Low Fat Banana & Coconut Muffins

Who says you can’t eat muffins when you’re trying to control your weight?!

Here I have devised a low fat recipe with hardly any sugar and have relied on the banana for sweetness and to add moisture to this moreish muffin

Great for adults and children alike. Plenty of good energy being supplied and tasty too!

Hope you all enjoy them. See you soon friends. Much love, D x

INGREDIENTS
makes 6 medium sized muffins

100g self raising flour
1 tbsp dark brown muscavado sugar
1 large banana
1 large egg
2 tablespoons dessicated coconut
1 heaped tablespoon low-fat butter spread
1 tap vanilla extract

METHOD

Line a muffin tray with 6 muffin cases and preheat oven to 180c

Cream the banana, butter and sugar together

Stir in the egg and vanilla extract

Gradually add the flour. Mix until combined

Pour the mixture equally into the paper cases in the muffin tray bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean

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Lemon pop pop…poppy seed muffin cakes

HAPPY NEW YEAR to EVERYONE!  With the start of 2015, I bring you something to sweeten your tastebuds. I have been wanting to make these lemon poppy seed muffins for a long time.  My son always opts for them when we go to Starbucks and are definitely his next favourite after my double chocolate muffins.

I wanted to add a tart lemon curd in the centre of the muffin but in the end found a great recipe online. I used the base cake recipe, left out the icing and made a lemon drizzle syrup to coat each muffin instead.  This gave the muffin a tantalising sour note with just the right amount of sweet and stickiness!

I hope you enjoy them as much as we are…wishing you all a fantastic 2015! Lots more food coming up here @ ShivaayDelights.com

Until next time! Much love D x

A recipe by Sarah Cook. BBC Good Food

INGREDIENTS

225g self-raising flour
175g golden caster sugar
zest 2 lemons
1 tbsp poppy seeds toasted
3 eggs
100g natural yogurt
175g butter, melted and cooled a little

METHOD

Heat oven to 180°c/160°c fan/gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake or muffin cases

Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest and poppy seeds together in a large mixing bowl. Beat the eggs into the yogurt, then tip this into the dry ingredients with the melted butter

Mix together with a wooden spoon or whisk until lump-free, then divide between the cases

Bake for 20-22 mins until a skewer poked in comes out clean – the cakes will be quite pale on top still. Cool for 5 mins in the tin, then carefully lift onto a wire rack to finish cooling

For the Lemon Drizzle syrup

Take the juice of 1 lemon and 5 tablespoons of icing sugar. Melt and stir in a saucepan over a slow heat. Once the sugar has melted..turn off and put aside

Spoon on the warm syrup onto the individual cakes so that they are all shiny and ready to eat

Moist Chocolate Muffins = Breakfast!

Our nephews have come round to stay and we normally have cocoa pancakes with hazelnut spread but…chocolate chunk muffins were the choice for today!

I just looked up chocolate muffins and was very lucky to find this recipe! One I know I will be using again and again.

Have a wonderful weekend…It’s nearly Christmas folks!! Yay!!! Enjoy…much love, D x

(Recipe from All recipes UK)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup chocolate chips

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners

Combine flour, sugar, 3/4 cup chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a large bowl

Whisk egg, yogurt, milk, and vegetable oil in another bowl until smooth; pour into chocolate mixture and stir until batter is just blended

Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack

Spiced Pear & Walnut Muffins

A Muffin ~ a type of quick bread that originated in America and portioned for one person. Traditionally eaten for breakfast but these days so very popular especially the sweet variations, with a lovely cup of coffee or tea.

I went back to its roots and thought I would make my version of a breakfast fruit muffin. I used walnuts as they are one of the healthiest nuts available and are an antioxidant. Aswell as proven to lower blood pressure and cholesterol

So a perfect choice to start the day and what fruit marries well with walnuts? Pear! A match made in nature!

I felt the need to spice the muffins up so I used mixed spice to warm up the soul. I also reduced the sugar and fat content but this hasn’t had any effect on the taste or consistency! This muffin will definitely set you up for the day! I’ve just had one this morning and I’m still going. A great winner all round! Enjoy, much love D x

INGREDIENTS

250g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
60g caster sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp mixed spice heaped
200g grated pear
70g walnut chopped
100ml natural yoghurt
2 free range eggs beaten
50g melted butter
50ml-70ml milk

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 190°c/375°f/gas mark 5, grease a 12 hole muffin pan

• Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and mixed spice together. Add the yoghurt, eggs,syrup and milk and stir until combined. Stir in the melted butter

• Fold in the grated pear and chopped walnuts. The batter should be a drop like consistency

• Fill the muffin pan and bake for 20-30 minutes until the muffin tops are nice and golden

Walnuts are healthy! a great read 🙂

Cavolo Nero Cheese Muffins

Iron, Iron, Iron! My Mum seeked out some Cavolo Nero Cabbage for me and I was and am extremely grateful and pleased! Having never tried this type of black leaf Kale which is found in Tuscany, Italy, I really couldn’t wait to cook with it. Especially as Tuscany is one place that I want to travel to and see!

