Recently I have fallen in love with ginger all over again. It all started on a cold blustery day, it was dark, and my head was all stuffed up. Instead of making myself the usual cup of coffee and choccy biccy to cheer myself up, I decided to try something a bit different and made ginger and lemon tea. It really cheered me up, it was so wonderfully strong and spicy. The next day I bought the biggest ginger root I could find and began to scour the internet for ginger related recipes.
Ginger Muffins
~ makes 12 muffins.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
- 135g golden syrup (black treacle may be better)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 125 grams butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 100 grams light brown muscovado sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 225 grams plain flour
- 1 teaspoons ground ginger
- 80 grams sultanas
- 50 grams ginger, thinly chopped (you could use preserved ginger, but I used fresh)
Preheat the oven to 170 oC and fill a muffin (or fairy cake tin) with liners.
Warm the golden syrup and milk together under a low heat, until melted. A good way to measure out golden syrup is to place the jar on scales and with a warmed metal spoon (I usually pour boiling water over it) remove a spoonful at a time, taking care to remember the original weight, placing each spoonful into a pan. Once you have removed 135 grams from the jar stop.
Once the syrup has melted add the bicarbonate of soda to the syrup. Keep warm while you prepare the next stage, but do not cook it further. (If it becomes cold it will become hard to remove from the pan cleanly).
Cream the butter and sugar, and add the eggs one at a time mixing all the time. Now add the golden syrup mixture, stirring. Sift the flour and be careful not to overmix. Add the ginger powder, chopped ginger and sultanas, and stir till evenly distributed.
Fill each of the muffin cups, and then bake for around 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and they spring back to the touch.
These muffins had the wonderful unmistakable taste of ginger but weren’t quite as overpowering as the tea recipe. They had a delicate gingery taste that went perfectly with a cup of coffee.
