4 Cheese and Pink Peppercorn Muffins

Four cheese's that come from 4 different animals, cow, sheep, goat and buffalo. All rolled into one bastard muffin or gourmet scone however you want to describe it and garnished with pretty pink peppercorns. Best served warm with enough butter to widen the hips.

450g plain flour
100g butter
2 eggs
125ml milk
100ml buttermilk
100g grated manchago
100g cream cheese
75g goats cheese
75g fresh buffalo mozzarella
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
20 pink peppercorns
Pinch of sea salt

METHOD:
Put butter in a small pot and melt over medium heat, once melted remove from heat and leave to cool slightly. In the meantime place peppercorns in pestle and mortar and roughly ground then add to large mixing bowl with flour, baking powder and salt, stir together. Dice mozzarella into small cubes and add to dry mixture with manchago, crumbled up goats cheese and cream cheese. Beat eggs into butter and pour into muffin mix with buttermilk and milk, using a butter knife cut through the wet and dry gradually combining together till just under mixed. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with either oil spray or butter, evenly distribute muffin mixture into pan and bake in pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 24 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out.

Blueberry and Bran Muffins

I've said this before blueberry muffins are one of my favourtie things to eat. I wrote a similar version of this recipe a few months ago without the bran. If you fancy a bit of extra fiber in your diet why not try putting bran in your muffin. I also like to toast my muffin and smoother in butter to cancel any health benefits I might be getting from the blueberries or bran, I like to call it a contradiction.

450g plain flour
200g sugar
100g butter
100ml butter milk
125ml milk
2 eggs
50g bran
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300g blueberries

METHOD:
Put butter in sauce pan and place over a medium heat to melt, once melted put aside to cool slightly.  In large mixing bowl add flour, sugar, bran, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, blueberries and stir together till combined. Once butter has cooled slightly beat in the eggs, vanilla and add to dry mixture with milk and buttermilk. Using a butter knife cut through the wet and dry combining together till just under mixed. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with oil spray or butter and evenly distribute the batter into pan. Sprinkle tops of muffins with a little extra sugar and place in pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out.

Raspberry and White Wine Muffins

Almost muffin'ed out with all the varieties I've posted in the last couple of weeks, having a mini 90's flash back! Not to worry the main reason I wanted to post this recipe is because of Etienne's awesome photo! p.s. Very yummy flavour combination.

450g plain flour
200g sugar
100g butter
2 eggs
100ml buttermilk
100ml milk
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300ml white cooking wine
150g frozen raspberries

METHOD:
Place butter in sauce pan and melt over a medium heat once melted remove from heat and place to one side to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, raspberries and roughly mix together. Beat eggs into the butter and pour onto the dry mixture along with buttermilk, milk, vanilla and 200ml of wine. Using a butter knife cut through the wet and dry combining together till just under mixed. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with spray oil or butter and evenly distribute the batter between the molds and sprinkle each muffin top with a little extra sugar. Bake muffin's in pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes.
In the mean time place remaining wine in sauce pan with 3 tablespoons of sugar and put over a high heat and bring to a rapid boil for 2 minutes then remove from heat.
Once muffins are cooked brush the tops with  reduced wine syrup and leave muffin's to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out.

Butternut, Mayple and Chilli Muffins

Another wacky combination of ingredients yet they all work together and that's a fact!

450g plain flour
100g butter melted
2 eggs
150ml buttermilk
150ml milk
100g grated cheddar
150g grated butternut
50ml maple syrup
1 tablespoon baking powder
Small hand full of curly parsley chopped
1 red chilli diced
Good pinch of sea salt
METHOD:
In a large mixing bowl place the flour, baking powder, cheddar, butternut, parsley, chilli, salt and roughly combine together. After the butter has melted leave to stand for 5 minutes to cool slightly then beat in the eggs and pour into the dry muffin mix along with the milk, buttermilk and maple. Using a butter knife cut through the wet and dry ingredients till just under mixed. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with either butter or oil spray and evenly distribute the muffin mixture into the pan. Bake the muffins in a pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes. Once cooked leave to stand for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm with butter.

