Once upon a time I used to bake – a lot. I owned a bakery so I was pretty much baking something every day. Since closing that bakery down, I’ve found I don’t do so much baking. I do make bread each week – seedy wholemeal for hubby and gluten-free for me. Cakes, biscuits and scones I make very rarely, usually for special occasions, with the Chocolate Raspberry Brownie (MM Jan 18, 2017) as my main go-to.

One thing I do bake every couple of weeks is muffins for hubby’s work lunchbox. I mix the flavours up depending on what fruit is in season and on hand. And the great thing is that they freeze beautifully. A batch makes enough for two working weeks. They’d be great for the kids’ school lunchbox, too. You could even make them mini.

The recipe is for a basic muffin base that you can then personalise. I haven’t tried them as savoury muffins yet, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work by leaving out the sugar, swapping the mixed spice for savoury spice or herbs, and swapping the fruit for a savoury option. See some flavour combination examples below.

Basic Muffin Recipe

Makes 10-12 muffins

¾ cup wholemeal flour
¼ cup high grade flour
2-4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp mixed spice
½ cup mixed seeds and/or chopped nuts
½ cup milk
¼ cup cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
½ cup chopped fruit

Preheat the oven to 190C. Line muffin tins with paper muffin cases. Add all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, stir to combine. In a small bowl, combine the milk, oil and vanilla essence. Whisk in the egg. Stir the chopped fruit into the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and carefully stir until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tins. Fill to three-quarters full.

Bake at 190C for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and they pop back when lightly pressed. Remove from the oven and turn the muffins out of the tins straight away. Leave to cool on a cake rack. Store in an airtight container for three to four days or pop in the freezer.

Variations

•    Fruit combination examples: blueberry and banana; pear or rhubarb and
chopped crystalised ginger; banana and choc chip; raspberry and white choc chip.

•    Savoury combination examples: cheese and chive; bacon and spring onion
(cook the bacon first); roasted pumpkin, sundried tomato and feta; smoked
salmon and pea.

Nicole Wilson
nicole@nutritionkitchen.co.nz