September 16, 2012

PEAR AND GOAT’S CHEESE MINI MUFFINS

Dom’s Random Recipe Challenge at Bellau Kitchen is a bit different this month – he’s joining forces with Kate of What Kate Baked and Karen of Lavender and Lovage, to hold a Teatime Random Recipe.

This is how I came to pass a happy time gathering some of my favourite baking books, choosing one at random and turning the page at random to reveal……….

minimuffin 1

…….a recipe for pear and blue cheese mini muffins.

The more observant of you will notice that this is not the same as the title of the post.  This is because I didn’t have any blue cheese in stock, but I did have some goat’s cheese.  So I decided to use that.

The book is an M&S cookbook called “1 mix, 100 muffins” by Susanna Tee.  It has been lurking on my bookshelf for some time but I have never made anything from it.  When I let it fall open the last thing I expected was a recipe for savoury muffins, let alone mini ones.  But I do possess a mini muffin tin so that was ok. minimuffin 2 And there’s nothing wrong with having something savoury with all those cakes, scones and buns served as a teatime treat, so that’s ok too.

I am also linking this recipe to this month’s AlphaBakes challenge, organised by Ros at The More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline at Caroline Makes.  This month the letter of the alphabet is “P”.  Pear begins with a P so that’s ok too.

The mini muffins were an absolute delight.  The recipe makes 48 mini muffins – all the recipes in the book will make 48 minis or 12 standard muffins.  I didn’t need 48 so I made 24 minis and 6 regular muffins.  They were scrummy.

minimuffin 4The book is true to it’s title – pretty much all the recipes are the same basic formula with little variations.  Further exploration revealed that I could have made prawn and parsley, parmesan and pine nut, smoked salmon and dill, brie and redcurrant…..and lots of other flavours of gorgeous little mini muffins.

Next time we have visitors, or a party, I shall be baking these delicious little morsels again………they would be perfect served as nibbles at apéro time I think.

A note at the beginning of the book says that all the muffins therein are perfect for freezing. Thaw for 2-3 hours and reheat on a baking tray at 180C/ 160fan/ gas mk 4, for 10-15 minutes. Now that’s a very handy tip, I think.

Pear and goat’s cheese mini muffins.

Ingredients.

280g plain flour

1 tblsp baking powder

a large pinch of salt

black pepper

2 medium eggs

250 ml milk

6 tblsp sunflower oil

a 400g can pear halves

100g goat’s cheese

40g walnut pieces

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°fan/ gas mk 6.  Grease two 24-hole mini muffin tins (or one 12-hole regular tin).

Drain the pears and chop them into small pieces.  Chop or crumble the cheese.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.  Stir in the chopped pears and cheese.  Season with salt and pepper and mix together.

Lightly beat the eggs and mix with the milk and oil.  Add to the other ingredients and mix until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tins.  Scatter the walnut pieces over the top.

Bake for about 15 minutes until risen, golden and firm to the touch.  (If making regular muffins, bake for about 20 minutes.)  Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

Makes 48 mini muffins or 12 regular ones.

22 comments:

  1. Many thanks for this, Jean. I have a savoury rather than a sweet tooth on the whole and these sound perfect for pre-dinner nibbles on both sides of the Channel. :-)

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    1. Perpetua, I will definitely try it with blue cheese next time, and some of the other variations....mini muffin tins are half price in Sainsbury's at the moment, along with lots of their cookware range.

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    2. Coming back to this, Jean, did you use mini-muffin cases with these or just the tins? The cases seem to me exorbitantly expensive (about 4p each with postage!) so I don't want to buy them unless absolutely necessary. I'm 40 miles from the nearest Sainsburys so am ordering a 24 hole tin from Amazon.

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    3. Hi Perpetua, sorry for the delay in replying - we have been in France where we have no internet so I am just catching up !!
      I didn't use paper cases, just greased the tins well and the muffins came out perfectly. I hate the way bits of muffin always end up stuck to paper cases anyway !!

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    4. No problem Jean, I guessed you were away. My tin has arrived and it's great. It's by Kitchen Craft, as is almost all the new bakeware I bought or was given to go with my new kitchen, and is very heavy-duty non-stick. I'm looking forward to making my own mini mince pies this year. :-)

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  2. I can just picture you surrounded by your favourite books, flicking randomly through to choose these simply divine little muffins... just look at how light and fluffy they are and what a great flavour combo... I will be making these very soon. Thanks for taking part this month and thanks so much for enjoying yourself too!

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    1. Dom, it's thanks to you (again) that I baked something I would otherwise never have baked, and now I think I will find the recipe really useful.

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  3. They look really yummy indeed. Well done on these!

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  4. I'm always on the look out for something tasty (and straightforward!) for aperos. Your recipe fits the bill and seems easy to adapt. Merci beaucoup!

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    1. Gaynor, they were dead easy - and don't forget the mini muffin tins are half price (£3.25) in Sainsbury's just now.

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  5. I love little savoury mouthfuls such as these - they look perfect. The flavour combination is fantastic - I can't wait to give the blue cheese ones a try.

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  6. C'est parfait Jean! I LOVE them and thanks so much for joining in the fun with RR and TTT as a combined challenge this month! Karen

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  7. I've made things with pear and blue cheese before but it's good to know that it works with goat's cheese as well! Thanks for entering these into Alphabakes!

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  8. You are right - these would be perfect to serve to guests for a wee nibble. In fact, they might be good for me to serve at my next book group.
    I do love the cheese and pear combination. I can never pass up a pear and blue cheese or goats cheese starter in a restaurant.

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  9. What an adaptable recipe! I love the possible variations, as well as your chosen one. Lovely!

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  10. I am all in for savoury muffins, especially those that have goat cheese in them!

    Your blog is great I am glad I found you via Alphabakes :)

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  11. Lovely. They sound so tasty and nice to have a savoury option amongst all the sweet Alphabakes. Definitely bookmarking them to try.

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  12. Susan Lindquist left a really nice comment here, which I accidentally managed to delete. Luckily I can copy it from my email messages:
    Hello Jean ... this is my first time visiting your blog and what a tasty way to begin! I love the idea of the pear/ chevre/walnut combo! Here in the States, muffins are traditionally sweet knoshes to have with tea or coffee ... these would be lovely with some additional cheese and a glass of wine before dinner ... a wonderful addition to a teatime table also!

    Thanks Susan, for leaving your comment !!

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  13. These look lovely - pear and goats cheese sounds like a scrummy combination. I'm a big fan of a savoury muffin.

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  14. Great idea with the savory, will try it out very soon, love your blog. By the way as for the Muffin Tins, try out the Flexipan, non stick, easy to use.....I really find them perfect

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