A few weeks ago we needed a smaller sponge cake for a dessert we served in the restaurant and I made up this recipe. For the asian-inspired dessert we served that time we added matcha tea, but today I have made them a bit more Christmas-like as in Sweden with saffron and raisins instead.
I packed my yellow muffins together with a thermos with hot chocolate in my backpack. I walked up a, for the day frosty Ekopark at Christinehof Castle not far away from where we are situated.
With the jacket well zipped, the scarf tightly reversed and the camera at hand, I walked a nice lap over the bridges crossing the water, cuddling with cosy sheeps and drinking hot chocolate while looking out over the beautiful land. I shot some nice photos and then hurried up on the trail to slightly less cold winds.
I have since childhood developed an inward love for the beech forests here. It doesn’t matter if they lost al there orange autumn leaves for the winter. They are just as beautiful as in the spring, just in a different way.
It was a nice walk to start the day with. Letting go of all thoughts and just looking at the beauty of the nature. Isn’t is funny how you see the word different through a camera lens?
More about the muffins!
Of course I have to tell you a bit more about the recipe I made for you this time!
Instead of eggs, I used really ripe bananas. If you do not like the banana flavor in the muffins, it works perfect to replace the same amount of banana with unsweetened apple sauce.
The muffins are beautifully airy and with a little crisp on the outside. I made them in small silicone molds this time. Of course they will work excellent in bigger molds as well. Just increase the baking time and make sure they are dry through and through when taking them out of the oven.
They are at their best when eaten the same day. For the day after, it’s nice to place them in the oven for a few minutes so they get back their somehow crunchiness on the outside.
For the muffins I prepared a gluten-free flour mix consisting of rice-, buckwheat- , corn- and potato starch flour. This turned out really amazing to work with and I’m pretty sure you will see it back in other recipes in the future.
Gluten-free flour mixture
Ingredients
7 dl / 405 grams of white rice flour
5 dl / 300 gram of buckwheat flour
2 dl / 140 grams of potato starch flour
2 dl / 110 grams of corn flour
Mix all flours in a large bowl and pour over it in a bag or airtight container. Use as much as you need for the cookies. Keep the rest for later.
Tiny saffron muffins
makes about 30 very small cakes / muffins
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
150 grams of thick coconut milk
125 grams of banana (preferably very ripe and brownish)
50 grams of sunflower oil
1 pinch of salt
1 dl/70 grams of raisins plus warm water to soak
Dry ingredients
2 dl / 115 grams of gluten-free flour mixture (see recipe above)
2 teaspoons / 7 grams of baking soda
0.5 dl / 60 grams of white sugar
0,5 gram saffron
How do I do it?
1. Set the oven to 175 ° C.
2. Place the raisins to a separate bowl and cover with warm water. This will avoid the raisins to get burned later in the oven.
3. Add the wet ingredients separately into a mixing bowl. Mix until it is completely even.
4. Mix all the dry ingredients to a bowl. Add the mixed, wet ingredients and mix well.
Separate the soaking water from the raisins and add the soaked raisins to the batter.
5. Pour the batter into prepared molds (if metal, you may need to lubricate them before).
5. Place the molds in the oven. Place a baking parchment underneath to avoid any overflow of the dough in the oven. Set the timer for 20 minutes (increase the time if you have larger molds).
6. Remove the mold / plate from the oven when the muffins are ready and let them cool off.
This recipe is free from gluten, lactose, eggs and nuts.