A warm bran muffin with strawberry jam and cheese is early morning comfort in it’s purest form. I make these in large batches for my family; they go a long way after the post-oven enjoyment. They keep for a good few days in the fridge and make for the perfect on-campus/office snack. Once cold, freeze in ziplock bags on bake day, and you’ll have an OTG breakfast ready for microwave defrosting on your way out the house.

PS: These are my proudest food shots yet! I used my new macro lens, with early morning natural light.

You’ll need

375ml cake flour

250ml nutty wheat

500ml wheat bran

5ml salt

10ml bicarbonate of soda

375ml soft brown sugar

250ml trail mix (I make my own with dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)

125ml pecan nuts, chopped

2 eggs

125ml canola oil

500ml buttermilk or greek yoghurt

5ml vanilla essence

1 apple, cored & grated

Baking spray

OR:

1.0 KG Bran Muffin Mix (follow on pack instructions and finish with toppings below)

Toppings:

Anything goes – Fresh fruit (I used apple and banana), granola, soft brown sugar, cinnamon

Method

1. Line and grease 2 x muffin pans with muffin casings. Preheat oven to 180°C, fan setting.
2. Whisk eggs with other wet ingredients.
3. Sift dry ingredients, emptying sifted bran back into the dry mixture.
4. Grate apple, and add to wet mixture along with trail mix and nuts.
5. Incorporate wet fruit and nut mixture with dry, until all has been incorporated.
6. Generously fill muffin pans with batter, topping with sliced fruit, granola, cinnamon and sugar. Note: Have fun here – the toppings add all the glory to the baked muffins.
7. Bake muffins for 15 – 20 min, or until passing the skewer test.
8. Transfer muffins to cooling racks before enjoying with jam, cheese and butter.

 

Makes 12 jumbo (bake for longer, about 25 – 30 min) or 24 medium sized muffins.