Savoury Breakfast Muffins by The Fat Foodie
Sometimes at the weekend I like to make something a little bit more special for breakfast than the usual toast, porridge or cereal that I would usually have during the week. There’s something really nice about having the luxury of time on a Sunday morning to make a batch of syrup-drenched fluffy pancakes or a stack of french toast and take it back to bed with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
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Chocolate Orange Carrot Muffins by The Fat Foodie
I like taking cakes into work. I think it’s nice to bring something tasty into the staff room for everyone to be able to enjoy when they’re on their tea breaks and lunch. I always think that there’s something warming and cosy about having some cake available for everyone to partake in, should they choose. Let’s be honest, very few people turn their nose up at a nice bit of cake.
I bought some pretty muffin cases
If you want a moist cake that’s not going to dry out in a hot environment, such as a very warm staff room, then I’d heartily recommend incorporating two components: a good oil and some sort of fruit or vegetable. You can never go wrong with basing a cake around carrots or courgette because their water content works fantastically to introduce and retain moisture in cake sponge. It’s also a bonus that you can’t even taste the vegetables in the cake once they’ve been baked.
Also, although most cakes tend to add fat to the sponge base by using butter, sadly as it cooks a lot of the water from the butter will evaporate. It will also continue to evaporate the longer the cake sits waiting to be eaten too, whereas using sunflower or vegetable oil (which does not evaporate) will ensure that the fat content (and therefore, moisture) remains present even after it’s been baked in a hot oven. It’s science, innit?
Although these chocolate orange carrot muffins are gluten-free you can easily make them standard muffins by using the same quantity of normal self-raising flour and omitting the xanthan gum and bicarbonate of soda, and only using 1 tsp of baking powder. Although why not give the gluten-free version a go? They’re really tasty and you honestly cannot tell the difference!
These chocolate orange carrot muffins are gorgeous. They’ve got an incredibly soft and bouncy texture, are infused with rich, deep cocoa and have a lovely fresh zing from the orange zest. Their whipped chocolate orange buttercream frosting also does the entire flavour combination justice. Quite frankly I think I’ve outdone myself. Now, I wonder if the boss will like them enough to give me a paid day off…
Chocolate Orange Carrot Muffins by The Fat Foodie
Ingredients:
250g of grated carrots
250g brown sugar
250g gluten-free flour (I use Dove’s Farm G/F flour
1 tsp xantham gum
50g cocoa powder
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
250ml vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
The zest and juice of 1 orange (keep 2 tbsps of orange juice aside for the buttercream icing)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
For the buttercream icing:
175g icing sugar
25g cocoa powder
50g butter (use dairy-free, if necessary)
2 tbsps orange juice
Method:
Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/400F/Gas mark 6.
Lay 12 muffin cases
Measure all of your ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Quickly mix all of the ingredients together using an electric whisk
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until a skewer pushed into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Freshly Baked Chocolate Orange Carrot Muffins by The Fat Foodie
Leave to cool and make the buttercream by placing all of the icing ingredients into a jug and whisking until light and whipped.
Once the cakes are completely cold decorate with the buttercream icing and enjoy.
Chocolate Orange Carrot Muffins by The Fat Foodie
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Banana Walnut Muffins with a Peanut Butter Core by The Fat Foodie
A few days ago I fancied baking something to fill the kitchen cake tin because it was looking decidedly bare. After giving it some thought and having a good rifle through the kitchen cupboards I decided to make muffins. I had some bananas which needed used up soon, there was a peanut butter jar which had only a little bit left in it and I had half a pack of walnuts at hand, so I decided to bake some banana walnut muffins with a peanut butter core.
Ripe bananas (i.e bananas which are very yellow and have brown spots on them) are high FODMAP, so don’t use them for these muffins. However, firm bananas (yellow and firm with no spots) are low FODMAP, so use this type. This recipe for banana walnut muffins makes at least 12 portions, with one serving being low FODMAP.
Muffins are incredibly easy to make because, to a large extent, they simply involve measuring out all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisking until it’s combined. There’s no creaming of separate ingredients involved or anything like that. I’ve never made muffins with an interior surprise, but the peanut butter worked really well. I’m not sure if smooth peanut butter would have been quite as successful because I think the crunchy peanut butter definitely helps keep the core together and the crunch of the peanuts goes well with the crunchy walnuts too.
A while ago my Mum treated me to a Jamie Oliver muffin tin
This recipe makes a lovely soft, moist banana flavoured muffin with an inner core of crunchy peanut butter that’s complemented by the flavour of the walnuts. They’re ideal for accompanying a mid-morning cuppa or as a tasty after dinner treat. Actually, they’re pretty good at any time of the day!
Banana Walnut Muffins with a Peanut Butter Core by The Fat Foodie
Banana Walnut Muffins with a Peanut Butter Core by The Fat Foodie
Ingredients:
200g gluten-free plain flour (I use Dove’s Farm G/F flour
150g dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
150ml vegetable oil
3 large firm bananas (my bananas weighed in at 320g)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
150g chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract
120g crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Method:
Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/400F/Gas mark 6.
Lay out your 12 muffin cases
Measure all of your ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk until it’s all combined.
Divide the mixture equally between the 12 muffin cases and (if you like) top with a walnut half.
Bake for 30 to 35 mins and leave to cool before munching.
Banana Walnut Muffins with a Peanut Butter Core by The Fat Foodie
Banana Walnut Muffins with a Peanut Butter Core by The Fat Foodie
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Coconut and Lemon Cupcakes by The Fat Foodie
Ever since I’ve been cooking with coconut oil I’ve wondered what it would be like used in a cake instead of butter. I feared that it would make the sponge heavy, but it actually works really well and gives the cake a light texture while retaining its moisture. Coconut oil tastes quite strongly of coconut though, so I knew it’d have to be a cake which used coconut as one of its main flavour profiles. I figured incorporating lemon zest would work well with it and it does, creating feather-light, fruity, fluffy coconut and lemon cupcakes. (And if you’re feeling particularly self-indulgent, two cupcakes is a low FODMAP portion.)
This coconut and lemon cupcake cake mix is one of those brilliant ‘chuck all of the ingredients into a big bowl and whisk’ mixes, taking next to no time at all to prepare and with the aid of an electric whisk
Ingredients:
140g coconut oil (melted, but not hot)
200g sugar
2 tbsps lemon juice
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
120ml rice milk
4 tbsps dessicated coconut
The grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp coconut essence
200g gluten-free self-raising flour (I use Dove’s Farm G/F flour
1 tsp baking powder
For the buttercream icing:
70g soft non-dairy butter
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
180g icing sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsps of desiccated coconut (for decoration)
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4.
Place your empty cupcake cases in a cupcake tray
With the exception of the flour and baking powder, put all of your ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add the flour and baking powder and whisk. (Gluten-free flour can be really absorbent, so add a couple of tbsps more rice milk, if necessary.)
Spoon the cake mix into the cupcake cases, but don’t overfill them. (I normally fill them to roughly halfway.)
Bake them in the oven for 12-15 mins until they’re golden brown. You can tell they’re cooked when a skewer pushed into the centre comes out completely clean. Leave to cool on a cooling rack.
Put all of the buttercream icing ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until the icing is pale and fluffy.
When the cakes are cool top each one with a dollop of the buttercream icing and sprinkle with desiccated coconut.
Coconut and Lemon Cupcakes by The Fat Foodie
Coconut and Lemon Cupcakes by The Fat Foodie
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