There are a few things that you need to know before you read this.
1. I am not now, nor have I ever been, A Cook/Chef/Baker - I am An Eater.
2. New Zealand has the best cafes with the best food In The World (don’t even TRY to argue with me about this la la la I can’t hear you la la la).
3. Hughenden does not have cafes.
Right, so anyway, out of sheer desperation I have had to learn how to make yummy stuff such as is found in NZ’s excellent cafes, By Myself From Scratch.
These Lemon Muffins do not look especially special, but let me tell you that they are not only scrumdiddlyumptious, but a DOG could make them.
Lemon Muffins
2 Cups self raising flour
3/4 Cup sugar (too much in my opinion. I use 1/2 Cup)
75 gm butter
1 Cup milk
1 egg
zest from two lemons (big suckers - you want LOTS of zest)
Topping
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup lemon juice (again, I use a little more juice so it’s not sweet)
Preheat oven to 200 C. Mix flour and sugar together in a large bowl.
Melt butter.
Mix egg, milk and lemon zest together. Add cooled butter.
Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and combine VERY gently until lightly mixed. This is the important part. There will be lumps, there will be wet bits. Ignore them. G E N T L E.
Spoon into greased muffin tins.
If you have been to a New Zealand cafe, you will know that muffin tins only come in ONE size - HUGE. Do not sully this recipe by making those eaten-in-one-bite atrocities. Unless you feel slightly nauseous after eating one of these muffins, you have NOT made them big enough.
Bake for about 15 minutes.(While this is happening, husband should be making his superb coffee.)
Stir together topping and drizzle over hot muffins.
Here the recipe and I seriously depart from one another. It says, “Cool and place on wire rack.”
Wrong. Pry gently from tin while still steaming, burning fingertips.
Eat over plate (to catch crumbs) with large mug of strong coffee.
Fight teenagers for last muffin (despite already feeling ill).
Pour more coffee.
Contemplate making another batch this afternoon.
found at www.foodlovers.co.nz









11 comments
Comments feed for this article
September 9, 2006 at 6:23 am
Meganhttp://www.mercylane.blogspot.com
Mmmm, muffins (mouth open wide in Homer-style gurgling).
September 9, 2006 at 10:16 am
Flibbertygibbet
woman, you’re on fire! This is the funniest recipe method I’ve ever read - maybe a project for tomorrow. Yum…
September 9, 2006 at 11:05 am
Caitlin
Man oh man, Mr Beloved bought LEMONS unexpectedly at the greengrocers this morning! off to bake while Iron Chef is on..
September 9, 2006 at 11:17 am
kathy
can’t wait to try these muffins…it’s like getting a great recommendation on a good book!!
September 9, 2006 at 1:12 pm
Caitlin
Yeah bayyybeee, those muffins ROCKED! (Even with my usual substitutions of rice flour and gluten free baking powder.) Something so easy should almost be illegal!
And yes, much better than fish guts soup a la Sakai!
September 9, 2006 at 11:07 pm
capello
Mmmmmm… lemon muffins. ::drool::
September 10, 2006 at 5:20 am
Caitlin
I use McKenzies rice flour, and increase the butter a little bit; some people use xanthan gum but I couldn’t be bothered, I just use extra butter or an extra egg or a little bit more liquid in most recipes - as a coeliac I’d rather have stuff I bake since I KNOW exactly what’s in it, and I reckon that a bit of extra butter is still heaps healtier than eating commericallly ptroduced goods made with palm oil/other hydrogenated fats.
September 10, 2006 at 5:55 am
Meredith
I just made some gluten free ones and they turned su-perb! Spongy but crispy on the outside- delish, thanks for getting me baking!
September 10, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Violet & Rose
I’m with you on the size thing. I make a mean cupcake, but don’t even think of making them in the piddley little trays. It’s muffin size or nothing. And as a passionate Melbournian, I have to say that I agree with you. There are some fantastic cafes in NZ. Just ask all the LOTR stars who hung out at Chocolate Fish in Wellington! And I used to get the BEST Ginger Slice from a cafe on Lambton Quay and I just can’t remember it’s name. Up some escalator. And my lunch from a little cafe called Kipp. Ahh, memories…
September 10, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Green Kitchen
You really know how to sell a recipe. It’s now on my list of things to do.
March 19, 2008 at 5:42 pm
More Paper Butterflies… « twolimeleaves
[...] one, made with envelopes and left-over butterflies. It’s our Crunchy Lemon Muffin recipe, shared here and devoured several times a year at our house. [...]