I tried it raw and it didn’t have an overwheming strong taste, so I took a chance and wrote up a savoury muffin recipe alongside some sweet cherry tomatoes and strong mature cheddar cheese. Both my husband and I were taken a back! All these ingredients especially the cavolo nero gave us a completely new tasting muffin sensation. I know this particular bake will become very much a regular in our household, especially as our home was filled by such a scrumptious aroma whilst they were being baked. Enjoy! Much love D x

INGREDIENTS

225g self raising flour
6 cavolo single leaves, remove stem and chop into strips
14 cherry tomatoes quartered
100g mature cheddar cheese
180ml milk
1 free range egg
50ml olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 200°c/400°f. Grease a 12 hole muffin pan with some olive oil

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients apart from the cheese

• Whisk the egg into the milk and pour into the dry ingredients along with the oil. Stir well to bring together

• Fold in the cavolo nero, cherry tomatoes and cheese

• Spoon up to half of the mixture in each muffin hole

• Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown

Fruit & Nut..ella muffins

A fruit and nut muffin with lashings of nutella…What more would you like to eat first thing in the morning?  I made them a little smaller in cupcake cases to portion control myself, as I’m still trying to shake off some excess baby weight!
So now, I’ve decided I am allowed to eat anything I like as long as I control portion size! Yay! Life is good! 😉
Have a tremendous Tuesday friends, enjoy your day.  Much love D x

INGREDIENTS

125g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
40g hazelnuts halved
50g raisins
1 egg
60g sugar
2 tbsp sunflower oil
100ml milk

METHOD

Preheat oven to 160°c and line a muffin tin with 6 paper cases

Mix the egg, sugar, milk and sunflower oil

Add this to the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stir until just combined, gently spoon the batter into the cases

Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown

Once cool, spread nutella on the tops of the muffins and then devour

Tropical Train Muffins

I couldn’t resist the train muffin tray I saw in a vibrant flourescent green sitting up on the top shelf by itself! My little one loves trains and loves me baking for him so this would be a double whammy of excitement!

I decided to make these muffins for children/toddlers so the sugar has been reduced drastically. But still sweet especially with the juicy pineapple chunks. I wanted to add banana for more of a tropical feel but had run out, so maybe next time!

The train came out really well and it was so exciting to line it up and see the excitement on my 3 year old’s face! He insisted that he wanted to give some to his cousin brother..so I wrapped three compartments up and he was ecstatic sharing!

The flavours have been dimmed down a little for the kids and I will be making some more muffins for us adults very soon, so you don’t feel left out! Have a beautiful Sunday, much love D x

INGREDIENTS

250g plain flour
120g small pineapple chunks
40g dessicated coconut
55g soft brown sugar
25g caster sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 large free range egg beaten
170ml milk
80ml sunflower/vegetable oil

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°c/gas mark 4

• Add all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl apart from the pineapple chunks and combine with a wooden spoon or in a mixer

• Fold the pineapple in and then fill the train moulded muffin tray

• Put the silicon tray on a metal baking tray and place into the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes. Until the tops are crisp and golden

• Let the train muffins cool down and then slowly ease them out of the tray. You will have to slice off the raised muffin tops in order for the train to sit properly on a surface

Arrange the muffin train and we’re off on our tropical adventure!

Lovely lunch courtesy of Yellowscone

Yesterday I came across a post by fellow foodie blogger Karine @ Yellowscone and I was extremely attracted to this poached egg, avocado & tomato dish
I had all the ingredients apart from the thick wholegrain bread so I made it more English by using traditional muffins as the base for this wonderful recipe

From start to finish it took less than 10 minutes and your left with something very special. The colours are first thing you see, the deep red of the cherry tomatoes, the vibrant green of the avocado and the most striking yellow yolk smothering the muffin

Thank you Karine! It was beautiful and your poaching egg technique superb! Can’t wait to read more of your work!

Fig, walnut & orange muffins

To celebrate my 101st post! Yay!!! I thought I would make a new fig muffin recipe. Figs and me never really mixed when I was young, though my Mum has always loved them. I first got introduced to figs by the fig rolls they sell in the supermarket. It was nice to feel the little balls crunch in between my teeth incased in a golden biscuit and then I moved on to the hard stuff the dried figs and then very recently fresh figs!

Now I quite enjoy them and it was for this reason that I made them and also to introduce them to my 2 toddlers so that they get a flavour for them from now!
The muffins came up fluffy and sweet! The walnuts and orange zest compliment the figs and taste a little Christmassy! I know it’s early but with these dark nights drawing in, Christmas is something I’m really looking forward to x

INGREDIENTS

150g butter softened
175g self raising flour
150g dried figs chopped
zest of 1 orange
30g walnuts chopped
75g caster sugar
25g soft brown sugar
3 large free range eggs beaten
½ tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180°c/gas mark 4. Grease a muffin pan of 12 and set aside

• Put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix, slowly add the beaten egg and fold through

• Spoon the muffin batter into the muffin pan holes directly

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean

• Gently ease out the muffins with a tablespoon and cool on a wiring rack. Then make yourself a cup of tea, grab a muffin and put your feet up! You deserve it x