Blue Berry and Almond Muffins

I'm not sure what the science is but for some reason blue berries make the best muffin and apricot come's a close second.
As a child I was a Nana's boy (still am) and when ever I would stay with her and Grandad we would go down the road to this little farm house cafe called The Pumpkin Cafe. Not sure why it was called that as they only grew avocado's. Anyway we would order their blues berry muffins which were baked fresh every morning and then lightly toasted to order and spread with butter.
When I hit my awkward teen years the cafe changed hands and started making muffins from a just add water powder and we never went back. But ever since I get real nostalgic and a touch emotional just thinking about those muffins. I've literally made 1000's of muffins and have perfected the best blue berry muffin you'll ever make! Also a big thank you once again for Etienne's photo skills, bloody marvelous.


450g Plain Flour
200g sugar
100g butter melted
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
150ml buttermilk
150ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
220g blue berries
100g blanched almonds

METHOD:
Roughly chop all but 12 of the almonds and place in a mixing bowl along with the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon, stir together till evenly incorporated then gently mix through the blue berries.
Once the butter has melted leave to stand and cool for 5 minutes then beat in the eggs and add to the dry mixture along with the buttermilk, milk and vanilla, mix together using a butter knife till just under mixed.
Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with either butter or oil spray and evenly distribute the muffin mixture into the pan. Garnish each muffin's with a almond placed on top and sprinkle each muffin with a little extra sugar and bake in oven at 180oC on middle shelf for 25minutes. Once cooked leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from pan. Best served warm with some naughty butter.

Bramley and Calvados Muffins

Bramley apples are excellent for cooking with and retains most of its nutrition even after cooking. However nutritional value is canceled out in these muffins because they are cooked in a swanky french apple based brandy. Best eaten hot with butter and a cardiac arrest.

450g plain flour
200g golden caster sugar
100g unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50ml butter milk
100ml milk
50ml calvados plus extra for brushing
2 bramley apples
1 cinnamon stick

METHOD:
Cut the apples into quarters and remove the core then cut the apples into 1cm cubes and place in a small sauce pan with cinnamon stick and calvados, place over a low heat and cook till the apple is just tender, remove from heat and cool. Melt the butter and stand to cool for a few minutes, in a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda then roughly blend together. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, apples (discard the cinnamon stick) with liquid. Beat the eggs into the butter and add to the mixing bowl along with milk and using a butter knife cut through the wet and dry combining together till just under combined. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan and evenly divide the mixture between the pan and sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a little extra sugar and bake in preheated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes. Once cooked brush the tops of the muffins with calvados and leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Manchego, Date, Linseed Muffins

Manchego is a sheep's milk cheese that comes from La Mancha region of Spain. Pleasantly pungent and creamy and has a distinct sheep's milk after taste. I like to mix manchego with toffee flavours which is why I've married it with dates in these muffins. The linseeds and mustard bring out more sweetness and texture and the parsley is the savoury element which brings all the flavours together. Happy baking!

450g Plain Flour
2 eggs
100g butter melted
100ml buttermilk
100ml milk
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt and cracked pepper
100g manchego cut into small cubes
50g grated cheddar
50g dates sliced
2 tablespoons linseeds
1 tablespoon pommery mustard
small handful curly parsley finely diced

METHOD:

In a large bowl add the add the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, cheddar, manchego, dates, linseeds, and parsley roughly combine together. Mix together the butter and eggs add to the dry mixture along with the buttermilk, milk and mustard. Combine together with a butter knife cutting through the mixture till just under combined. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan and evenly distribute the batter into pan, place in oven pre-heated to 180oC for 25 minutes.

Ugli, Chocolate and Cardamon Muffins

U.G.L.I you ugly! No i'm not talking about the Daphne and Celeste song, its a citrus fruit and a hybrid of grapefruit, tangerine and orange. The fruit however is quite ugly on the out side but is easy to peel and break into segments. Like a Jaffa cake I've paired the citrus with chocolate and ground my own cardamon you'll need a mortar and pestle for the job.

