn bad. It is very easy to make one and there is no need for fancy equipment to make it. But first apples need to be done :)

Ingredients for 6 apple pie cupcakes - apples:

• 1/2 kg cooking apples
• 1/2 mug brown sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• handful of raisins
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Peel of the apples, remove cores and dice the apples. Melt the butter on frying pan, then add diced apples, sugar, raisins and cinnamon. Cook this mixture on medium heat stirring occasionally. Remove form the heat when the apples turn soft, sugar melted and all mixture get a little bit juicy. Set aside.

Ingredients for pastry:

• 300g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200g soft butter or margarine
• 100g icing sugar
• 1 egg
• some icing sugar and cinnamon for dusting

Preheat the oven to 200C.  Get the large muffin tin ready with nest capacity 150ml. I used the silicone one which is very handy as it does not need to be greased.

Put all ingredients in a bowl and knead them until they turn into soft, sticky dough. Some people would put this dough into a fridge to chill it and then roll it, but I tear small pieces of if and simply stick them to the bottom and sides of baking tin, until they evenly covered. Fill 6 muffin tin nest with the dough, then put inside 2 tbsp of cooked apples inside and cover tops with remining dough. Bake for 20-25 min in the oven. Remove from the oven when cakes are slightly risen and golden on the top. Let them cool in baking tin as they mu crumble when removed to early. Dust with icing sugar and cinnamon mixture before serving.