The Magic Muffin Recipe | Sweet Version

Lemon Zest, Cardamom & Saffron Muffins

Welcome to our first post! We thought that a great first post should represent what we would like our blog to convey to our readers ie: Creative cooking is for everyone! Cooking is one of the few things in our never ending list of daily responsibilities that we can all derive enormous joy from. We can play; we can create and above all, nourish the people we love.
The Magic Muffin Recipe was developed over the past two years and lots of yummy trial and error. We wanted to create a “learning” recipe that was flexible enough to play with and yet came out perfect every time no matter the combination of ingredients.

Taking a quick look over the component choices you’ll find that Gluten-Free, Vegan, Nutritional, Low- Fat|Cholesterol and Indulgent muffins can be made with this recipe. Tips have been added to guide you when a specific ingredient must be used for a specific type of muffin such as; brown rice flour for Gluten-Free muffins or ground flax seed instead of eggs for Vegan muffins. You’ll also notice that there is no “Ingredients List” at the top of this “learning” recipe and that’s because you’ll be picking out what ingredients you want to use. When we post other recipes which are not in a “learning” format they will always be headed with an “Ingredients List”.

There are two versions of one basic recipe, one sweet and the other savory [the difference being the step involving the addition of a sweetener and the types of ingredient to add to the recipe]. Click here for The Magic Muffin | Savory Version. In the last step of both versions, you’ll find lists of spices, flavorings and additions. These are ingredients that we’ve tried in the recipe so far and have been found to result in a sound muffin. 

There are nine components in this recipe:

Flour

Raising Agent

Salt

Sweetener

Fat

Binder

Liquid

Spices & Flavorings

Additions

Each of these components is necessary in order to produce a basic cake|muffin and this recipe will give you a base to build on and create your own recipes.  If you have any suggestions for our spices, flavorings and additions lists, by all means, post them in the comments section and we’ll add them once we’ve tested them in our kitchen. We’d also like to hear about what kind of muffins you made and your results.

Here are a few suggested combinations that you can try out to get comfortable with the recipe before you get all crazy and start creating your own muffin recipes:

Lemon Zest & Cardamom Muffins

Cranberry & Walnut Muffins

Coconut & Cinnamon Muffins

Strawberry & Vanilla Bean

Now start baking!

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time: 25 Minutes
Total Time: 35 Minutes

Servings: 6

Difficulty: Easy
Dietary Information: | Vegetarian | Directions are provided for adjusting this recipe to | Vegan | Gluten-Free | Low- Fat|Cholesterol | Nutritional |

Step 1 Preheat your oven to 395˚F. Choose one component from each of the tables below and sift them together into a large mixing bowl.

Choose Your Flour

• 2 cups All Purpose
• For Nutritional Muffins 2 cups Whole Wheat
• 1 cup All Purpose + 1 cup Whole Wheat
• 1 cup Corn + 1 cup All Purpose
• For Nutritional Muffins 1 cup Corn + 1 cup Whole Wheat
• For Gluten-Free Muffins 2 cups Brown Rice Flour

Raising Agent

• 1 tsp Baking Soda + 1 tsp Baking Powder

Choose Your Salt

• 1/2  tsp Low Sodium Salt Substitute
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp Table Salt

Step 2 Chose one component from each of the tables below and in a separate mixing bowl, beat them together with a hand mixer or food processor until creamy. This process will take about five minutes.

Choose Your Sweetener 

• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar [Demarara or Dark Brown]
• 1/2 cup White Sugar
• 3/4 Raw Sugar [Soft Brown]
• For Nutritional Muffins 1/3 cup Honey

Choose Your Fat

• 1/4 cup Butter [room temperature]
• For Low- Fat|Cholesterol & Vegan Muffins 1/8 cup Grape seed Oil 
• For Low- Fat|Cholesterol & Vegan Muffins 1/8 cup Soya Oil
• For Low- Fat|Cholesterol & Vegan Muffins 1/8 cup Sunflower oil
• For Low- Fat|Cholesterol Muffins 1/4 cup Margarine or Cholesterol Free Substitute [room temperature]

Butter & Brown Sugar

Step 3 Chose one component from the table below. Add it to the mixture you made above step two and continue mixing with a hand mixer or food processor for five minutes.

Choose Your Binder 

• 2 Medium Eggs
• 3 Egg Whites
• For Vegan Muffins 2 tbsp Ground Flax Seed

Fresh Eggs From Our Garden Hens
 Katerina, Katerina & Frosia

Step 4 Now mix your wet ingredients with your dry ingredients and add one component from the table below. Mix until blended.

Choose Your Liquid 

• 3/4 cup Whole Milk
• For Low- Fat|Cholesterol Muffins 3/4 cup Milk [Low fat, Skim, etc.]
• For Low- Fat|Cholesterol Muffins & Vegan Muffins 3/4 cup Soya Milk
• For Nutritional Muffins 3/4 cup Buttermilk
• For Nutritional Muffins 1/4 cup Yoghurt & 1/2 cup Milk or Water

Try Fresh Ground Cinnamon With A Mix Of Dried Fruits & Nuts

Step 5 Now for the fun part! Choose your spices. You can choose as many as you want as long as it adds up to 2 tbsp. Add your choice|choices to your mix and blend well.

Spices & Flavorings

• Allspice
• Anise
• Cardamon
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Ginger
• Lemon Zest
• Lime Zest
• Mace
• Mastic 
• Nutmeg
• Orange Zest 
• Poppy Seed
• Vanilla Bean

Tayberries From the Garden

Step 6 Choose your additions. You can choose as many as you want as long as it adds up to 2 cups. Add your choice|choices to your mix and gently fold.

Additions

• Almonds [finely chopped]
• Banana [mashed]
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Chocolate Chips
• Coconut
• Dates
• Dried Apricots
• Dried Cranberries
• Dried Fig
• Gooseberries
• Hazelnuts [finely chopped]
• Macadamia Nuts [finely chopped]
• Oats
• Raisins 
• Raspberries
• Strawberries 
• Walnuts [finely chopped]

Chocolate Chip, Brown Sugar & Macadamia Nut Muffins About To Go In The Oven

Step 7 Grease [using the same fat component you chose in step 2] and flour your muffin pan OR place cupcake liners in your pan. With a large spoon distribute your muffin mix into the six parts of your pan.

Basic Buttery Corn Muffins

Step 8 Place the muffin pan in your preheated oven for 25 min. All ovens are different, so check your muffins by simply sticking a toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean, they’re done and you can remove them from the oven, if not, leave them for 5 more min. After you’ve removed your muffins from the oven, let them cool for 30 min. before removing them from the pan. You can also freeze your muffins for up to 4 months.

Step 9 Enjoy!

Try This
Instead of a muffin pan, use a 9 inch cake pan to make a single layer cake.