The recipe for Muffin Monday this week couldn't be any easier, it's jam-filled muffins. Anuradha from Baker Street blog provided us with a basic recipe and all we had to do really was 'fill in the blank' where the jam was featured in the ingredient list. I decided to fill mine with the pineapple jam that I had made a week earlier and had used to fill some pineapple tart cookies.
My fresh pineapple was procured from a little hut serving as a fruit stall just down the road from my home. Bearing in mind that my neighborhood lies within a village, the fruits were sold by an elderly lady who grew them in her very own backyard. The pineapple I chose was rather large and super-sweet, probably due to all the organic manure (a.k.a. chicken poop) lavished on the soil where these fruits are cultivated.
The chickens in this village are super-social, the original Twitter crowd, I tell you. And they roam everywhere they please and eat the best stuff nature can offer, making for very fertile gardens and vibrant plants and fruits. Well, I hope you see the connection :-).
The chickens in this village are super-social, the original Twitter crowd, I tell you. And they roam everywhere they please and eat the best stuff nature can offer, making for very fertile gardens and vibrant plants and fruits. Well, I hope you see the connection :-).
Anyway, I added anise and cloves to spice up the pineapple puree and cooked it down to a thick jam consistency. To achieve this, I had to stand by the hot stove for one hour, stirring constantly so the pineapple jam didn't burn. Here are some useful tips for you...it really helps to have the fan blowing in your face (à la Mariah Carey's video), some funky music playing in the background, a friend on speaker phone - or all three - to help alleviate the heat and boredom experienced during this tedious process.
Different consistencies of the pineapple jam during cooking
I made slight alterations to An's recipe, one of which was to use whole wheat flour. I was hoping it would compensate (health-wise) for the scary amount of sugar used in the pineapple jam. Although I must add, the lemon sugar glaze drizzled on top of the muffins at the end somehow negated that guilt-driven, health-conscious effort. Oh well, at least the intention was good!
Jam-stirring aside, these muffins were easily one of the simplest that I've made so far. And of course, one of the yummiest, with the pineapple complementing the lemony flavor of the muffin well. Thanks An, for once again sharing with us such a delightful muffin recipe. Don't forget to check the other bakers' jam-filled muffins out over at An's blog, you won't be disappointed!
Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.
Pineapple Jam-Filled Muffins with Luscious Lemon Glaze
Makes: 12 muffins
Muffins
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour*
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
2 teaspoons lemon rind/zest*
1/2 cup pineapple jam (recipe below)
Lemon glaze (recipe below)
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl, lightly beat eggs, milk, butter and lemon rind.
4. Pour into the dry ingredients and the stir until moistened.
5. Spoon half batter, make a well, add 1 teaspoon pineapple jam, spoon the remaining batter on top and bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden. Cool for 10 minutes before glazing.
6. Drizzle lemon glaze over the top of the muffins and leave to set before serving.
(Note: * Alterations to the original recipe)
Pineapple Jam Filling
500g ripe fresh pineapple or canned pineapple
100-200 g granulated sugar (adjust according to your level of sweetness)
3 cloves
2 star anise
1. Slice pineapples and process briefly (about 30 seconds) in a food processor until pineapple flesh is roughly pureed. Pour pineapple into a strainer over a bowl. Press down with a spoon to squeeze more juice out. Keep juice aside.
2. Combine pineapple flesh with sugar, star anise and cloves in a heavy-bottomed pot and cook over low heat until almost dry.
3. Stir constantly until mixture is gluey and thick, the consistency of thick jam.
4. If mixture is too dry, add a bit of pineapple juice that has been set aside.
5. Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Lemon Glaze
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 cup sifted icing sugar
3-4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Mix icing sugar with cooled, melted butter and enough lemon juice to make a drizzling consistency. Spoon over the muffins, letting some of the glaze drip down the sides.
Desserts, Muffin, Pineapple, lemon
55 comments:
Fresh, exotic, and delectable! Love your homemade pineapple jam too.
The first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the title was:I never tried pineapple jam..I donrt think I ever saw it anywhere:)What a fantastic idea and great instructions:)Thank you;)
wow! you made your own jam! *clap*clap*clap*
your muffins look lovely!
glad to be baking with you :)
These tangy muffins are great! Will bookmark this recipe.
Wow....thats a wonderful idea..!!!
Totally rocking :)
The flavors in these are to die for. I like pineapple so much I do not care if it says summer-I will eat it when it is snowing. Sadly after reading this post I am left with a craving...Great post.
Homemade jam! That's brilliant. I wanted to do a peach jam but day job has been very demanding. lol.
Muffins look lovely. Great presentation too!
looks like a tropical treat. The jam seems so delicious and with the muffins I am sure it must have tasted exotic.
I love home made pineapple jam but it requires 100% attention. Lovely recipe :)
Pineapple and lemon sound delicious - you made something (almost) simple this time:)
I love that you made pineapple jam for this, and from local pineapple, no less! Your muffins look fantastic!
These look sooooo good. I love muffins with a little surprise in the middle. :)
I'm very jealous that you can just walk down the street and buy a homegrown pineapple. Definitely not an option for me... but I just might have to stroll down to the supermarket to buy a fresh pineapple flown in from far away, because I desperately want to try some of that pineapple jam of yours. It looks phenomenal!
Wow. Homemade jam. I can only make homemade peanut butter. Hats off, hands down and prolly feet up to you! :)
I love your muffins!
this looks so good Maya!! I will be sure to try this out soon. I know my mom would love this! thank you for sharing.
Just as long as that fan isn't blowing in your face when you were walking by the chicken poop. These muffins do look tasty, I hope we will be seeing muffins more often! Where the heck are my pandan leaves, is what I want to know. lol.
