Wholesome Seeded Cranberry Muffins

 

We love to have muffins as an occasional breakfast option. Usually I try to make them healthy ones, filled with things that are good for you.  They are not meant to be "cake" in my opinion, but that is just me.  These muffins I am sharing with you today are chocker-block full of good things,  but above all they are delicious. You can thank my latest Degustabox delivery for them, because it was the box which inspired me!

 

As those of you who have been reading me for a while know, I am the lucky recipient of the gift of a Degustabox each month. Once a month, around the middle of the month, I am gifted with one of these lovely boxes which contain a delicious assortment of all things foodie.  I just love these boxes.  Each one is always a lovely surprise.

  

Opening each one is tiny a bit like opening a Christmas gift to me. Always a surprise, and always filled with things that pique my interest and desire to try. Degustabox is a monthly foodie subscription service that sends out a range of 10 to 15 specially selected foodie products. I even have a code that  can give you which will  give you a £5 discount off of your first box. I will tell you about that at the end. I have been getting these boxes for a couple of years now and I have to say I have never been disappointed. 

 

The March 2020 Box was entitled the "Hello Spring" Box.  It was filled with lots of goodies for us to try and to enjoy. 

  

NUDIE SNACKS Broad Bean Sour Cream & Chive 1 X £1.59

At Nudie Snacks they are all about making snacks more exciting.  Their roasted broadbeans are packed full of flavour, high in fibre, high in veggie protein to keep those hunger pangs at bay, whether y ou are working late or working up a sweat.  Why not visit them at www.nudiesnacks.co.uk #poweredbyplants 

*Available at Asda, Holland & Barrett, Wholefood Markets, Amazon & www.nudiesnacks.co.uk 

CADBURY Hot Chocolate 30% less sugar £2.49

Cadbury Hot chocolat reduced sugar is jus s irresisible! With 30% less sugar and only naurally sweetened, thei rnew product offers the same delicious creamy taste with fewer calories.

*Available at Asda, Tesco & Sainsbury's

NAKED NOODLE singapore Curry 1 X £1.20

Take your taste buds on a tase of adventure with our egg noodles in a Singapore Curry sauce.  Aromatic curry pices are lifted by the distinctive Chinese five spice, whilst garlic and ginger add real depth. No artificial colours of preservatives. 

KNORR Kaffir Lime & Ginger Stock Pot/Paprika & Sundried Tomato Stock Pot 2 X £0.95

Knorr's new range of veggie flavoured stock pots are an easy way of adding depth of flavour to meat-free dishes. Available in three different flavours, simply add directly to your dish or dissolve into 500ml of boiling water. They ar also gluten free and suitable for Vegans.

*Available at Morrisons & Tesco 

 

JUBEL BEER cut with Elderflower 1 X £ 

We discovered an dangerously refreshing beer tradition called demi-peche whilst on a snowy adventure in the French Alps and after searching back at home, we realised that nobody was brewing anything like it. Determined to bring demi-peche refreshment to the masses, we set out on a journey to brew the beer we wanted to drink. The result? A beer with the refreshment of a fruit cider and the sessionability of a crisp lager, at a sociable 4% ABV.

MERCHANT'S HEART Pink Peppercorn/Floral Aromaics Tonic Water 1 X £1.30

A range of premium Spirit Enhancers, available in six distinctive flavours, ranging from  dry Hibiscus - suitable for premium gins, to GingerAle - an ideal pairing for aged whiskey. co-created with world-leadin bartenders; designed to allow the flavours of the spirit to shine through on the palate.

*Available at Sainsbury's & Ocado

highball classic  Pink g & t

Pink Gin & Tonics burst with fruit flavour and are a modern Highball favourite. With naturally blended raspberry and lavender complimenting the traditional juniper, our Pink G&T has the freshness and bite of the Classic with the colour and delicious gentle sweetness of the perfect all year round drink; masterfully mixed and positively alcohol free.

 

WOTSITS Flamin' Hot/Sizzling Steak 2 X £1 

After a number of years away, Walkers have brought back two iconic Wotsists flavours to our shelves. Whethere you're a cruncher or a melter, these new deicious flavours are sure to be a family favourite.

