Lemon and white chocolate muffins

As Easter is approaching, it's nice to bake something fresh and springlike and add whimsical Easter decorations to the baked goods. So I decided to make some lemon muffins with white chocolate icing. As a rough guideline for the ingredient amounts of the cake dough I used Mary Berry's recipe for lemon cupcakes, check it out as well. 

Here is my recipe, and it makes about 12 tasty muffins.

125g self-raising flour

125g caster sugar

125g butter

2 eggs

2tbsp milk

1,5 lemons, zest grated

150g white baking chocolate

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Mix the flour and sugar with the soft butter. Add the eggs, milk and one lemon's zest and whisk them all into an even dough.

Divide the dough into muffin cases and bake for about 20 minutes until fully baked. I usually place the muffin cases into a silicone muffin baking tray with slots, so they keep their shape better.

Let the muffins cool after baking and once cooled start preparing the icing. Melt white chocolate gently in a water bath and mix the half lemon's zest into it once melted. Spread the chocolate on the muffins and let set. You can also pipe the chocolate icing on, but then hurry up, so that the chocolate doesn't set again.

Then just enjoy the tasty muffins!

Your VegHog

Chocolate chip and pecan muffins

I baked chocolate chip and pecan nut muffins and I want to share the recipe with you.

As decoration for these muffins I used those cute Dalecarlian chocolate horses Dalahästar that I purchased in Sweden this summer. They gave the muffins quite a cute look. Otherwise I decided against an extra chocolate icing not to make the muffins too sweet.

This recipe makes about 12 muffins that are very easy to bake.

Ingredients

300g flour

50g butter

80g sugar

1tsp baking powder

2 eggs

225ml milk

100g milk chocolate chips

50g pecan nuts chopped

1tsp vanilla extract

Dalecarlian chocolate horses or chocolate icing (optional)

Method

Stir the flour and baking powder together. Add the soft butter and pinch it until the dough has reached a similar texture to bread crumbs. Then add the sugar.

Mix the milk, eggs and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and then add these to the flour mixture. Add the chocolate chips and chopped pecan nuts. Mix the dough and pour it into muffin cases.

Bake them at 200C for about 15-20 minutes until the dough is fully baked.

Let the muffins cool and decorate them either with some chocolate icing or chocolates in horse shape or any other shapes. These muffins are best to be enjoyed with some coffee.

Your VegHog

Chili and Cheddar muffins

Savoury muffins are rather great and quirky but also easy to make. With the spiciness of these you could easily surprise your friends.

Makes about 15 muffins:

150g Butter

3 Eggs

3dl Flour

3tsp Baking powder

1tsp Salt

1/2dl Milk

2dl Grated chili Cheddar

Packet of chili soft cheese

Grate the cheese. Instead of the chili Cheddar also regular Cheddar or some other cheese could be used and fresh or dried chili added to the mix.

Mix the eggs and cheese with a hand mixer. Mix the dry ingredients together and add them to the cheese mix with the melted butter and milk. Mix it all to an even paste, which would look like a normal muffin dough but only taste savoury.

Put the paste into muffin cases up to approximately the middle and bake at 200C for about 20 minutes when the muffins have risen and received some golden brown colour.

Let the muffins cool down and top them with a soft cheese icing. Squirt soft cheese through an icing gun on the top of the muffins. The icing can also be left out as the muffins are quite cheesy and tasty even without it.

Happy baking moments!

Your VegHog

Tyrkisk Peber muffins – Turkinpippurimuffinssit

Let's make weird black muffins! One day I had this insane baking idea of making Tyrkisk Peber muffins. Tyrkisk Peber is basically Finnish salty liquorice "salmiak" and very popular among Finns and Scandinavians but other people sometimes find it slightly peculiar. I wonder why that is when it has been described as "tongue-numbing"and "almost-stinging"? Well I for one am obsessed with salmiak and I sometimes try to put it where it doesn't necessarily have any business being in.

These muffins are quite sweet although they have the slight spiciness of the liquorice. I tried not to overdo it with the Tyrkisk Peber but it still can be clearly tasted. You could also use other Tyrkisk Peber variations than the original. I could imagine that the Hot&Sour product would work out well in this. I think even some other salmiak or liquorice products would do as it can be hard to get the originals outside of Finland.

This recipe will make about 15 muffins.

For the muffin dough:

2 Eggs

150ml Milk

100ml Liquid salmiak extract

300g Wheat flour

100ml Butter

85g Sugar

3tsp Baking powder

10 Crushed Tyrkisk Peber sweets

For the icing:

50g Icing sugar

Few table spoons of liquid salmiak extract

15 Whole Tyrkisk Peber sweets

Some Tyrkisk Peber crush

Preparations are fairly simple. First preheat the oven to 180-200C.

Crush the Tyrkisk Peber sweets: put them into a bag and hammer away. I prefer a hammer for the job but also a ready crushed Tyrkisk Peber product for baking can be obtained at least in Finland.

Mix ingredients for the muffin dough: first mix the eggs, sugar, milk and salmiak extract into a smooth mixture. Then add the flour, baking powder and Tyrkisk Peber crush. Save some of the crush for the icing. Mix these until you have an even dough.

Put the dough into muffin cases, fill them up to the middle. Bake about 25-30 minutes until the muffins are baked throughout and let the muffins cool down afterwards.

In the meanwhile prepare the icing by mixing the icing sugar with some salmiak extract. You need to have a really tough texture that the icing isn't too runny.

Squirt the icing with an icing gun on the muffins, sprinkle Tyrkisk Peber crush on the top and place a whole Tyrkisk Peber sweet on each muffin.

Serve to your puzzled friends and enjoy!

If you got curious also check out my previous Tyrkisk Peber recipe, a cool sundae. 

Your VegHog