Weather has been cracking up here in Scotland this past week and I had the week off. It felt more like summer than spring (just about) but spring was my inspiration for my bake here.
Kat is hosting this month’s Treat Petite challenge (over at her blog ‘The Baking Explorer) and the theme is ‘Hello Spring’. This got me thinking...
Instead of my usual sweet entry for Treat Petite, I took the spring theme literally and decided to bake something using spring onions and these muffins were just the ticket. I also had friends coming around for a get-together and thought that some savoury muffins would be nice on the table for them to nibble on.
The muffins themselves, aside from a ton of spring onions also have red Leicester cheese in them (for the colour) and a swirl of sun-dried tomatoes going on. I bought a pack of dried sun-dried toms, soaked them and then whizzed them into a paste in my Froothie. I popped some on top of the muffins then with the end of teaspoon blended them through muffin batter.
I baked them in the oven, in lovely yellow paper muffin cups, which I thought looked like daffodils – another nod to spring there. The baked muffins looked like weenie pizzas from atop. And when clustered together looked a bit like a sunflower.
However, the most important part – the taste – was sublime. My guests loved the onion flavor with the cheese and then the occasional hit of sun-dried tomato flavor. Bake these for your guests or just for family and they will love them too!
Here’s how I made them…
Spring Onion & Cheese Muffins with a Sun-Dried Tomato Swirl
Cuisine: Savoury Category: Muffin Yields: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 20 Mins Cook Time: 25 Mins Total Time: 45 Mins
Ingredients
- 200 grams plain flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 250 ml buttermilk
- 2 medium eggs
- 60 ml vegetable oil
- 120 grams chopped spring onions
- 100 grams red Leicester cheese, grated
- 60 grams dried sun dried tomatoes
- Pour boiling water over the sun-dried dried tomatoes and allow them to soak for around 30 minutes and then drain. Set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 180c and line a muffin tray with 12 muffin liners.
- In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. In a jug, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and veg oil. Pour this into the dry mix and stir until just combined. Add the spring onions and cheese and stir through. Divide the mix evenly between the 12 cupcake liners.
- In a blender, blitz the sun-dried tomatoes into a paste. Spoon about a teaspoon onto each muffin and with the end of a teaspoon, or similar instrument, swirl the tomato paste through the muffin batter.
- Place the muffin tray into the oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffins.
- These are best served warm, so let them cool slightly, and then tuck in. If eating later, reheat in the oven for 5 minutes. Enjoy…
As said I am entering these into this month's Treat Petite hosted by Kat, The Baking Explorer, the theme being 'Hello Spring'.
And I am also entering these muffins into this month's Love Cake hosted by Ness at Jibber Jabber UK. The theme is 'Step into Spring'.