Double coconut muffins

 

Do you remember Hawaiian Tropic  Suntan oil? And HUGE Pina Coladas that cost 2 Drachmas in Greece, back in the day? Does the smell of coconut transport you back in time to those Greek beaches?

Well, I’m not saying you’re going to dance until dawn, as you did back at the disco on Malia beach, or go skinny-dipping in Corfu at midnight, but the smell of these Coconut Muffins through the house is pretty nostalgia-making..

I’m sure you’re wondering when I’m ever going to get to the point..

And here it is: Coconut Muffins!

Not overly sweet, and with wholemeal flour added – why, they’re positively healthy!

 

EQUIPMENT:

• A 12-bun Muffin tray lined with paper cases, or well greased.
• a small saucepan
• A large Mixing bowl
• A medium mixing bowl
• a balloon whisk
• a sieve
•  a spatula

INGREDIENTS: This makes 12 really good-sized Muffins

• 150g SR flour.                                                              
• 40g whole wheat flour
• 10g  baking powder – 2 level teaspoons
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 45g shredded coconut, plus 20g more for sprinkling
• 200g full fat Greek yogurt
• 80g caster sugar  –
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons  ( 45mls) of milk or Buttermilk
• 100g virgin coconut oil – melted gently then cooled

METHOD:

• Gently melt the Coconut oil in the saucepan, and leave to one side. It’s best to do this first.
• Preheat oven to 170°Fan.
• Line a muffin tin with paper cases, or butter them well.
• In the Medium bowl: sift in both flours, the salt and the Baking powder (add any wheatgerm from the sieve) . Then use the dry whisk to mix in the shredded coconut.
• In the large bowl whisk eggs until completely mixed and light in colour. I do this by hand but you can use an electric hand beater if you like.

• Add the yoghurt and Vanilla extract, and whisk in.
• Add the cooled coconut oil , milk/buttermilk and sugar and whisk  until everything is completely combined.
• Leave the whisk aside now, and pick up your Spatula.
• Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl in one go, and fold together until they’re just combined, and no visible dry ingredients remain. As with all Muffins, don’t over mix it.
• Divide the mixture equally between the muffin cases, then generously sprinkle over the reserved desiccated coconut.

• Bake for 20 minutes, until the Muffins have risen and the coconut has turned a gorgeous golden shade.
• Remove to a wire rack to cool.

NOTES: 

• These muffins don’t rise as much as the Banana Muffins recipe  https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/emergency-muffins/ , but they’re beautifully moist, and full of flavour. Mr Saturday Night is a big fan!
• I use the spatula to mix the dry and wet ingredients together as I found that the whisk got seriously clogged up!
• Like the Banana Muffins, they take minutes to put together – once you’ve made them once or twice – and then just 20 minutes cooking.
• I ran out of Coconut oil once, so I used Olive oil to make up the shortfall. The coconut oil has that wonderfully evocative scent when melted, and I think that’s a big part of my reason for using it!
• One of the things about Muffins is that they are at their lightest, and taste best on the days they’re made. They then settle down to be not as light, but definitely just as tasty on the following days. I’ve just tasted a one-day-old Coconut Muffin, made to this recipe, and it’s still delicious!