When we were growing up, our mother owned a cafe. We all worked in the cafe at one time or another and I’m sure this is where I cemented my love of food. The cafe was famous in the neighbourhood for its muffins. The first job of every day – which started at 5am! – was to bake the muffins. Three batches every day. Two sweet and one savoury. All using this same base recipe.
I now use this recipe when I’m baking with my children because its quick enough to maintain the attention of small kids, and they love to take charge of the mixing.
Read through to the end of the recipe for my suggestions on flavour combinations.
Simple muffins
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups of plain flour
- 2 very heaped tsp baking powder
- 1 cup of sugar (reduce to ¼ cup if making savoury muffins)
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup oil
- ¾ cup milk
- Flavouring as suggested below
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C. Line a muffin tin with paper cases, or grease the tin well.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together, add the sugar and salt. Stir through your chosen flavouring. In a separate bowl lightly beat the egg and add the oil and milk. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix only enough to bring the two together, there is no need to overmix. Spoon the mix into the prepared tin, filling almost to the top of the muffin case.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden and the muffins spring back when you touch them.
- Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
Muffins can almost be made any flavour that takes your fancy, but here are some of my favourites:
Blueberry
1 cup of blueberries (frozen work well). For Apple and Blueberry also add 1 apple, peeled and finely chopped.
Raspberry and white chocolate
1 cup of raspberries (again, frozen are great) and ½ cup white chocolate pieces
Banana chocolate chip
Add ½ cup milk chocolate chips to the dry ingredients and 2 ripe bananas mashed into the wet ingredients
Apricot cream cheese
Drain a 330g can of apricot halves, reserving the juice. Dice the fruit and stir through the dry ingredients. Replace the milk in the wet ingredients with the juice of the apricots, made up to the required ¾ cup with milk if necessary. When filling the muffin cases, only half fill them then add a tablespoon of cream cheese to each one. Fill to the top of the muffin case with the remaining muffin mix.
Spiced apple
2 apples, peeled and finely diced, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground cloves
Pear and walnut
2 pears, peeled and finely diced, ½ cup chopped walnuts, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
For savoury muffins
Simply reduce the sugar quantity as stated and add 1 cup grated cheese to the dry ingredients. Then the possibilities are endless for the combinations of other savoury ingredients to add - red onion, bacon, chives, chilli, rosemary, paprika, chorizo, capsicum, grated zucchini, tomato - fresh or sun-dried, ham, cubes of camembert or blue cheese all work very well.
Blueberry
1 cup of blueberries (frozen work well). For Apple and Blueberry also add 1 apple, peeled and finely chopped.
Raspberry and white chocolate
1 cup of raspberries (again, frozen are great) and ½ cup white chocolate pieces
Banana chocolate chip
Add ½ cup milk chocolate chips to the dry ingredients and 2 ripe bananas mashed into the wet ingredients
Apricot cream cheese
Drain a 330g can of apricot halves, reserving the juice. Dice the fruit and stir through the dry ingredients. Replace the milk in the wet ingredients with the juice of the apricots, made up to the required ¾ cup with milk if necessary. When filling the muffin cases, only half fill them then add a tablespoon of cream cheese to each one. Fill to the top of the muffin case with the remaining muffin mix.
Spiced apple
2 apples, peeled and finely diced, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground cloves
Pear and walnut
2 pears, peeled and finely diced, ½ cup chopped walnuts, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
For savoury muffins
Simply reduce the sugar quantity as stated and add 1 cup grated cheese to the dry ingredients. Then the possibilities are endless for the combinations of other savoury ingredients to add - red onion, bacon, chives, chilli, rosemary, paprika, chorizo, capsicum, grated zucchini, tomato - fresh or sun-dried, ham, cubes of camembert or blue cheese all work very well.
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