-Gina-
Leave it up to you Maya to have come up with this exotic and flavorful creation. Now that really is eating local and organic.This muffins look spectacular as does the jam. Btw I am now picturing you in your kitchen ala Marih:-D
It's me again:) Just wanted to say don't laugh at all my spelling mistakes. I was testing out my phone to leave comments. Works except for the fact that I can't spell. hehe:)
Wow, chicken poop pineapple. Yummy! Seriously the muffins look awesome and you had me at Luscious.
Angie and Dzoli, thank you. Pineapple jam for sandwiches and for cookie filling is sold in jars everywhere here. I guess it's a tropical thing...we make preserves out of the fruits available to us ;-).
Dudut, Zoe and Priyanka, many thanks. It's wonderful to be baking muffins again, and with such a friendly group as MM!
Tina, I'd eat pineapple when it's snowing too! Fortunately, it doesn't snow (ever) here :-).
An@Baker Street, well I actually made the jam way earlier, before I even knew about this jam-filled assignment. On the day I made these muffins, my day was packed with activities too, so I wouldn't have been able to do it all in one day. Thanks for hosting such a fab Monday morning event!
Sliceofmylyfe, well I do live in the tropics so these muffins are as tropical as they get!
Penny, you're absolutely right there! One blink and a lapse of concentration in the stirring process and you'll end up with some nasty, charred pineapple jam.... :-).
Mr. Three Cookies, I decided Monday mornings should really be devoted to something simple but delightful. All that complicated stuff gets boring after a while, anyway!
Isabelle, and I'm jealous that you guys can pick fresh cherries and strawberries and blueberries, etc, while I have to pay an arm and a leg to buy them (all airflown) from our supermarkets! LOL, I guess it works out to be even.
Wandergirl, I can't even make peanut butter so perhaps I can learn something from you?
Sarina@BBK, thanks! If your mom doesn't by any chance like it, please don't tell her it's from my blog ok? ;-)
Gina, in these parts, shit always hits the fan and not the other way around, LOL! Your wish to see more muffins (or cupcakes) shall be fulfilled, hopefully every Monday. As for the pandan leaves, I'm waiting for more to sprout so I can send them off to you. We'll have ourselves a 'Pandan Revolution' a bit like Jamie Oliver's food revolution, just you wait and see!
Nancy, LOL....please double check anything you type on that phone before you press Send. It's a lesson I learnt well from the early smartphone days, ie. the phone will think it's SMARTER than you by autocorrecting! You don't want your text messages or comments to end up on those 'Funny stuff' archives, do you?
Evelyne@CEE, haha... I like that term, chicken poop pineapple. There are plenty of other poop-based fruits and vegetables I could name, but it'll probably turn people off from the end results. Well, I suppose you could called this the cycle of life! LOL.
Seriously?! Pineapple jam?!?! YES PLEASE!!! Sounds amazing :)
Yum! Love the homemade jam with star anise :) great looking muffins!
I love this! I giggled at least 5 times while reading and that's really something for my first hour at work ;) Mariah Carey - priceless.
Knowing where your food comes from and knowing the eco-system that helps it flourish makes a pretty huge difference, doesn't it? Nothing like it! Food any other way just can't compare.
Pineapple jam. Just gorgeous.
Jasmine@Stayathomechef and Yuri, thank you! Yes, that homemade pineapple jam made all the difference. And worth risking windswept and tangled hair for! LOL.
Aimee, good the post made you giggle although you have to be careful if you seem to be smiling at yourself at work... You're right about knowing the precise source of our food, they taste so much better when you know everything's organic.
Hee, sure! I'll post a tutorial soon. ;)
WanderGirl, I shall look forward to it :-). Thanks!
Okay - how cool are you to make your own pineapple jam? Beautiful and I bet the muffins are delicious!
Mariah Carey, oooo. These muffs sound way better than any i've had in a long time and it sounds like you live in a very intresting and cool place even if it has chick poop :)
Take care..
What an amazing muffin!! I'm so impressed with your dedication standing there for an hour too. But I'm sure they must have been well worth it!
WOW your muffins look great! Thanks for sharing your pineapple jam recipe, love the addition of cloves and star anise. Gonna have to try, getting my fan ready when I do ;)
Wow, that was a cool post! The muffins look super delish with that awesome glaze. And, how cool is homemade jam?! YUM!
This is me and lemon glaze. If someone says "lemon glaze" I drop everything and all my attention goes to look for the lemon glaze. I love it so much. This muffin therefore is my kind of muffins Maya.
These sound wonderful. Now my blueberry muffins that I planned to whip up this morning don't sound that good.
Ann, the pineapple jam was the hardest part about making these muffins. The rest was a breeze (pun intended) to do!
Gerry, having a vibrant garden bursting with edible fruit-producing plants is terribly cool, yes. Stepping on chicken poop (especially when barefooted in the garden) is not. Not cool at all...
Kate, I wasn't quite sure whether it was pure dedication or just hardheadedness. But gossiping away with friends on speaker phone did seem to while away the hour.
Caroline, haha...don't forget to put your best Mariah Carey face on. You might as well look your sexiest while the fan is blowing in your face for an hour or so ;-).
Alan, thank you. I'm loving your streusel topped muffins too!
Nami, if anyone says 'muffin' or cupcake, I go running towards it immediately. You're right, anything covered in lemon glaze makes it taste 10x better!
Vicki, if you name them blueberry muffins with luscious lemon glaze, they sound instantly desirable, no?
LOL! I love those funny text message websites. But you are right no I don't want to end up on one:) Silly phone thinks it's smarter than me....hmm
That looks great. I love the add of the jam.
Amazing combination of pineapple and lemon glaze! Love your step by step photos...so helpful! Glad to bake along with you this week!
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