Recipe: Learn how to make these magical muffins

These lovely muffins are a great flavour combination to ease you out of Christmas, and add a little brightness to January. They are simple to make, moist and delicious.
If you are already on a health buzz for the New Year the second breakfast muffin recipe might be more appealing, as it’s full of dates and seeds — so it’s easy to convince yourself it’s super healthy.
210 gr cream flour
100gr ground almonds
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. bread soda
¼ tsp. salt
115gr sunflower oil
200gr golden caster sugar
2 whole free range eggs
250ml buttermilk
3 tsp. vanilla essence
110 gr frozen cranberries
20ml boiling water
2 tbsp. flaked almonds
- Pre heat oven to 180 C
- Line a muffin tin with muffin papers.
- Sieve together the flour, baking powder, bread soda, salt & sugar.
- Add in the ground almonds and whisk.
- Whisk together the egg, buttermilk, sunflower, vanilla extract.
- Add the boiling water to the buttermilk mixture.
- Pour on to the dry ingredients, mix well and finally add the cranberries and give a quick mix.
- Share between the muffin papers and sprinkle each one with almonds.
- Bake until cooked through and set on top. 18 to 20 minutes.
- Once cooked lift carefully out of the tray onto a wire rack to cool.
1 tsp. bread soda
240ml water
260gr dates chopped
1 tbsp. chia seeds
3 tbsp. water
80 g pecans
300g whole-wheat flour (not coarse)
150 gr cream flour
60g sultanas
160g soft light brown sugar
40 gr golden linseeds
4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
16 gr desiccated coconut
1 tsp. pumpkin seeds
1 tsp. sunflower seeds
40 gr grated carrot
360ml buttermilk
2 free-range eggs
120ml sunflower oil
1 tsp. vanilla essence
20g porridge oats
10g chia seeds
20 gr linseeds
20gr-desiccated coconut
- Stir topping ingredient together then set aside.
- Pre heat the oven to 180 C.
- Line two muffin tins with 14 large muffin papers (or make more smaller muffins).
- Put the dates, water and bread soda in a small pot, stir and bring slowly to the boil then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Put the chia seeds in the base of a large jug then add the water and allow to soak whilst you weigh out the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Roughly chop the pecans and toast in the oven @170 for eight to 10 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Weigh all the dry ingredients into one bowl and whisk gently to mix.
- Next add the buttermilk and eggs to the chia seed, mix well.
- Add in the oil, carrot, and buttermilk the finally add the date mix.
- Now pour all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir well.
- Spoon into the muffin papers coming a little more than half way up.
- Sprinkle each muffin generously with topping, and then place in the oven.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and well golden on top and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and straight away lift out each muffin onto a wire rack to cool.
- Serve warm or allow to cool fully.
If you would like to contact Mercy email info@wickeddesserts.ie