Low sugar

Not-too-sweet muffin recipe

6

The sweet, subtle flavours in these gorgeous muffins make a delicious alternative to sickly, soggy commercial varieties. If you wrap the muffins tightly in cling film, they will freeze for up to 1 month. Take out the freezer to thaw the night before you’re going to eat them.

Liz made this recipe on Facebook and Instagram. Watch it on Facebook here or on Instagram here to find out how to tweak the recipe according to what you have available. And don’t forget to follow us to see more videos of Liz cooking her favourite recipes.

Wellbeing Wisdom

  • These muffins are full of nutrients, from fibre in the spelt flour to iron in the dried apricots, while pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc.
  • Pumpkin and sunflower seeds both contain phytoestrogens.

Ingredients

  • 1 apple or pear, grated
  • 50g Cheddar cheese, grated (or other cheese like gouda)
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional)
  • 1 tsp sunflower seeds (optional)
  • 2 dried apricots, finely chopped
  • 125g spelt flour (plain flour also works)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 125g plain live yoghurt
  • 1 medium egg
  • 1 tbsp honey, xylitol or stevia (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ᵒC/400ᵒF/Gas Mark 6. Line a muffin tin with 6 paper cases.
  2. Put the apple or pear, cheese, seeds, apricots, flour and baking powder into a bowl and mix everything together. Make sure there are no clumps of the grated ingredients – you can use a fork to loosen those bits if you need to. Make a well in the middle.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, yoghurt, egg and honey (xylitol or stevia), if using, until smooth.
  4. Scrape all the wet mixture into the middle of the dry mixture and very quickly and geftly mix all the ingredients together until just combined. Don’t overwork the mixture or the muffins will be heavy, so it’s fine if you can still see a few floury patches in there.
  5. Spoon the mixture among the paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden. Check to see if they’re done by inserting a skewer into the centre of one. If it comes out clean, they’re ready. Lift onto a wire rack and leave to cool.