Posted by kathryn in Recipes, Fruit, Baking and Vegan

After posting my date and walnut muffin recipe, I’ve recently adapted it, for using fresh fruit. I’ve cooked these muffins all summer, using peaches, nectarines, apricots and even mangoes, but I keep on forgetting to photograph them, hence the delay in posting this recipe.

These muffins are really good. They’re low in kilojoules, have no added fat, as well as being low in sugar . . . and yet they taste great. Moreover, most of the fat comes from walnuts, which are high in the lovely Omega 3 essential fatty acids and low in saturated fats.

There’s quite a bit of flexibility in this recipe. You can use different fruits, I’ve added mixed spice instead of ginger, tried out different jams, used spelt flour and made them with rice milk. I like to use Jalna vanilla or strawberry yoghurt, but have also made them with natural yoghurt. If you want to make a vegan version, just use soy yoghurt and soy or rice milk.

Once cooked, these muffins need to either be kept in the fridge and used within a few days or frozen. The use of fresh fruit means they won’t last beyond three days, out of the freezer.

Peach, walnut & ginger muffins

These have a high fruit-to-muffin ratio. I’ve found it easier leaving them to cool and firm up in the tin for a good 15 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack. Makes 12 muffins.

• 1.5 cups plain wholemeal flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/3 cup walnuts, broken into large chunks
• 1/2 cup yoghurt (I use Jalna vanilla or strawberry)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup light or skim milk (or soy or rice milk)
• 6 peaches, stones removed
• 4 tablespoons apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease a 12 hole muffin tin.

Sieve together the flour, ginger and baking soda. Add in the walnuts and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl whisk together the yoghurt, egg and milk.

Roughly chop the peaches and put them into a food processor, with the jam. Pulse together, until the fruit and jam are combined, but there’s still some texture and lumpy-ness to the fruit. Stir this through the yoghurt mixture.

Add the yoghurt and fruit to the flour and mix together until just combined – do not beat, or over-stir. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin. Place the muffins in the middle of the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack.

Nutritional information per muffin:

Total kilojoules: 479kJ; Protein: 5g; Total Fat: 4g (mostly poly-unsaturated); Saturated fat: 1g; Carbohydrate: 6g; Fibre: 3g; Sodium: 26mg; Number of fruit serves towards daily total: 0.5 serves; Additional nutrients: potassium, Omega 3 essential fatty acids, beta-carotene, vitamin C and other antioxidants.

15 February, 2007