*Available in major supermarket chains 

SMARTIES BUTTONS 1 X £1.59

Introducing new Smarties Buttons! Smooth chocolate buttons filled with crunchy mini Smarties.  These delicious fun and colourful treats come in in milk and white chocolate versions. Coloured using food and plant extracts, no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.

*Available in major supermarket chains. 

 

GALAXY Oat  Drink 1 X £1.50

Galaxy Oat is smooth, luscious and bursting with a rich chocolately aste. Galaxy Oat has no added sugar and is registered with the Vegan Society.

*Available now as ASDA, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and a wide range of convenience stores.

MARMITE Crunchy Peanut Butter 1 X £2.50

A new take on Peanut Butter, blended with asty yeast extract, the perfect solution to mix up your breakfast.  Whether you love or hate marmite, you definitely need to give this a try. Rich in B vitamins, no added sugar and no palm oil. contins naturally occurring sugars.

*Available in the major supermarket chains. 

SEEDLIP GARDEN 108 £3 for 6cl

The world's first distilled non-Alcoholic Spirits, solving he dilemma of "What to drink when you're not drinking." The fresh and floral Seedlip Garden 108 captures the essense of the English Countryside with sophisticated top notes of peas and hay and a complex herbal character of spearmint, rosemary and thyme. Pair with your favourie tonic.

The full size (70cl) is availabl at Tescom Waitrose, Ocado & Holland & Barrett,  Visit Seedlipdrinks.com and use code DRINKTOTHEFUTURE for 15% off all 70cl products, plus free shipping and a free copper cocktail jigger.

HOMEPRIDE Superior Sponge Flour 1 X £2

Introducing the newest member of th HOmepride Flour familu. Made from 100% British Wheat Flour, their Superior Sponge Flour is perfect for creating those extra special  bakes such as a classic Viennese sponge.

*Available at Tesco  

 

Flour is one of the things which is in short supply in this country at the  moment due to hoarding and the Covid 19.  I was thrilled to receive a box of Homepride Superior Sponge Flour in my box!  I am a user of the Homepride range of flours anyways, so I do hope that they will forgive me for using their sponge flour to make muffins.

  

It is meant to be used for cake baking I know, but we just really wanted muffins.

 

These Wholesome Seeded Cranberry Muffins are filled with goodness. Plenty of toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds  . . .  and poppyseeds  . . .

 

They are both in the batter and sprinkled all over the tops  . . .  along with the crunch of demerara sugar.  I believe that is called Turbinado sugar in North America.  It is a less refined sugar with larger crystals, which make for a perfect crunch.

 

Its also used in the batter . . .  a more natural kind of sweet . . .

 

Combined with the goodness of a bio natural yogurt  . . .  and plenty of sweet dried cranberries, which are full of vitamin C.

 

Jus look at how wholesome they look  . . . bejewelled even  . . .

 

A beautiful texture, filled with plenty of goodness . . .

Perfect for breakfast, brunch, breaktime, lunch.  You name it. These tasty muffins are perfect for anytime!

Wholesome Seeded Cranberry Muffins

Yield: 10

Author: Marie Rayner

Quick to make and perfectly wholesome muffins to help get you set up for the day ahead.

Ingredients:

• 25g pumpkin seeds (1 ounce) plus extra for sprinkling (1/2 cup)
• 25g sunflower seeds (1 ounce) plus extra for sprinkling (1/2 cup)
• 225g plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• 115g demerara sugar (1/2 cup turbinado) plus extra for sprinkling
• 80g dried cranberries (generous 1/2 cup)
• 250ml plain bio yogurt (1 cup)
• 75ml sunflower oil (1/3 cup)
• 1 large free range egg, beaten

Instructions:

How to cook Wholesome Seeded Cranberry Muffins

1. Line a muffin tray with paper liners.  Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.
2. Pop the sunflower and pumpkin seeds onto a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes.  Let cool.
3. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, poppyseeds, cooled seeds and the cranberries in a large bowl.
4. Whisk together the oil, yogurt, and egg.  Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture.  Pour in the wet ingredients and stir together just to combine.  Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups.  Sprinkle the tops of each with a few seeds and some demerara sugar.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Tip out to cool on a wire rack.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #EnglishKitchen

Created using The Recipes Generator

I really DO make great use of and enjoy many of these fabulous products I am sent each month to try out.

