Muffins Three Ways

Everyone loves muffins – created equal! Therefore I was delighted to develop these recipes when I teamed up with Aussie farmers Devondale for my latest tv series Lyndey Milan’s Summer Baking Secrets, airing Sundays (starting Feb 14 2016) at 12:00pm noon on the Channel 7 network! While recipe testing for the show, we came up with so many fabulous muffin flavours that instead of just choosing one, we decided to put the top three in the show!

My muffins are all based on a lovely basic mixture of melted and cooled Devondale salted butter and milk with eggs. The butter, which won best butter in the Dairy Australia Grand Dairy awards 2015  gives a rich flavour while the milk helps keep the muffins moist yet light.  In the old days, salt was added to butter to help preserve its shelf life, but with modern refrigeration this has no longer become an issue. Instead, salt is still added to butter to help give flavour and also minimises the amount of additional salt you need to add in your recipe! And I always like to add a pinch of salt even in sweet baking. As with any recipe I always use high quality Australian ingredients as it ensures a quality end product and this especially goes for butter in baked goods as it is such a key ingredient. I especially like that Devondale‘s butter is preservative free – as it contains just cream and salt, with no hidden nasties. 

After mixing up my lovely wet butter/milk/egg mixture, it’s just a matter of adding some self-raising flour and the other different ingredients which give each muffin its own unique flavour. So this recipe is fabulous because you not only get a basic muffin recipe, you also get three great flavour ideas that will please everyone’s tastebuds!

Spinach Muffins with Walnut Rosemary Streusel
Makes 12
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
100g salted Devondale butter, melted, cooled
1 cup (250ml) Devondale milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
120g baby spinach leaves, wilted
120g goat cheese, crumbled
2 ½ cups (375g) self-raising flour
good pinch salt
2/3 cup (80g) grated Devondale Tasty All Rounder cheeese

Walnut and rosemary streusel
1/3 cup (50g) plain flour
3 teaspoons brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
½ cup (50g) walnuts, roughly chopped
30g cold salted butter, cubed

1. Preheat oven to moderate, 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Prepare a 12 hole muffin pans (1/3 cup/80ml capacity) with paper cases.
2. Combine the butter and milk, mix well, and then whisk in the eggs. Stir in the spinach and then the goat cheese. Place flour in a large bowl, add a good pinch of salt, and then stir in the cheese. Add the butter and milk mixture all at once to the flour. Stir gently until just combined.Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, divide the mixture into the paper cases.
3. For the Walnut and Rosemary Streusel: Place flour, sugar, rosemary and walnuts in a small bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with the streusel.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool in pan for 3-4 minutes, and then carefully remove them to finish cooling on a wire rack. Serve the muffins warm or at room temperature.

Lyndey’s note: Cook the spinach in a small pan or the microwave. To avoid soggy muffins squeeze any excess moisture from it before using.

Lyndey’s Bake Range is now available to purchase in store from Blueprint Retail in Potts Point! They are located at 46A Macleay St, Potts Point NSW 2011 and are open every day from 10:00-6:00pm (except Sundays – close at 5:00pm).

Peach and raspberry swirl muffins
Makes 18
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
100g salted Devondale butter, melted, cooled
1 cup (250ml) Devondale milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Finely grated zest 1 medium orange
2 ¼ cups (335g) self-raising flour
4 medium peaches, washed, 2 diced, 2 sliced thinly
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
2/3 cup (220g) raspberry jam, warmed
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to moderate, 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Prepare 2 x 12 hole muffin pans (1/3 cup/80ml capacity) with 18 paper cases.
2. Combine the butter and milk and then whisk in the eggs. Stir through the orange zest. Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the diced peaches. Add the butter and milk mixture all at once to the flour. Stir gently until just combined.
3. Drizzle half of the warm jam over the top of mixture. Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, scoop or spoon some jam and mixture into half of the paper cases. Drizzle remaining jam over the muffin mix and then continue filling paper cases. Add a slice or two of peach to the top of each and then sprinkle tops with the sugar.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool in pan for 3-4 minutes, and then carefully remove them to finish cooling on a wire rack. Serve the muffins warm or at room temperature.

Lyndey’s note: Store the muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days. These little muffins also freeze well in a rigid container. A large ice cream scoop holds about 3 tablespoons of cake or muffin batter and I find it to be the perfect way to fill muffin and cupcake liners.

Corn & jalapeno muffins
Makes 24-26 mini muffins
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
100g salted Devondale butter, melted, cooled
1 cup (250ml) Devondale milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
125g can creamed corn
2 tablespoons chopped jalapeño chillies
Grated zest and rind 1 lime
2 corn cobs, charred, kernels removed (see note)
2 ½ cups (375g) self-raising flour
Good pinch salt
½ cup (60g) grated Devondale Tasty All Rounder cheeese
2 small (about 200g) chorizo, diced
70g mozzarella cheese , cut into small dice
2 tablespoons polenta

1. Preheat oven to moderate, 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Use 2 x 12 hole silicon mini muffin pans (from the Lyndey Milan range). Place the silicone muffin trays on two baking trays. If using muffin pans, lightly grease each muffin hole.
2. Combine the butter and milk, mix well, and then whisk in the eggs. Stir in the creamed corn, jalapeno, lime zest and juice and the corn kernels. Mix well. Place flour in a large bowl, add a good pinch of salt, and then stir in the cheese and the chorizo. Add the butter and milk mixture all at once to the flour. Stir gently until just combined.
3. Using a small ice cream scoop or two spoons, divide the mixture into the muffin pans. Heap the mixture so the holes are three quarters full. Push a small cube of mozzarella into the centre of each muffin. Sprinkle the tops with polenta.
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool in pan for 3-4 minutes, and then carefully remove them to finish cooling on a wire rack. Serve the muffins warm or at room temperature.

Lyndey’s Note: To get charred slightly smoky flavour to the corn cook it on a hot griddle pan, Brush the corn with a little butter and season generously as they cook. Remove from heat, and then cool. When cool, remove kernels. Hold the cob firmly on the cutting board and cut away the kernels. The silicon mini muffin pans make it easy to turn out your muffins and can then go in the dishwasher.

These muffins are absolutely wonderful for adult and children’s lunchboxes as well as your weekend picnics. I do hope you enjoy this recipe!

x

Lyndey

Lyndey’s Bake Range is now available to purchase in store from Blueprint Retail in Potts Point! They are located at 46A Macleay St, Potts Point NSW 2011 and are open every day from 10:00-6:00pm (except Sundays – close at 5:00pm).