Apple pie muffins

I call these “apple pie muffins” not because they use cinnamon or smell of apple pie – okay, they DO smell of apple pie because of the spices but that’s beside the point – but because they literally have apple pie filling in them. Bramley apple pie filling from a tin, to be precise. Pete had been asking me to make these muffins, but I’d been stalling as I didn’t think his suggestion would work out.

Wet apple pie filling in the middle of a muffin, I thought, would make them soggy after baking, so I offered to make apple muffins using chopped-up apples in the batter. But no, he didn’t want chopped-up-apple muffins, although (he hastened to add) those were pretty good the last time I’d made them. He wanted apple-pie filling IN the muffins, as filling.

So, since I could see no graceful way out of it, I made the muffins as specified, with apple pie filling plopped into the centre (and topped with a little more batter - my idea).

To my genuine surprise, the apple pie filling didn’t make the muffins soggy in the centre. The idea actually worked out really well, although next time I will add some cinnamon powder to the apple pie filling to freshen its rather bland taste. Well, it was tinned filling after all, not fresh.

The bottomline, though, is that Pete’s idea was a yummilicious success – and for that, hats off to him.

Recipe for: Apple pie muffins


Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter/margarine
1/3 cup sugar
4 tbsp cream
2 eggs
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon/mixed spice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tin ready-made Bramley apple pie filling

Method:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar till fluffy.

2. Beat in the cream.


3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.


4. Lightly fold in the flour and baking powder.


5. Add the mixed spice/cinnamon and vanilla and stir till the wet and dry ingredients are just mixed. The batter should be thick.


6. Place paper muffin cases in a muffin pan, and add the dough into each case by the rounded tablespoonful. Take a small spoon and make a dip in the middle of the dough.


7. Now place a teaspoonful of the apple filling in the dip, then a tsp of the dough on top of the filling.

Continue till all the cases are filled.


8. Bake the muffins at 180C for 20-25 minutes, testing after 20 minutes to see if they are cooked. The muffins should be golden on top.


9. Remove the tray from the oven and let the muffins cool. Serve warm.


RECIPE: APPLE PIE MUFFINS

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter/margarine
1/3 cup sugar
4 tbsp cream
2 eggs
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon/mixed spice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tin ready-made Bramley apple pie filling

Method:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar till fluffy.
2. Beat in the cream.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
4. Lightly fold in the flour and baking powder.
5. Add the mixed spice/cinnamon and vanilla and stir till the wet and dry ingredients are just mixed. The batter should be thick.
6. Place paper muffin cases in a muffin pan, and add the dough into each case by the rounded tablespoonful. Take a small spoon and make a dip in the middle of the dough.
7. Now place a teaspoonful of the apple filling in the dip, then a tsp of the dough on top of the filling. Continue till all the cases are filled.
8. Bake the muffins at 180C for 20-25 minutes, testing after 20 minutes to see if they are cooked. The muffins should be golden on top.
9. Remove the tray from the oven and let the muffins cool. Serve warm.