Earth Market Muffins

Ingredientes

1 quantity cinnamon and nut topping or macadamia nut, coconut and palm sugar topping

CINNAMON AND NUT TOPPING

Combine 70 g (1/2 cup) roughly chopped raw nuts (either hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans),1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut and 2 tablespoons rapadura sugar in a bowl.

MACADAMIA NUT, COCONUT AND PALM SUGAR TOPPING

Combine 70 g (½ cup) roughly shopped raw macadamia nuts, 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut and 2 tablespoons granulated coconut palm sugar in a bowl.

400 g fruit (weighed whole), prepared

Dry mix

130 g (1 cup) unbleached white spelt flour

145 g (1 cup) wholemeal spelt flour

2½ teaspoons baking powder

75 g (1/2 cup) rapadura sugar or raw sugar

Wet mix

125 ml (1/2 cup) milk

125 ml (1/2 cup) cultured buttermilk or yoghurt, plus extra, as needed

1 egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

80 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled a little

Instruções

Preheat the oven to 180°C Place paper cases into a 12-hole muffin tin. Have your topping prepared too.

For the dry mix, place the flours, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and stir through with a whisk to lighten and break up the flours and sugar clumps. Add the fruit (except if using berries) and stir gently to distribute evenly.

For the wet mix, place equal amounts of the two milks in a measuring cup to make 185 ml (3/4 cup). Add this to the egg, vanilla extract and butter and whisk together in a small bowl.

Add the wet mix to the dry mix and gently mix together taking great care not to overmix and work the batter. Add the remaining mixed milks as needed (and gently fold through berries if using).

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and generously sprinkle with the topping. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven, cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and move to wire racks.

Notas

This is my Classic Earth Market Muffin revisited and infinitely variable. I always made these without egg, but I must admit that I have grown to like the lightness an egg provides. The use of 50 per cent wholemeal and 50 per cent unbleached white flour produces a nutrient-dense but lighter muffin.

Drier fresh fruits

* Apple Peeled or unpeeled, apple has little moisture and needs to be cut into small chunks, about 5 mm-1 cm in size.

* Banana Cut into quarters (lengthways) and sliced about 1 cm thick.

* Pear Peeled or unpeeled and roughly cut into 1 cm pieces.

* Rhubarb Sliced about 1-2 cm thick.

* Pear Peeled or unpeeled and roughly cut into 1 cm (½ inch) pieces.

* Rhubarb Sliced about 1-2 cm (½-¾inch) thick.

Wetter fresh fruits

Moist fresh fruit (such as berries) should be partnered with a firmer fresh fruit (such as apple or banana) to provide structure to the muffin.

* Berries Larger berries chopped if desired. If berries are frozen, do not thaw.

* Mango Peeled and roughly diced into 1 cm pieces.

* Pineapple Peeled, core removed and chopped into 5 mm-1 cm pieces.

* Stone fruit and figs Cut into or roughly chopped into 1 cm pieces.