Marmalade and poppy seed muffins
These muffins are sticky, sweet treats for breakfast and very simple to make. I’ve used spelt as my flour here. These days most flours are made from intensively grown strains of wheat that are hard for us to digest, and they are milled so thoroughly that they are stripped of most of their essential nutrients. By using less intensively produced flours, such as spelt or kamut, in both their white and wholewheat forms, we can start getting nutrients back into our baking and eat a more easily digestible grain. Makes 12.
Ingredients
200g thick-cut marmalade, plus extra to glaze
120g butter, melted
2 eggs
2 tbsp orange juice
250ml whole milk
300g wholemeal spelt flour, sifted
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
50g poppy seeds
100g soft light brown sugar
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/gas 4 and line a deep 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the marmalade and melted butter, then whisk in each egg in turn before slowly whisking in the orange juice and milk.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and stir in the poppy seeds and sugar. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until well combined. Spoon into the cases so that they are two-thirds full and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
While the muffins are in the oven, melt 4 tbsp of marmalade for the glaze. As soon as they come out of the oven, transfer to a wire rack to cool and liberally paint the top of the warm muffins with the extra marmalade. Leave to cool before eating; these are best eaten within a couple of days and are delicious reheated.
IMAGE CREDIT: Tara Fisher