 

Many thanks to Degustabox UK for gifting me this box. I have to say I really look forward to getting my box each month. There are always lots of things in it to enjoy and new products to try out. I highly recommend. You can also tailor the boxes to your own likes and dislikes by filling in your own Taste Profile.  If you like the sound of this box, why not sign up now! I find them to be really good value for money spent and I really enjoy trying out new products that I have not tried before.   Included is also a detailed information card  which tells you all about each product included, and other extras such as recipes, etc.   

Follow them on Facebook 

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 So, that was the March Degustabox - a nice selection of products as always. We loved it. The price of each Degustabox is £12.99 (including delivery). To order your box, visit www.degustabox.com 

Use the code 2ROE0 to get £5 off your first Degustabox, free delivery – enjoy! 

    

I was gifted with the box free of charge, however any and all opinions are my own.   

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Small Batch Honey, Tahini & Sesame Muffins

 

The other day I baked us a batch of Bran Muffins from a new recipe that, whilst they tasted alright, were very much of a disappointment to me.  They were flat, overly sweet and just not a recipe I would recommend to anyone.  I wanted to be able to share something delicious with you that you wouldn't be embarassed to serve to anyone.

 

I hasten to add that I didn't change anything in the recipe, but prepared it exactly as presented.  I don't know why these things happen. One man's meat is another man's poison I guess!  Anyways, I have this great muffin recipe book that I got maybe 11 years ago.  

 

Entitled Mad about Muffins and written by Diana Bonaparte, it is a muffin cookbook that I cannot recommend highly enough.  Every single recipe that I have baked from it has been a great recipe!

 

I was intrigued by the recipe for Honey, Tahini & Sesame Muffins.  I love all of those things, and it also uses lemon zest.  I had ear-marked it for use quite some time ago and this morning I finally got around to making them.

 

I did adapt the recipe by cutting everything in half.  The full recipe makes 11 muffins, but I got six nice sized medium muffins halving it.

 

They are not uber sweet, despite the use of honey.  I don't like my muffins to be extremely sweet. Thy are not supposed to be like cake.  They are supposed to be more like a bread.

 

The flavour of these was exceptional . . .  you can taste the tahini, but more of a "hmmm . . .  I taste something that tastes a bit nutty."  It doesn't whack you.  Of course the subtle taste of lemon is there as well.

 

As you can see they rose beautifully.  I did get a bit of cracking on top, but thats not at all unusual in a good muffin.  I think the touch of demerara sugar and sesam seeds on top is also a very nice touch and quite attractive. It also provides a tiny bit of crunch.

 

As you can see, they have a beautiful texture. My honey did fall to the bottom of the muffin. Not sure how to get around that. Unless perhaps you used creamed honey instead of liquid for the centres?  What do you think?

 

All in all I would call these an excellent muffin.  We both really enjoyed them.  They smelled lovely when they were baking as well. 

  

In all truth I don't know why I waited so long to make them!  Tahini is something I always keep in my store cupboard and this was a great opportunity to use some of it, however small!  I highly recommend!  If you don't have tahini you could use peanut butter, but in that case I would leave out the lemon zest and the sesame seeds.

 

Small Batch Honey, Tahini & Sesame Muffins

Yield: 6

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: Cook time: Total time:

The triple combination of honey, lemon and tahini paste make for a very delicious muffin indeed.  Sized for the smaller family but easily doubled to feed more.

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

• 165g plain flour (1  1/4 cup)
• 65g caster sugar (1/3 cup superfine sugar)
• 1 tsp  baking powder
• pinch salt
• the finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• milk (see instructions)
• 50g oil (4 TBS)
• 25g clear honey (3 1/2 tsp)
• 15g tahini paste (1 1/2 TBS)
• 1 large free range egg
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

To fill:

• clear honey

To top:

• 1 TBS demerara sugar (turbinado)
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions:

