Spare a thought for the muffin

A surprising collection of eclectic recipes + a recipe for peach muffins

In recent months I’ve tackled a wide range of bakes — cookies, (sweet) pies, mini cakes — when it suddenly occurred to me I’d skipped over something completely: the humble muffin.

Muffins, I think, are not having a fashionable moment. Have they ever? I follow many bakeries on Instagram and rarely do I see a shoutout to the muffin.

Why is that?

I suppose they aren’t particularly amazing to look at, though I think that is part of their charm. How does one dress up a muffin? Cakes can be adorned with flowers, cookies perfectly rounded, pies smothered in cream. But a muffin? Non. Poor, poor muffin.

I sold a book via my shop last year called Muffin Memories. I knew, deep down, that I probably shouldn’t sell this book. It seemed special (though I think this of all my books), something to keep safe. And then I sold it.

It’s rare to find a straightforward cookbook dedicated to just muffins. This one was self published too so the recipes were wonderfully out there (‘jelly surprise muffins’ being my favourite).

I see cookbooks as time capsules, a glimpse into changing tastes and lifestyles. Muffin Memories may have only been about muffins but just a brief mention of bran can make me smell the 1980s again.

PEACH MUFFINS

2 TAB.OIL
1/4 CUP MOLASSES
1 EGG
3/4 CUP MILK
1 CUP BRAN
1 CUP WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR
1TSP. BAKING POWDER
1/8 TSP. BAKING SODA ½ TSP. SALT
1 CUP PEELED, DICED PEACHES

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl; mix bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in center. Add oil, molasses, egg and milk. Stir until just moistened. Fold in peaches.

Spoon into greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Makes one dozen

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Taken from Muffin Memories. All measurements in cups (sorry about that). As our American cousins say, you do the math.