Birds of a Feather

Super-sized, calorie-packing sweet cakes have given way — thank goodness — to healthier fruit, vegetable and nut-filled treats

My first — sort of — date with my wife was an invitation to her place for coffee and fresh baked muffins. Not overly romantic, but definitely trendy; it was the early 1980s and muffins were all the rage.

And why not? The morning glory muffins we enjoyed were deliciously filled with fruit, carrots, nuts and more. They did indeed bring glory to our morning; I can still taste them now.

Everyone seemed to have a muffin book in those days but, somewhere along the line, widely popular muffins began to fall out of vogue.

That seemed to occur a few years after some bakers felt the need to super-size their muffins and base them on what seem like sweet, white cake batter. Other sweet ingredients, such as chocolate chips, also found their way into their mammoth muffins.

These creations, sometimes three or more times the size of what most would consider a regular, large muffin, were more like domed, giant portions of dessert. Dietitians and nutritionist began to take notice. They warned that just one of these admittedly appealing muffins could contain about a half day’s worth of calories and a good deal of fat.

Now, thank goodness, the tide has turned in favour of moderately sized muffins packed with nutritious ingredients. This trend has made the muffin once again a baked good to consider when you’re looking for an energy filled food or tasty treat to enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee. Keep the sweet, rich muffins as a very occasional treat.

My four delicious recipes today can be used for large muffins. To make mini, small or medium-sized muffins, simply reduce the amount of batter spooned into the muffin cups. You’ll also have to reduce baking time accordingly. Muffins are done when the top quickly springs back when gently touched with a finger.

Eric Akis’s columns appear in the life section Wednesdays and Sundays.
The author of the bestselling Everyone Can Cook (Whitecap Books) can be reached at ericakis@shaw.ca

Blueberry Muffins with Lemon and Buttermilk

Sweet and tangy muffins that can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 12 muffins

Dry ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 /4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 /2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients

• 1 /3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1 /4 cups buttermilk
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 /4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Garnish

1 small lemon, cut in half and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 375. Combine dry ingredients in bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another. Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Spoon into a greased or paper cup-lined muffin pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin pulls out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from muffin pan.

Morning Glory Muffins

The yummy mix of dried fruit, nuts, apples, carrots and coconut will bring glory to your morning.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Makes: 12 muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1 /2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1 /2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 /2 tsp salt
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 /2 cup raisins
• 1 /2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 /2 cup medium, unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
• 3 largeeggs
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce or vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Place the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in the carrots, raisins, nuts, coconut and apple. Beat the eggs in another bowl and mix in the applesauce and vanilla. Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined; spoon into a greased or paper cup-lined muffin pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin pulls out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from muffin pan.

Ready-to-Bake Bran Muffins

This recipe comes from Rose Murray’s wonderful book Hungry for Comfort (Penguin Canada), which was recently shortlisted for the Cuisine Canada/ University of Guelph National Annual Culinary Book Awards.

Murray says the batter can be kept in the fridge for up to 10 days and be at the ready when you need fresh baked muffins.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes
Makes: about 5 dozen muffins, depending on size of muffin cups

• 4 cups 100-per-cent bran cereal
• 2 cups boiling water
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cupsnatural bran
• 2 cups raisins
• 5 tsp baking soda
• 1 tspsalt
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 largeeggs
• 4 cupsbuttermilk

In a bowl, combine the cereal and boiling water; let cool.
In a very large bowl, combine flour, natural bran, raisins, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, oil and eggs; blend in buttermilk. Pour over dry ingredients; add cereal mixture. Stir together just until moistened. (Batter can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 10 days.) Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffins cups. Bake in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch.

Note from Eric Akis: I cut this recipe in half with good results, which is something you may consider doing if you can’t eat 60 muffins in 10 days.

Ricotta Peach Muffins

Recipe from Anna Olson’s best-selling book Sugar: Simple Sweets and Decadent Desserts
(Whitecap Books).

Olsen says this is a great use for the creamy ricotta cheese that comes in tubs. Raspberries or chopped rhubarb are great substitutions for peaches in this recipe.

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes
Makes: 12 muffins

• 2 1 /2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1 /2 tsp baking powder
• 1 /2 tsp baking soda
• 1 /2 tsp salt
• 1 1 /3 cups golden brown sugar, packed
• 1 /2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 /2 cup canola oil 2 largeeggs
• 1 1 /2 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup peaches, peeled and diced 2 peaches, sliced for garnish
• turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, ricotta cheese, oil, eggs and vanilla. Add flour to brown sugar mixture and blend until just incorporated. Stir in diced peaches and spoon into greased muffin tin. Arrange a few peach slices on each muffin and sprinkle tops generously with turbinado sugar. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until tops are golden brown and a tester inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from muffin pan.

NB : According to The New Food Lovers Companion, turbinado sugar is raw sugar that has been steam-cleaned. The coarse turbinado crystals are blond-coloured and have a delicate molasses flavour. Turbinado sugar is available at some supermarkets and fine food stores.