I'm not the biggest fan of muffins. It may have to do with the ubiquitous cafe muffin. Often over-sized, dry and born of a pre-mix. If after a sweet treat to have with coffee I would usually pick a biscuit or slice over a muffin. I couldn't, however, resist these carrot, apple and pecan muffins when looking through the Ottolenghi book. They sounded a bit like a morning glory muffin, but with the addition of a crunchy crumble topping. The only change I made to the recipe was to use walnuts instead of pecans, as those in the supermarkets are usually rancid. It made quite a big batch, I got 18 decent sized muffins. Unlike cafe muffins they tasted every bit as good as they looked! The recipe says the flavour improves after a couple of hours, and I found this to be true. I put some in the freezer and have been taking one out to pop in my lunch each day. Some even made their way up to Wellington for Libby to sample...You can find the recipe for the muffins here.
Lucky me to get a special muffin & crumpet delivery. I enjoyed every bite of these muffins!
ReplyDeleteJust a comment on pecans. My older daughter has in-laws in San Antonio, Texas, so is down there at least once a year. One year I asked her to bring me back some fresh pecans. She brought a two pound bag of plump, golden nuts, like nothing you've ever seen in the grocery store. They tasted like dessert, just popped in the mouth straight from the bag. So, yes, I agree, the store-bought pecans are unimpressive, but I hope you get to taste some fresh ones some time.
ReplyDeleteI have made these muffins too sez, they are delicious! I took them to work for morning tea and after a few suspicious looks they were throughly enjoyed by my collegues. I guess they were wondering where the chocolate was hidding underneath all the seeds and nuts.I hope they were pleasantly surprised to enjoy a baked good that wasnt chocolate ladden.
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