Camembert & Redcurrant Muffins

Which of these can be used to make muffins?

You recall, earlier today, I mentioned that I wanted to make some more muffins for Son & heir's break time?  Well, I suspect I may have to do that - again.

You see, the muffins I made - Camembert & Redcurrant - are so utterly, utterly divine that we've already eaten half of them.  *blush*  I also know that I've got the other half of the Camembert in the fridge and the remainder of the ingredients were store cupboard staples (for us, anyway!).

Prior to the advent of these muffins, our absolute favourite was Cheese & Bacon muffins.  Now anyone who has ever had a Cheese & Bacon muffin will be able to confirm what a hard act to beat they are.  I've got to say that these Camembert & Redcurrant muffins are currently jostling for the first position - and it's only latent loyalty to the Cheese & Bacon ones that's keeping them out!

AHA!  Muffins ready for the oven

There's a beautiful subtlety to the Camembert ones.  A creaminess and overtly "dairy" sense to them, which is both offset and complemented (how does it do that?) by the Redcurrant Jelly.  I suppose the tartness of the Redcurrant offsets the creaminess of the cheese & yoghurt, whereas the sweetness complements the inherent sweetness of the Camembert.  However they do it, you just HAVE to make some.  This is one of those "if you do nothing else in your life, you just have to make these muffins" situations.

Ooooh, they're out of the oven! Excitement!

The other good thing, is that they are the work of less than an hour to prepare and have cooked.  Now, for these results, I'd spend a long old time baking these - but no, it's just a matter of cutting up some cheese, weighing and measuring ingredients, mixing together and baking.  Could it get any easier?

Look ... fluffy texture, blobs of redcurrant, melty cheese .... *faint*

A quick collection of cook's notes:

- the original recipe (from "Muffins Scones & Breads" from the Australian Woman's Weekly) states to sprinkle the tops with chopped walnuts.  I didn't have any and couldn't get any, so didn't use them.  As such, I haven't included them in the recipe here, but feel free to add them if you want.

- additionally, I didn't have cranberry sauce (as originally recommended) but used the redcurrant jelly instead.  So, if you have cranberry but no redcurrant, don't worry and go ahead!


- because of hubby's diabetes, I reduced the amount of sugar from the recommended 2 tbsp to 1.5 tbsp.  Because of the redcurrant jelly, I felt that I could have reduced it down to just 1 tbsp, so if you're wary of sweetness, feel free to do that.

Ah, Camembert & Redcurrant Muffin, I shall pen an ode to thee ..

CAMEMBERT & REDCURRANT MUFFINS  (makes 6 large) 

Ingredients :

2 cups (300g) self raising flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
one-third cup (80ml) redcurrant jelly
125g camembert cheese, chopped small
half cup (125ml) of Greek or plain yoghurt
quarter cup (60ml) milk
60g butter, melted.

Method :


1.  Pre-heat your oven to 200 deg C/180deg fan/Gas 6.


2.  Prepare a muffin pan - silicone are perfect for this.  I used a 6-hole, you can always use a 12-hole and reduce the cooking time accordingly.


3.  Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl, then stir in eggs, sauce, cheese, yoghurt, milk and butter.


4.  Dollop into the muffin pans, making sure they contain even amounts so that they cook all at the same time.


5.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted gently, comes out clean.


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