COCONUT BANANA MUFFINS

COCONUT BANANA MUFFINS

Makes: 11-12 small muffins 

115g cup all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
70g desiccated coconut/ dried coconut flakes (about 1 cup)
60g unsalted butter, melted *
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
50g castor sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 large egg *
80ml coconut milk *
4 tbsp milk *
2 medium sized full ripen bananas (about 175g with skin), mashed 

* – All these ingredients must be at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 200°C for 15 minutes. Prepare muffin cups.
2. Cut butter into cubes and put into a small bowl. Transfer the bowl to a sauce pan filled with water. Heat up the sauce pan under medium low heat. Stir the butter occasionally. When it’s fully melted, remove the bowl from the sauce pan. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine and sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add in castor sugar and salt to mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix desiccated coconut with 1 tbsp brown sugar and 30g melted butter until well combined. Set aside 4 tbsp coconut mixture as topping. Then, add the remaining coconut mixture into the flour mixture (from step 3) and combine well.
5. In another bowl, beat egg until foamy. Stir in coconut milk, milk and 30g melted butter until well combined. Then add in mashed bananas and mix well.
6. Using a spatula, gently fold in wet ingredients (from step 5) to dry ingredients (from step 4) till well incorporated and no traces of flour. Do not overmix. It is fine if there are some small lumps in the batter.
7. Transfer batter into a piping bag and pipe batter into the muffin cups until each cup is 80% full. Alternatively, you can use a spoon to scoop the muffins into the cups.
8. Use a small spoon (ie dessert spoon), scoop and spread the coconut mixture (from step 4) evenly on top of the batter. Lightly press the coconut mixture so that it will stick well to the batter.
9. The batter should be thick, “spoonable” not “pourable”.
10. Bake in the oven at 190°c for 10 minutes, then lower to 180°c for another 10 minutes or until the muffins have risen and turned slightly golden brown. If your muffins show uneven colour, turn the baking tray 180° towards the last 5 minutes.
11. After the baking time is over, leave the muffins inside with the oven door shut. Let the residue heat in the oven cook the muffins for a further 2 minutes.

http://food-4tots.com/2011/10/02/coconut-banana-muffins/2/

Blueberry Muffins

Tips to create fluffy muffins:

- make sure you follow directions and hand stir the wet ingredients into the dry

- do not mix all the lumps out because if you did you've overmixed it

- no kitchenaid mixer.  Hand stir with a spoon!!!  The only electric mixer I used in this recipe was with the sugar and margarine.

- recipe should have Baking Powder - Baking powder is a rising agent

- spray the bottom of the tins and not the sides so the muffins can rise better.

I did all these things and it worked!!!!  It's been bothering me alot that all my muffins are so dense and heavy.  Now these ones are soft and moist.  Not dense at all.

Ingredients

Makes 1 dozen

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I used cinnamon and it tastes awesome!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a standard 12-cup muffin pan and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Working over the bowl, toss blueberries in a fine sieve with about 1 1/2 teaspoons flour mixture to lightly coat; set aside the flour mixture and the blueberries (I skipped the blueberries into flour).
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Mix in vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add reserved flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add milk, beating until just combined. Do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. If desired, in a small bowl, mix together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg. Sprinkle sugar mixture on top of muffin batter.
4. Bake, rotating pan halfway though, until muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn muffins on their sides in their cups, and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Blueberry Muffins Recipe - MarthaStewart.com 

Fluffy Carrot Muffins

These muffins are definitely fluffy.  I chose to use Betty Crocker's Cream Cheese icing to ice them up instead of making my own... way quicker and easier.....  Delicious!

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrot

Icing (optional):
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease the bottoms only of 12 muffin cups, or line with baking cups. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Beat the eggs and sugar until frothy and lightened in color. Stir in the oil, vanilla extract, and grated carrot; fold in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins.

Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove to cool on wire racks.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing by beating together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar until fluffy. Frost the cooled muffins and chill until ready to serve.

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1 1/2 cups peeled and grated apples

3/4 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil or applesauce

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly oil 18 muffins cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In a second bowl, combine carrots, apples, coconut, dates and pecans. Stir in eggs, oil and vanilla. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients; stir until smooth.

Spoon or scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Bake at 375 F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

www.allrecipes.com, 03/2010