yet more healthy muffins...

I wish I'd kept my copy of Julie Stafford's mid '90's muffin book. I donated it to the choir garage sale a few years ago which I now regret. I'm going to try and get another one, although I'm not sure it's still in print. In the meantime I found a recipe from the book on the net for Rhubarb and Ginger muffins. It sounded similar to Rhubarb Daisy Cake (recipe here) created by Jamie Oliver's mum. It's an upside down cake topped with a pinwheel of rhubarb sticks and glazed with a mixture of golden syrup and ginger syrup which I've made and which looks and tastes divine. The muffins were never going to taste as good as the cake seeing as there's no butter or syrup, but they're pretty good. Here's my version :

Rhubarb and Ginger Muffins (makes 15)

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

1 1/2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
300 g rhubarb (1 bunch), finely chopped (choose nice red thin stalks)
1/4 cup finely chopped glace ginger
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup CSR Smart
1/2 cup apple juice
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 15 holes of 2 muffin tins with paper liners and spray liners lightly with non-stick spray.

Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the rhubarb and ginger.

In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs, then beat in the oil, followed by the apple juice and the buttermilk.

Add the liquid mix to the dry mix and stir well.

Spoon into muffin tray and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove muffins from tray and cool on wire rack.

As there's no sugar in them they look a little anaemic but a dusting of icing sugar makes them look more appetising.