Jam-swirled muffins - Eggless Baking Challenge June, 2013

Weekends come and go. There is so much domestic stuff to be taken care of. Laundry, finding the kid's stationary, getting her to complete her homework, cooking up something delicious to get her to eat properly. These take preference... and by the time that long pending curry you wanted to make for rotis is made and you have successfully made her eat a couple of spoonfuls of it, you realize that the weekend is already over. Pantry clearance is the last on the list. And sometimes, the monthly challenges from baking groups misses the list. In this rigmarole, I was late for last month's challenge. Unable to do much about my weekend routine, I was hoping this month's challenge will be something simpler to bake.

Thank you Priya for choosing a simple yet delicious recipe for this month's challenge. If it had been something like a Tiramisu I would have had to skip this months challenge too...

As always I will present the original recipe first.

Recipe Source: Technicolor Kitchen

Jam swirled muffins

Adapted from Dorie's lemon poppy seed muffins

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (133g) caster sugar
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
/3 cup jam of your choice – if too thick, thin it with a little lemon juice

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F; butter or spray 12 regular size muffin pans.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and mix. In a large glass measuring cup or small bowl whisk together the yogurt, eggs, vanilla and melted butter until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk lightly with a fork – do not overmix the batter, otherwise you’ll end up with tough muffins.

Add the jam and whisk lightly, to keep the marbled effect. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, cool 5 minutes, then carefully unmold. Let cool completely on the wire rack.

Now for the eggless version:

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (133g) caster sugar
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt (originally 3/4 cup of yogurt, add 1/2 cup to substitute two eggs, I added 1/4 cup more for the consistency)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup Nutella

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F; butter or spray 12 - 16 regular size muffin molds.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and mix. In a large glass measuring cup or small bowl whisk together the yogurt, vanilla and melted butter until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk lightly with a fork – do not overmix the batter, otherwise you’ll end up with tough muffins. 

Whisk the nutella vigorously with a fork to loosen it up. Add the nutella to the muffin batter and whisk lightly, to keep the marbled effect.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 20-26 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, cool 5 minutes, then carefully unmold. Let cool completely on the wire rack.

Verdict: If you are wondering about the empty silicone mold in the above picture, here is the answer. The muffins had barely cooled down, and the little girl was munching away at one.