Muffin Monday - Hazelnut Plum Muffins with Lemon Curd Frosting

I love quickies in the kitchen, I mean, who doesn't? :) Now, before your mind races off into the gutter, I  invite you to come back up to the same page and hear out this easy and quick recipe for Muffin Monday, Hazelnut Plum Muffins. Our MM host, Anuradha provided us with this recipe that can be mixed simply by hand and utilizes hazelnut meal and plum jam which give the muffin its namesake.

Nowadays, it's hard to think of hazelnut in a recipe without wanting to include Nutella in there somehow. Well, I fought my instinct and went for the plain hazelnut flavor without any pesky chocolate sharing the limelight. Okay, I was only kidding about the chocolate...it can never be pesky and can only make any recipe immediately taste better. But not today, I had to be firm with the chocolate-obsessed part of my brain. :) 

I also decided to leave out the plum jam (but only because I didn't have any) and substituted that with soft dried plums or prunes. I pressed one of these gently into the middle of each hazelnut batter before baking, not knowing for sure if they were going to sink or rise. As you can see, they rose and sat quite magnificently atop each muffin! Which meant frosting was going to be a slight issue....

Until, that is, I spotted a jar of lovingly-made Mrs. Darlington's Legendary Lemon Curd that would be perfect for spreading on top of the muffin and around the plums. And it was... The sweet, tart and creamy curd complemented the roasted, buttery hazelnut flavor rather nicely. You can bite around the muffin underneath the curd then end up chewing the plum last. At least, that was how I ate them!

Happy, happy Monday!

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!

Hazelnut Plum Muffins

(Adapted from Women's Weekly)

Ingredients:

90 grams butter, melted

21/2 cups (375 grams) self-raising flour

1/2 cup (55 grams) hazelnut meal

2/3 cup (150 grams) caster sugar

1 egg, beaten lightly

1 cup (250 ml) milk

1/2 cup (160 grams) plum jam (I used soft, dried plums instead)

1 cup lemon curd, for frosting

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C.

2. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan or line with muffin liners

3. In a large bowl, combine butter, flour, hazelnut meal, sugar, egg and milk.

4. Spoon half of the muffin mixture into the prepared pan and make a well in each muffin, spoon in rounded teaspoons of jam and top with remaining muffin mixture (I simply pushed one dried plum gently into the middle of each  muffin batter before baking).

5. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Leave to cool for 20 minutes before frosting with lemon curd.

5-Star Makeover: Teriyaki Chicken with Dragonfruit Ravioli and Apple-Plum Chutney, and a Charitable Cause

Today marks my first participation in the 5-Star Makeover challenge hosted by Natasha of 5 Star Foodie and Laz of Lazaro Cooks! So honored to be cooking amongst these very creative lot. I've left it till the very last minute because the theme this month stumped me a little...it's 'Cooking with Wine'. 

hosted by 5 Star Foodie & Lazaro Cooks!

If you're a regular here, you'll know that I've never featured wine on this blog for the simple reason that we do not drink or cook with it. But hey, rather than back out, I thought this will be a great opportunity to be creative and look for alternatives that could possibly fit the challenge. And in my manic thinking (for that is the state I normally get into during a creative process), this is what I came up with. It's Teriyaki Chicken with Dragonfruit Ravioli and Apple-Plum Chutney, which I can confidently declare is not a dish I grew up eating! These are simply memorable fragments of the food I loved to eat whilst travelling or living abroad. Hah...at least that's my story (in case mom asks), and I'm sticking to it! :-). 

Princess Beatrice's Zesty Rose Pretzel for the Queen's Birthday

Truth be told, I can't even remember how I got here. Somewhere in the email banter between Gina of SPCookieQueen and I about a month ago, someone had mentioned a Pretzel Throwdown. I'd like to say it was me for sure, but since I had only made pretzels once before in my life and knowing that Gina is one of the most talented bakers around, why would I even want to put myself out on a limb like that?