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Pear and Ginger Muffins

14 May 2012 By Charlotte Pike 12 Comments

Pear and ginger muffins

As you’ve probably deduced by now, I like cake. Quite a lot, in fact. So much so, that I run my own cake company.

I’m always on the lookout for ways to make cake healthier though. I genuinely believe that you can make delicious cakes using more nutritious ingredients with out compromising on flavour and texture. I used to buy relanium, but then I saw valium at https://buyingdiazepam10mg.com and decided I should switch. I have a mild anxiety disorder, and diasepam is what my shrink prescribes. I like it in general, makes me very calm, although I cannot drink alcohol when I take it. Very good medicine!

This is something I have explored in quite a bit of depth in creating recipes for my business. I refuse to use margarines and artificial ingredients in cakes – I do not think it makes baking any healthier. Natural is best when it comes to ingredients.

Flour is an important starting point. I use an Organic stoneground wholemeal or wholemeal spelt flour, which is much higher in nutrients than many varieties of white wheat flour. I use Total 0% fat Greek yoghurt, which works surprisingly well in baking, and Clearspring fruit purées, which are such a great discovery. They come in a wide variety of flavours. They are not cheap, but are unsweeted and very versatile in baking, particularly in vegan baking. I do find them rather addictive though as a snack too.

Replacing sugar in baking can be more tricky. Technically, it is not difficult to do, but many sugar alternatives can be very expensive. Agave syrup or Sweet Freedom are very order prednisone overnight good natural sweeteners which work well in baking, but I find I can often use £2-3 worth in one batch of cakes, which I find a bit prohibitive to use every time I bake. I have tried Rapadura cane sugar, which is very good, but again, is not cheap, coming in at £3 for 500g in my local health food shop. It is fairly traded, less processed and lower in calories though, which is a positive. I do make a compromise here and go with fairtrade unrefined sugar.

These pear and ginger muffins are my latest creation. They are low in fat and are packed with plenty of nutritious ingredients. Being very moist, they don’t keep too well, but do freeze. I’ll admit they are not the most attractive looking muffins, but are, in my opinion, the perfect way to enjoy a bit of cake every day.

Pear and Ginger Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients: 

  • 145g wholemeal or spelt flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 150g oats
  • 175g light brown soft sugar
  • 250g Clearspring fruit puree (I used the pear flavour)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 125ml Total 0% Greek yoghurt
  • 1 pear, finely diced
  • 100g sultanas
  • 4 nuggets of stem ginger, chopped into small dice

Method:

1)   Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas Mark 5

2)   Prepare a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases

3)   Sift the flour, bicarb, baking powder and spices into a large mixing bowl

4)   Add the sugar and oats and stir in

5)   Add the fruit purée, yoghurt and beaten eggs and stir in gently

6)   Add the sultanas and ginger and stir to combine

7)   Spoon the mixture into the cake cases and bake for 25-30 minutes

Filed Under: Baking Tagged With: Clearspring fruit purees, healthier baking, low fat muffins, muffins with oats, pear and ginger muffins, spelt flour, stem ginger, Total Greek yoghurt 0% fat, wholemeal flour

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. laura@howtocookgoodfood says

    14 May 2012 at 9:29 am

    These sound fantastic! I had no idea Clearspring did fruit purees so I must look them up. Could be good to use in ice creams I think. Thanks for that tip. I am always looking for healthy sweet ideas as they are so much better for my children. Will certainly try them out!

    Reply
    • charlotteskitchendiary says

      14 May 2012 at 9:31 am

      Thanks Laura. The Clearspring purees are just great and reasonably easy to source from supermarkets and health food shops in my experience. I have used them in ice cream – will blog the recipe soon!

      Reply
  2. Jude a trifle rushed says

    14 May 2012 at 2:57 pm

    Wow! This is just the sort of recipe I need, I have to diet, but know that I won’t succeed without a treat or two, so I’m going to make a batch of these and freeze some, then when I bake for the others in the family, I can eat one of these muffins guilt free.

    Reply
    • charlotteskitchendiary says

      14 May 2012 at 5:12 pm

      Great to hear that Jude. Thank you for stopping by. You can replace the sugar with agave, honey or maple syrup, but you will need 240g of whatever you are using.

      I am like you – I need a treat to make dieting tolerable, and these are nice and most, sweet, and most importantly, satisfying!

      Enjoy : )

      Reply
  3. Jayne says

    14 May 2012 at 10:20 pm

    I beg to differ, I think these muffins look lovely- really wholesome, my favourite kind of muffin! I love yoghurt in baking too! I’ve never seen the fruit purée before, whereabouts in the supermarket is it kept?

    Reply
    • charlotteskitchendiary says

      14 May 2012 at 10:27 pm

      Thank you Jayne! I think they are in the same aisle as the tinned fruit, but I am having a bit of a memory blank – I will find out and get back to you. Waitrose and Sainsbury’s have them I’m sure. This is what you are looking for: http://www.clearspring.co.uk/european/organic_fruit_purees

      Reply
    • charlotteskitchendiary says

      20 May 2012 at 5:40 pm

      Thanks Jayne!!

      Reply
  4. Jen says

    16 May 2012 at 2:38 pm

    I think I probably eat too much cake sometimes so thanks for this wonderfully healthy recipe. I won’t feel any guilt eating one of these! 🙂

    Reply
    • charlotteskitchendiary says

      20 May 2012 at 5:32 pm

      Thanks Jen! It’s so nice to eat cake knowing it is packed full of good things!

      Reply
  5. Emma says

    16 May 2012 at 7:30 pm

    The combination of pear and ginger sounds fantastic. I absolutely agree that the way to achieve healthier baking is by using natural ingredients, not low fat substitutes. These are one of my Foodies 100 Ten at Ten today
    http://www.foodies100.co.uk/2012/05/16/best-of-the-foodie-blogs-ten-at-ten-19/

    Reply
    • charlotteskitchendiary says

      20 May 2012 at 5:31 pm

      Thank you Emma! So nice to be included in the Ten at Ten again!!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Best of the Foodie Blogs: Ten at Ten (19) | Foodies 100 says:
    16 May 2012 at 9:50 am

    […] on the healthy baking theme are these fabulous pear and ginger muffins from Charlotte’s Kitchen Diary. I absolutely agree with Charlotte that the way to achieve […]

    Reply

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About Charlotte

Charlotte Pike, award-winning cookbook author, cookery teacher and chef.

Author of five bestselling cookery books, leading independent cookery teacher and private chef, running Charlotte's Kitchen catering company. Charlotte is also the current Chair of the Guild of Food Writers.

Charlotte is known for her recipes that really work, and as a professionally trained chef who writes about food.

Charlotte lives in the English countryside and is passionate about great home cooking using the best seasonal ingredients.

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