This week we’re eating… pineapple and raisin muffins

Yep, I am the mum who thought baking with three kids of five and under with no other adults present would be a good idea. My eldest two had an argument mid-way through, baby knocked over a bag of flour, and it took us, or rather me, 45 minutes to clear up everything afterwards. But, my little ones love cooking, they learn so much from it, and Annabel Karmel’s pineapple and raisin muffins are so tasty it was worth it.

I must confess this is the only recipe I have ever made from Annabel’s Baby and Toddler Meal Planner. Someone kindly gave me the book when Little Miss E was born five years ago, but as we did baby led weaning with our three, and eat as a family as much as we can, most of the recipes didn’t really appeal to us.

Her pineapple and raisin muffins, however, are a staple in our house. Cardiff Daddy and I love them just as much as our three children do, and when I’ve made them for parties and other events, they are always really popular.

The muffins are pretty simple to make, and healthy too. I’ve experimented a bit with the basic recipe, cutting down on the amount of sugar Annabel suggests and substituting regular flour for rice flour so that a friend with a gluten intolerance could eat them too. I passed the recipe on to one of my mummy friends and she substituted pineapple for grated apple and apparently that works just as well. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

100g/4oz plain flour

100g/4oz plain wholemeal flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

150ml/5 fl oz vegetable oil

75g/30z of castor sugar (although I use about 25g)

2 eggs

125g/4.5oz grated carrot

225g/8oz canned crushed pineapple, drained

100g/4oz raisins.

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases (or we’ve found using two mini muffin trays is great for bite-sized party treats).

3. Sift together the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt and mix well.

4. Beat the oil, sugar and eggs together until well blended.

5. Add the grated carrots, crushed pineapple and raisins.

6. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating just enough to combine all the ingredients.

7. Spoon the batter into the muffin trays lined with paper cases and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. (Reduce the cooking time for mini muffins.) Cool on a wire rack.

For more tried and tested recipes, visit the Food section on Cardiff Mummy Says.

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