Almond Chai Muffins with Chocolate Chunks

I don't know if you can tell, but I have the ultimate sweet tooth. For elevenses and after lunch slumps I'm always raiding the biscuit jar, I just can't help myself. On weeks where I'm much more organised I like to whip up a batch of healthier treats to stash in my desk drawer at work. Anything from muffins, flapjacks to banana bread.

Most weeks I do ok, other weeks I need a little more encouragement. So when Blue Diamond got in touch to tell me about their new '30 Ways to Goodness' campaign I was excited to try a new recipe for my snack box. In collaboration with fitness guru and blogger Faya Nilsson from Fitness on Toast, the team are encouraging you to feel good about yourself with a few simple tips in food and fitness. Together with Faya they've launched a video series to get both your tastebuds and body moving.

Whilst I may not start doing burpees behind the desk, I've been enjoying the brighter days by taking myself on lunchtime walks to get myself moving a little bit more. I tend to graze on snacks throughout the day so instead of sitting around in the canteen, I've been trying exploring the local area in my 45 minutes. Along with being organised in taking in healthier homemade snacks I've also being enjoying almond milk in my coffee to sweeten it up in place of my regular spoon of sugar.

A L M O N D   C H A I   M U F F I N S   W I T H   C H O C O L A T E   C H U N K S
(Recipe adapted from Simply Nigella, makes 12 muffins)

Whilst these aren't super healthy muffins, anything homemade is better than raiding the biscuit jar. Everything in moderation, right? Replace the flour for spelt flour, oil for coconut oil and sugar for honey if you're feeling adventurous. The chocolate chunks are entirely optional, currants or cacao nibs would work equally well too.

225ml Blue Diamond Almond Breeze almond milk

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 chai tea bags

400g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

150g soft light brown sugar

75g whole almonds, roughly chopped

100g milk chocolate chunks (optional)

2 eggs

150ml sunflower oil

• In a small pan, gently heat the milk, cinnamon and chai tea. Its easier to tear apart the tea bags and pour the tea into the pan. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200 degrees and line a muffin tray with paper cases.
• Pour the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large mixing bowl and roughly whisk to remove any lumps. Add the almonds, apart from a few spoons, and the chocolate chunks.
• In the saucepan with the cooled milk, add the eggs and oil and whisk until combined.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a spatula or wooden spoon to fold together until just incorporated. Sprinkle the rest of the almonds on the muffin tops. 
• Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean and the tops are golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before eating.

Find out more about the '30 Ways to Goodness' campaign videos here, or recipes here. Blue Diamond Almond Breeze and other products are available in your local Sainsbury's, Tescos, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and Ocado. 

This post was kindly sponsored by Blue Diamond, but all views and opinions are my own. 

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Hot Cross Bun Muffins

Spring has officially sprung, hopefully at least. To celebrate I cracked out the first hot cross bun of the year and proceeded to get it stuck in my brand new toaster. As much as I love them, they do require reasonable effort. No kneading or double proving this week, just 45 minutes and two bowls for these hot cross bun muffins.

H O T   C R O S S   B U N   M U F F I N S
(Recipe adapted from Delicious, makes 12-16 muffins)

285g dried fruit (currants, sultanas and cranberries)

375g self raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

165ml sunflower oil

250ml buttermilk

2 eggs

200g caster sugar

80g icing sugar

1tsp lemon juice

• Heat the oven to 200 degrees and fill a muffin tray with paper muffin cases.
• In a small bowl, soak the dried fruit in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain well.
• Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and nutmeg to a large bowl and whisk to remove any lumps.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs and sugar until fluffy. 
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the fruit.
• Divide between the muffin cases until two thirds full and bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes. The tops will be lightly browned and a skewer inserted into the centre will come out clean. 
• For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a small bowl. Add the lemon juice, a few drops of hot water and mix to a smooth paste. 
• Once the muffins are cool, use a piping bag to drizzle a cross onto each muffin.
  
  

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Lemony Hazelnut & Blueberry Muffins

   Even though I haven't baked or blogged for a while I have still been indulging in many a sugar filled treat. Giant Jaffa cakes, dairy milk, speculoos and custard creams to name a few. So when I saw recipes for nourishing cakes filled with fruits, nuts and natural sugars in this months Women's Health, I thought I'd give one a go.

