Cinnamon Sugar Duffin

says who that we cannot get the best of both worlds? well, you can.. simply by cross-breeding doughnuts and muffins! one advantage scientists claimed for cross-breeding is that offspring display the strengths of both parents. as i will illustrate here that Duffins, which essentially is a cross-breed between doughnuts and muffins, gives you the best of doughnuts and muffins. you get the a healthy doughnut, because it is baked rather than fried and you get a chewy muffin, like a doughnut..

Cinnamon Sugar Duffin (adapted from Bake Your Day)

Ingredients:

220 g ---------------- plain four (i often mix plain flour with cake flour for baking)

1.5 tsp --------------- baking powder

1/2 tsp --------------- salt

1/3 cup -------------- canola oil

165 g --------------- caster sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup -------------- milk

for the toppings:

113 g ---------------- butter (i omitted it)

75 g ----------------- caster sugar

1 tbsp --------------- ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 176degC. line muffin tray with paper cups

2. combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. set aside

3. whisk together oil, sugar, egg and milk. add dry ingredients to wet and stir until combined. do not over mix

4. bake for 15-20 min until the tops are round, risen and golden. meanwhile, mix sugar and cinnamon meant for topping and melt the butter

5. remove muffins from pan while they are hot and dip the muffin tops into melted butter then roll into sugar-cinnamon mixture

6. let cool if desired

these duffins served as great snack while i moved house over the weekend.. Yippee!

Healthy Strawberry Oat Muffin

i wanted to bake oat & raisin muffins for breakfast (using recipe from Kitchenarian) but the recipe called for plain yoghurt which i did not have, and so with the strawberry yoghurt that i have in my fridge, i modified the recipe into a Healthy Strawberry Oat Muffin. also, it was a very small batch that i baked (only 6 mini muffins) as i was not sure of the outcome. well, the outcome was a super healthy muffin because of reduced oil and sugar and a wholesome goodness from the extra oats which i added. when drizzled with maple sauce, it tasted totally like PUFFINs - a cross between pancakes and muffins. =P 

personally i found it very good. perfect with any syrup, jam preserves and sauces. pretty sure it will be great with cream cheese too!

Healthy Strawberry Oat Muffins (makes 12 mini muffins)

Ingredients:

50 g ---------------- plain flour

1/2 tsp ------------- ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ------------- baking powder

1/4 tsp ------------- salt

1/4 tsp ------------- baking soda

1 -------------------- egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp ------------- vanilla (i omitted, ran out of it)

1/6 cup ------------ brown sugar

1/2 cup ------------ strawberry yoghurt

1/2 cup ------------ instant oats (i used more)

1/6 cup ------------ canola oil

2-3 strawberries for topping (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 deg C.

2. mix yoghurt and oats together and leave them aside for 15 min (if you use rolled oats, leave them aside for longer, say 30 min)

3. sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking powder and salt

4. add egg into yoghurt-oat mixture and mix well. 

5. stir in sugar, oil and vanilla into the mixture from 3 and whisk well

6. pour wet mixture into dry mixture and whisk until just well mixed (do not over mix)

7. spoon mixture into muffin paper cups or greased muffin trays and bake for about 15 min or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. remove from oven

8. drizzle with your preferred sauce and let cool on a rack 

"Muffin tops"

Muffins are believed to have gotten its name from the French word "moufflet". Commonly applied to bread, it means "soft". That should explain my soft spot for muffins, doesn’t it? As matter of fact, I really do prefer muffins to cakes, though not excessively.

Muffins are suitable for daily consumption, fundamentally because they are a type of bread, rather than cakes which are simply desserts. You can prepare muffin into a wholesome and healthy meal by using savory ingredients such as cheese, bacon, and/or spinach and replacing plain white flour with wholemeal flour. There are just so many varieties of yummy muffins out there!

Personally, I am a huge fan of Starbucks Blueberry muffins. They are really wholesome! for me, a perfect lazy afternoon would be hanging out at bustling Starbucks having my favourite-st blueberry muffin and honey-sweetened chamomile tea, accompanied with Bruno Mars music and a romantic fiction book (such as Cecelia Ahern's). Sounds clichéd? Who cares? And if you are wondering why I prefer a bustling cafe, it's because I love to people-watch. It is the best way to kill time. Seriously.

However, there is just one thing about muffins that is the bane of my life... it is their domed-shape tops that sits over the edge of muffin cups. Seen more often in health and beauty magazines, such a phenomenon is termed "muffin tops", except that it is not used on real muffins. Instead, fashionistas and beauticians use the words "muffin tops" to describe the tummy flab that spill put over the waistband of a tight pair of jeans. How horribly apt! But, I have decided that there should not be a strong physical correlation between muffin and "muffin tops". There are just too many variables in this equation, such as exercise, sedentary work, old age, lack of collagen... you get the picture...

Muffins are fairly easy to bake, and with so many variations possible, you can easily be an innovator! What I did was to modify a blueberry buttermilk muffin recipe into a Strawberry Yoghurt ChocoChip one. And, I thought was very pleased with the new flavor.

(By the way, I did try the original recipe two years and it tasted really great too.)

Strawberry Yoghurt ChocoChip Muffin

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (I used salted butter and omitted the salt in original recipe)
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar (you may reduce as desired) 
• 1/2 tsp salt (omitted) 
• 2 eggs 
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided (I also sifted it) 
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 cup strawberry yoghurt 
• 1/2-1 cup semi-sweet dark chocolate chips (I used Hershey's) 
• 2 tbsp white sugar (I used brown sugar) 

Method

1. Position rack in the middle of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray the top of a muffin pan with non-stick coating, and line with paper liners. 
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. 
3. Mix together 1 3/4 cup of the flour and baking powder. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the yoghurt, mixing just until incorporated. 
4. Fold in the chocolate chips into the batter. 
5. Scoop into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops lightly with sugar. 
6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown, and tops spring back when lightly tapped. 

Yes, I shall add fresh, real strawberry bits in it the next time! ;)