450g plain flour
200g sugar
100g butter melted
50g dark chocolate drops
2 eggs
100ml buttermilk
100ml milk
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

POACHED UGLI:
3 ugli fruit
12 cardamon pods
100ml water
100g sugar

METHOD:
First poach the ugli, place water, sugar and 6 cardamon pods in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer, peel ugli fruit and separate the segment. Place the segments into simmering water and cook for about 5 minutes, then leave the fruit to cool completely.
In a small fry pan place the other 6 cardamon pods and put on a medium to high heat, toast the pods till they turn brown and fragrant then remove from head and using a mortar and pestle ground the pods into a powder.
In a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, chocolate, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and cardamon mix together till evenly combined. Cut all the ugli fruit segment in half, reserve 12 pieces and add the rest to the dry mixture. In a small bowl mix together the butter and egg then add to dry mixture along with milk and vanilla. Using a butter knife cut through the mixture and slowly blend together add some of the poached syrup if the mixture is too dry, combine till just under mixed. Grease a 12 muffin pan with spray oil or butter then evenly distribute the mixture into the muffin tray, garnish the muffins with a piece of ugli and sprinkle a little extra sugar on top. Bake muffins in 180oC pre-heated oven for 25 minutes, once cooked leave to cool slightly before removing from tray.

Lemon, Cream Cheese and Poppy Muffins

Every week I have to change the muffin flavour at work sometimes I make blue berry and bran or apricot or if I'm feeling ambitious I'll make these muffins.

I have a minor obsession with lemon based baked goods, sweet, tart and yellow (no innuendo intended). The cream cheeses balances out the tart of the curd and the poppy seeds adds pop and texture. I like to eat these muffins with a small side bowl of the curd reserve to dip the more cakey area of the muffin into. Afterwards I watch my belly grow.

450g plain flour
200g sugar
100g unsalted butter melted
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
100ml buttermilk
100ml milk
1 unwaxed lemon
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
120g cream cheese

CURD:
3 large eggs
150g sugar
3 unwaxed lemons
75g butter

METHOD:
First make the curd, place a small pot of water on element and bring to simmer, into a medium sized mixing bowl grate the zest of lemon and squeeze the juice then add the sugar, eggs and butter diced. Roughly beat together then place the mixing bowl over simmering water and stir from time to time till the mixture thickens and resembles custard, should take around 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
To make the muffins place flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and stir together till evenly combined then add the juice and zest of lemon. Beat the eggs into the melted butter and pour onto the dry mix then add the buttermilk, milk and vanilla. Using a butter knife cut the wet and dry together till just under combined. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan about 3 inch's in diameter and 1 inch deep and spoon in the muffin batter till just level with the lip on the pan, you might have some mixture left over. Using wet fingers poke a hole into the middle of each muffin then fill the hole with a tablespoon of cream cheese and good tablespoon heap of lemon curd. I like to sprinkle the tops of my muffins with a little extra sugar to make the tops crunchy and biscuty however this is optional. Bake muffins in pre-heated oven at 180oC for around 25-30 minutes. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Parsnip and Red Jelapeno Muffins

Recently I made these muffin at work and was asked by a customer if I was high? I then convinced him to try one, he was pleasantly surprised. These muffins are peppery, cheesey and slightly sweet. A naughty winter morning tea treat best served warm and smothered with butter.

450g plain flour

75g butter

2 eggs

150g mild grated cheese

300ml milk

2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 diced red jalapeno

200g finely grated Parsnip

Method:

Melt the butter; in a large mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cheese, jalapeno and parsnip. Beat the eggs into the butter and pour into dry mixture add the milk cut through mixture with a butter knife till just under combined. Grease a 12 muffin pan (3inches in width and 1inch deep) evenly spoon the batter into muffin pan and bake in oven at 180oC 30 minutes, once baked cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Yellow Plum and Yoghurt Muffins

Stone fruit season is my favorite time of year, days are longer, weather is warm, less clothing and a huge variety of produce. Yellow plums come in season towards the end of autumn and these muffins are a good way to use up some of the early season fruits sweet and tart.

450g plain flour

150g white sugar

75g butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

150ml milk
150ml natural yogurt
2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
200g Yellow Plums diced

Method:

Melt the butter, in separate large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and plums. beat the eggs and vanilla in with the butter and pour into flour mixture with milk and yoghurt cut through the muffin mixture with a butter knife till just under mixed this is the trick to making a good muffin. Grease a 12 muffin pan (3inches in width and 1inch deep) evenly spoon the batter into muffin pan and sprinkle extra sugar on top, bake in oven at 180oC for 30 minutes, once baked cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.