Eggless Vanilla Muffins

I have been craving for some plain vanilla cake for a while now ... like the ones that were made in my childhood ... with eggs, vanilla, lots of cashews and cherries. Just could not make the time to make one.

A few evenings back I found a little time at hand ... and wanted to munch on something. But there was nothing at home except some biscuits and bread. Nah ... did not feel like having them. Again felt like having a slice of cake or a baked cookie.

So just got up and walked into the kitchen. Mixed up some flour with a few other things thrown in ... and I had a mix to bake!
Now what do I want ... a cake or a cookie ?
Cannot make it into a cake ... I ran out of baking powder. Cannot make it into a cookie ... it was too sticky ... had no intention of adding more maida ... means more oil ... and more baking powder ( I had just the empty bottle now ).



So decided to drop them into a muffin tray and see how they behave.
I had once seen Nigella make something like that ... mentioning that the muffin batter does not have to be too smooth ... so went ahead. Whatever will be, will be. If not anything, it will be edible at least. I mean how wrong can a sweetened mix baked well go wrong? ;-)
And that's how I got these. :-)


Need :

Maida / Apf - 1 and a half cup ( a medium sized tea cup )
Baking powder - 1 tsp ( I ran out of bp ... so do not know if a little more would have helped or not)
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Sugar - 5 to 6 tbsp ( you can grind it to a powder too ... I did not)
Salt - very little ... just a pinch
Chopped candied cherries - around 2 tbsp
Cooking oil - 3 tbsp
Cold milk - just enough to make the dough ( very little actually )
Butter - just a little ( 1 cube will do )

How to :

Pre heat oven at 100 degrees C.

Except the milk, mix everything together and knead well.

When everything has mixed properly, add a little milk to mix some more. It will turn into a sticky paste ... do not do anything other than just to bear with it.

Just make sure there are no dry lumps of maida ... the batter should not be very smooth.

Line a muffin tray. Scoop out a spoonful of mix and gently drop it into the slots in the tray.

Bake at 100 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. ( I always bake cookies and muffins at a lower temp to be on the safe side ... have not tried baking at high temp like a pro yet). :-)

Brush a little butter on the top of the muffins and bake for 5 more mins.

Remove and cool. They will harden a little after cooling.



Wonderful muffins ready in a jiffy! They were airy inside, not too chewy, not too dry. Perfect! :-)

They are best when warm ... so run them in the MW for a while before serving.

Enjoy with tea or coffee.
Since it is already very hot here, we had it with tall glasses of cold coffee. :-)



Well ... for those who have been asking me to add something new to my Travelogue, I finally got to post a very short trip and a wee bit longer trip there. :-)

TC folks !!