   I chose to make the lemony hazelnut and blueberry cake as it sounded similar to the Hummigbird blueberry and lemon bundt that I love baking. My brother always asks for the 'one with blue spots'!

   With blueberries and hazelnuts these cakes are packed with vitamin E and anti oxidants, perfect for skin. Something I struggle with being a sweet treat fiend!

Lemony hazelnut & blueberry cakes
(Adapted from Women's Health May/June 2013)
     60g hazelnuts
     130g soft unsalted butter
     110g white spelt flour
     1tsp baking powder
     2 large eggs
     65g honey
     65g maple syrup
     Finely grated zest of 1/2 a lemon

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin tray with cases
• Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for a few minutes before removing any skins and blitzing in the blender into a fine meal. 
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer, beat in all of the other ingredients. Be careful not to overmix to keep the cakes light and fluffy. 
• Divide between the muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes or unil a skewer comes out clean. 

Honey yoghurt topping

     175g fat free fromage frais

     1tbsp honey

     Few tbsps of blueberry jam

     Handful of blueberries

• Lightly whip the fromage frais until thick, drizzle in the honey and whisk again until incorporated
• Swirl in blueberry jam and top the cooled muffins with some of the yoghurt mix and fresh blueberries. 

The recipe in the magazine makes a sandwich cake, but I decided to divide the mix into a dozen muffins to try out my new Wilton muffin tray!

Passionfruit, Blueberry & Poppy Seed Muffins

   Passionfruit is a new favourite of mine, and since getting a jar of curd I've attempted to put it on most things. With night shifts looming this weekend, I decided to bake some muffins from Gizzi Erskine's new book.

Passionfruit, blueberry & poppy seed muffins
(From Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts) Makes 16 small muffins
     225g self raising flour
     50g oats
     75g caster sugar
     1tsp baking powder
     1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
     a pinch of sea salt
     2tbsp poppy seeds
     zest of 2 lemons
     200ml milk
     75ml lemon juice
     125g unsalted butter, melted
     1 egg
     250g passionfruit curd
     150g blueberries

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees.
• Mix flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, poppy seeds and lemon zest together in a large bowl.
• In another bowl mix the milk and lemon juice, slowly adding the butter, egg and 100g of the curd.
• Pour into the flour mix and combine well.
• Gently stir in the blueberries.
• Divide between the muffin cases.
• Using a piping bag, pipe about 2 teaspoons of curd into the centre of each muffin.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and the curd has sunk a little.

You can also use lemon, lime or orange curd.

My other passionfruit recipe can be found here, passionfruit cupcakes with white chocolate icing.

Leiths: Raisin Bran Muffins

   Another recipe from my Baking workshop at Leiths, these raisin bran muffins are really 100 times better than they sound. Imagine an Elvenses bar, but better and so quick and easy to make. This recipe can also be found in Leiths Baking Bible. I'll be baking more of these pretty soon, such an easy breakfast to grab on the go!

Makes 12

     200ml semi-skimmed milk

     115g butter, softened

     100g All-Bran cereal

     115g golden caster sugar

     2 eggs, beaten

     170g self raising flour, sifted

     1 teaspoon baking powder

     Half teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

     Half teaspoon ground cinnamon

     140g raisins

     Honey and oats for decoration

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
• Warm the milk and butter in a saucepan on a low heat until the butter has melted.
• Place the cereal and sugar in a bowl, stir in the butter and milk.
• Allow to cool to lukewarm before adding the eggs.
• Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and raisins. Try to incorporate the mix well without stirring more than 20 times - other wise the muffins will become tough.
• Divide between the paper cases and bake for 25-30 minutes. 
• Cool on a wire rack before glazing with honey and adding a sprinkle of oats.

See my other post from this workshop for a raspberry sponge with elderflower mascarpone recipe.

Low-Fat Banana Muffins

Perfect low-fat muffins for an 'on-the-go' breakfast, or for snacking during the day. The original recipe can be found here. Below is a UK conversion of ingredients:

3 bananas (mashed)
1 egg
60g apple sauce
45g rolled oats
120g wholewheat flour
100g brown sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
60g raw cacao