Sweet Treats – Strawberry and Passionfruit Muffins

EDIT: First published just a week after the blog started, this tasty lunch box treat deserves to be revisited. It’s also perfect for this time of year when both passionfruit and strawberries are great value and in season.

Nobody has to be persuaded to eat muffins but some varieties are more popular than others. Strawberry muffins – whether made with white chocolate chips, or with passionfruit pulp – seem to walk off my kitchen bench as soon as they are made.

I was given this recipe by Bennie,  canteen lady extraordinaire, when I volunteered in the school tuck-shop while my kids were in Years 3 and 4. Happy days.

Using a punnet of strawberries, on sale at just $1.50 (Edit: two and a half years later, new season strawberries were STILL $1.50 – $1.99 a punnet at my local market), and a few  cheap passionfruit, these are always going to be a winner.

Makes 12 small or 6 large muffins.

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ cups self-raising flour; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; a pinch of salt; ¼ cup caster sugar; 1 cup (about ¾ of a punnet) small strawberries, washed, hulled and cut in half or quarters; ¾ cup (180 ml) milk; 1 egg; 60g butter, melted; ½ cup (125ml) passionfruit pulp (you will need about 5-6 passionfruit depending on their size);

METHOD

Preheat oven to 210°C (about 190°C fan-forced). Grease the bottoms of a 12 cup muffin tray or line the cups with paper cases.

Sift together flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Mix well to combine.  Stir through the strawberries gently and coat them thoroughly in the dry mixture.

In a separate smaller bowl, combine milk, egg, butter and passionfruit pulp and whisk together until combined.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and pour the butter mix into the dry ingredients. Use a fork or balloon whisk to mix together until just combined and flour is absorbed. Do not over beat the mixture.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until risen and golden and still soft to the touch. Remove from tray and cool on a wire rack.

COST

$5.15 for 12 small muffins