No, it’s not a typo. “Yummy” is my boyfriend’s highest form of praise for the food, and these muffins I whipped up this morning were pronounced extra yummy by the critic himself. Well then.
Andrew spends four to five days a month working from home, and on those days, a home-baked breakfast is always in order. Usually scones or muffins, sometimes it’s a recipe I’m testing from a Kitchlit review book, sometimes it’s an old favourite, and sometimes, like today, I just open the cupboard in search of inspiration.
Today, however, I was met by dismally empty shelves. No fresh fruit in the fridge, no bananas on the counter, not even any inspiring jams, nuts or berries in my baking cupboard. I only had my spice drawer and the sad remains of a packet of dried apricots to contend with. Still, I wasn’t about to let that stop me.
I adore ginger in any of its forms- dried, fresh, candied. I had some ground ginger in the spice drawer, and figuring that was as good as any a place to start, I added some cinnamon, the apricots, some crème fraîche that was languishing at the back of the fridge (don’t worry- it was still good) and gathered them all on my counter. The resulting muffin is quickbread-y rather than cakey, moist from the crème fraîche and sweet from the apricot. While the ground ginger and cinnamon gave a great flavour, next time I’d add some grated fresh ginger, as well, to up the spice factor.
Apricot and Ginger Muffins
makes 12 muffins
- 250g all-purpose (plain) flour
- 120g caster sugar
- 60g brown sugar (light or dark, I like dark)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 142ml crème fraîche (Greek yogurt or sour cream work, too)
- 125ml vegetable oil
- 1 Tbs. honey
- 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger (optional)
- 2 eggs
- 200g dried apricots, cut into small cubes
- extra brown sugar for sprinkling
- Preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F. Line a muffin tin with papers if you aren’t using silicone.
- Mix together the flour, sugars, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a jug or smaller bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, oil, honey, fresh ginger (if using) and eggs, and then fold this mixture into the dry ingredients. Don’t overmix- you want it a little lumpy.
- Gently mix in the apricots and divide evenly between the muffin cases. Sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on the top of each muffin (about 1/4 tsp. for each).
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. (Mine were a little overbaked, but you don’t want to underbake these- they are best with a crunchy golden crust.) Cool on a rack and enjoy slightly warm.