How to cook Small Batch Honey, Tahini & Sesame Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line a six cup muffin tin with paper liners.  Set aside.
2. Rub the sugar together with the lemon zest until fragrant.  Sift in the flour and baking powder and a pinch of salt.  Combine well together.
3. Heat the honey for the muffin together with the tahini and then whisk together to combine.
4. Add the lemon juice to a beaker and then add milk to give you the equivalent of 85g/3 fluid ounces.  Beat in the egg and  oil with a fork. Then beat in the honey, tahini mixture.  Add all at once to the dry ingrdients just to combine.
5. Fill your muffin cups half full.  Drop a tsp of honey onto each muffin and then cover with the remaining muffin batter.   Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle some over top of each muffin.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 22 minutes until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. The tops should spring back when lightly pressed.  Transfer from the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #EnglishKitchen

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

Not sure why but my recipes generator it not working today. Its an app that I actually pay for the use of so I hope that it isn't like this for long. When it comes back up again, I will replace this old format with the recipe card.  I can see it, but it is not giving me the option to copy and paste it into my blog post.  Between that and my facebook, I am batting zero this week!  Its a good thing I am a positive person!  Back to sort it out and its fixed!  Yay!

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Gingerbread Muffins

 

I am always keen to try a new muffin recipe, and my friend Tina was popping by today so I wanted to bake something fresh for us to enjoy together while we visited.  I spied a delicious looking gingerbread muffin recipe on I Heart Eating and decided to give it a go!

 

I am a hug fan of gingerbread anything. I think gingerbread is probably one of my favourite things to bake and eat!

 

I thought this recipe was quite promising in that it was more like a muffin rather than a cake. I am funny that way.  If I want cake, I will bake and eat cake, but when I want a muffin, I want a muffin.

 

Muffins are meant to be stodgier than cakes  . . .  perfect for enjoying with hot drinks.  At least that is my opinion.  Those huge super muffins you buy in the shop, yes  . . .  they taste lovely, but they are really more like cake than muffins.

 

I guess I am just an old fashioned girl.  I likes what I likes!

 

As you can see these rose up very nicely.  People sometimes complain that their muffins don't rise that well, but I never seem to have that problem. I am not sure what my secret is. 

 

If I did these again, I would not bake them in paper cups. Be warned. They stick.

 

But that is the only complaint I have about them!  They stick . . .  everything else is perfect!

 

They are moist and delicious with a lovely crumb and beautiful ginger/cinnamon flavour.

 

If I make them again, I might add some chopped candied ginger to the mix, or some raisins.  That would be really delicious.

 

The first time I make a recipe however, I like to make it as written. That way I know if it doesn't turn out, its a dud recipe.  This is definitely not a dud recipe. This spells winner/winner!

 

So now I can play with it a bit.  I do like to play with my food.  I am rather naughty like that.

 

These would be great with raisins, or with dried cranberries, bits of dried apple  . . .  chopped apricots, dates, nuts . . . etc.  Oh, and I am thinking milk chocolate chips would also be very nice  . . .

  

But to be honest, these are pretty perfect just as is.  I enjoyed one warm from the oven with some butter because well . . .  I wouldn't want to feed Tina something that didn't taste nice would I?  Of course not!  We did enjoy our visit, and the muffins also.💓

Gingerbread Muffins

Yield: 12

Author: Marie Rayner

Moist and gingery with a bit of crunch from the demerara sugar sprinkle on top.

ingredients:

• 350g plain flour (2 1/2 cups
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4  tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 60ml oil (1/4 cup)
• 135g soft light brown sugar (2/3 cup packed)
• 120ml molasses (1/2 cup)
• 1 large free range egg
• 320ml buttermilk (1 1/3 cups)
• 2 TBS demerara sugar to sprinkle on top

instructions:

How to cook Gingerbread Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F. gas mark 4.  Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, soda and salt together in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the oil and brown sugar.  Whisk in the molasses and egg.  Make sure they are well combined and then whisk in the buttermilk, again making sure it is well combined.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir together just to combine.
5. Scoop into the prepared muffin cups, dividing it equally amongst them. The cups will be quite full.    Sprinkle the tops with the demarara sugar.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Tip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #EnglishKitchen

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

I was so annoyed with myself this morning.  I spent hours yesterday working on new recipes for the other site I write on.  I had about 80 photos, and I uploaded them to the computer, thought I had saved them, only to realise today that I hadn't and in the meantime I had deleted them from my camera.  So now I have to cook everything all over again!  Some days are like that!

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