Baking muffins

• Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
• Preheat the oven 200°C higher than the required temperature to compensate for the loss of heat when the oven door is opened. Turn down to the right temperature when the muffins are placed in the oven.
• Mix the batter as little as possible. Stir only until the ingredients are moistened. The batter can still be lumpy. If batter is over mixed the muffins will have a coarse texture with large tunnels.
• Spoon the muffin mixture into the muffin tins until only two thirds full.
• Press muffins lightly on top to test whether they are cooked. If it springs back, muffins are cooked.
• Muffins are tastiest when eaten fresh from the oven. So serve them as soon as possible after baking

Tin Size

• Muffin tins are available in 2 sizes. Muffins baked in the smaller tins are suitable for cocktails, snacks and for tea parties. If the mixture is sufficient size muffins, it should make 18-20 smaller muffins

Cooling

• Muffins should be eaten immediately, or turned onto a wire rack to cool slightly. If muffins are left in the tin they become too moist, resulting in a dense texture and an uncooked appearance

Freezing and Defrosting

• If muffins are not eaten immediately, they should be stored in an airtight container and frozen for later use.
• Muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months.
• Frozen muffins should be defrosted at room temperature within one hour.
• Defrost frozen muffins covered in foil in a preheated oven at 200°C for 12-15 minutes or until warm enough.
• Defrost 1 frozen muffin on a piece of kitchen paper in the microwave oven at 100% power for 30-40 seconds

Serving

• Savoury muffins may be served with flavoured butter (for example garlic, parsley lemon or herbed but¬ter). They can also be served with meat, vegetable or fish spread.
• For the guests the butter can be spread onto the muffins before serving, or it can be decoratively served in a butter dish or in a few smaller butter dishes. Cut the butter into small cubes or make butter curls and garnish with herbs

These are the recipes the Clover Mamas Afrika tried and tested at the Beginners Cooking & Baking course.

Makes: 18 Muffins

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500ml cake flour (280g)
15ml baking powder
3ml salt
160ml castor sugar (140g)
3 ex-large eggs
100ml sunflower oil
5 ml vanilla essence or almond essence
100ml Clover Fresh Full Cream Milk
325 ml raisins or fruit cake mix (200g) (optional)

1. Sift together dry ingredients. Add sugar.
2. Beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla essence and milk.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour liquid mixture into the centre. Add raisins. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients. Do not over mix.
4. To make high-capped muffins, fill the tins generously, almost to the top.
5. Use and ice cream scoop for even and easy filling of greased muffin tins and bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes
6. Turn out onto a cooling rack.
7. These make very nice fairy cakes and can be iced or dusted with icing sugar.
8. These muffins freeze well

Sweet bran muffins

Soak 180ml digestive bran in 80 ml Clover fresh full cream milk.
Follow basic recipe and add soaked bran at step 3.

Cinnamon and pumpkin muffins

Follow basic recipe with the following adjustments:
Add 7ml cinnamon to the dry ingredients.
Cook and mash 250ml butternut or pumpkin. (±240g). Stir into mixture.

Chocolate muffins

Add 30ml cocoa to 30ml boiling water. Allow to cool.
Follow basic recipe and add cocoa at step 3.
7ml strong coffee powder can be added to the cocoa and water

Cinnamon sugar muffins

250ml cake flour (140g)
125ml nutty wheat whole-wheat meal (75g)
5ml baking powder
5ml bicarbonate of soda 5ml ground cinnamon
2ml salt
150ml brown sugar (120g)
375ml grated carrots (150g)
2 ex-large eggs, lightly beaten
150ml sunflower oil
5ml vanilla essence
30ml Clover Fresh Full Cream Milk

Makes: 8 - 10 muffins, depending on size

1. Sift dry ingredients together, add the sugar.
2. Stir in the grated carrots.
3. Mix together the eggs, oil, vanilla essence and milk.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour liquid mixture into the centre.
5. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients. Do not over mix.
6. Whole-wheat muffins benefit from standing for a while after mixing. This extra time allows the bran to soften, the fruit to swell out and the crumb to be tenderised. The mixture can be mixed the evening before and baked the next morning.
7. Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins and bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes.
8. Turn out onto a cooling rack.
9. These muffins freeze well.

375ml cake flour (210g)
10 ml baking powder
5ml salt
5ml mustard powder
375ml Clover Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (100g)
2 ex-large eggs
75ml sunflower oil
125ml Clover Fresh Full Cream Milk

Makes: 9 muffins

1. Sift together dry ingredients, stir in cheese.
2. Mix together the eggs, oil and milk.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour liquid mixture into the centre.
4. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients. Do not over mix.
5. Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins and bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes.
6. Turn out onto a cooling rack.
7. These muffins freeze well

Baby marrow and cheese muffins

Follow the basic recipe but add 190ml (90g) finely grated baby marrows.
Reduce the cheese to 190ml (75g)

Herb, cheese and onion muffins

Follow the basic recipe.
Reduce the cheese to 190ml Clover Cheddar cheese (75g), ½ chopped onion and 5ml mixed herbs. Sauté onion and herbs in a little oil 

Spinach, and onion muffins

Omit mustard powder.
Add 125ml cooked, finely chopped spinach (100g) and one finely chopped onion sautéed to dry ingredients 

Tuna muffins