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Apricot Marmalade Muffins
Dried apricots soak in orange juice before folding into a soured cream batter, and each of the 12 muffins hides a heaped teaspoon of marmalade pressed into the center before baking. A muscovado-and-muesli topping goes on just before they hit the oven, baking into a crunchy, seed-studded crust in about an hour. The citrus from the marmalade and the apricots runs through every bite, kept in check by the tang of soured cream. They pack well and hold their texture for two days.
Equipment
- Oven
- Muffin tin
Ingredients
- 100g/4oz ready-to-eat dried apricots, chopped
- 4 tbsp orange juice
- 2 large eggs
- 142ml carton soured cream
- 100ml/3½fl oz sunflower oil
- 85g/3oz golden caster sugar
- 300g/10oz self-raising flour, sifted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 50g/2oz crunchy muesli
- 12 heaped tsp marmalade
- 50g/2oz light muscovado sugar
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 50g/2oz crunchy muesli
Instructions
- 1Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Place the chopped dried apricots in a small bowl with the orange juice and let them soak for about 20 minutes to soften. Plumping the fruit prevents it from drawing moisture out of the baked crumb.
- 2Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the soured cream, sunflower oil, and golden caster sugar, mixing well. Pour this wet mixture into the soaked apricots and stir to combine.
- 3Combine the sifted self-raising flour, baking powder, and crunchy muesli in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the wet apricot mixture and fold everything together gently. Stop mixing as soon as the dry ingredients disappear. Overmixing develops gluten and creates tough muffins.
- 4Line a muffin tin with 12 large paper cases and divide the batter evenly among them. Dust your thumb with a little flour and press a deep indentation into the center of each muffin. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of marmalade into every thumbprint.
- 5Mix the light muscovado sugar, sunflower oil, and the remaining crunchy muesli in a small bowl to create the topping. Scatter this mixture evenly over the muffins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until they are well risen and golden brown.
- 6Remove the tin from the oven and let the muffins cool slightly in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Storage: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Make ahead: You can soak the apricots in orange juice the night before and store them in the fridge.
- Swap: If you don't have soured cream, plain whole milk yogurt works just as well to keep the crumb tender.
