Cinnamon and apples are a match made in heaven. What’s also made in heaven? Muffins!
My obsession with this flavour combination began back when I was growing up in the Middle East. I loved apple pies and my absolute favourite, forgive my inexperienced young taste buds, was the one at McDonalds. The absence of this from the Indian McDonald’s menu is one that I may never truly recover from. Perhaps that’s why I keep trying to add apples and cinnamon to most of my desserts!
A cupcake tray and an oven are non-negotiable for this recipe but you’re not without options! The Ambrosia 6 Cup Metal Cupcake Tray is perfect for this recipe, but I also love the Pavoni Platinum Silicone Muffin Mould. If I’m baking just for myself and family, I love the silicone mould since it doesn’t require paper liners like the metal tray. I also often use the Ambrosia Cupcake Moulds in place of disposable paper cupcake liners since they’re reusable and dishwasher friendly! As for the oven, here’s a varied choice of Wonderchef’s 9 Litres, 19 Litres, 28 Litres, 30 Litres, 32 Litres, 40 Litres and 48 Litres OTGs! Phew! Didn’t I say you had plenty of options?
What’s great about the recipe is that it will take you just under 20 min to get the batter ready, Store them in an airtight container for a day, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. You can pop them in the microwave for about 25 seconds to warm them up. I even love these as a quick on-the-go breakfast on busy mornings. They’re not too sweet, so you don’t really feel guilty eating them, and they also have apples, so that’s your apple a day!
I would highly recommend using Granny Smith (green) apples. The tartness of green apples really works well with the sweetness of the batter. It’s a small difference, but not one so important that you should put off making these muffins, so use whatever apples you like! As for peeling it, it’s completely up to you. I usually don’t when I’m just baking for myself but sometimes I’ll put in the extra effort to peel them when I’m trying to impress someone! Again, it’s a slight difference so you can see what works for you.
The other star of this recipe is cinnamon. It’s the one spice I’m always running out of! There are two major types of cinnamon – Ceylon and Cassia. Cassia originated in China and several sub species are now grown across South East Asia. Cassia is the cheaper, more readily available variety. The Ceylon variety, as the name suggests, originated in Sri Lanka and is regarded to be ‘true cinnamon’. Cassia cinnamon is a lot stronger and spicier, due to the higher concentration of cinnamaldehyde in its oil. Ceylon Cinnamon on the other hand has a much lower concentration leading to a more subtle aroma and flavour. Ceylon or Cassia, the cinnamon flavour really shines through!
Since this recipe makes only 6 muffins, you’re only going to need 1/2 an apple. The rest is a reward for the chef! I’ve tried including more of the apple and it just knocks the muffin to fruit ratio out of balance. These cinnamon apple muffins are soon going to be your favourite!
RECIPE CARD
Cooking Time: 35 min
Makes 6 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Egg (beaten)
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 Apple (diced)
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
- Pre Heat your oven to 180ºC
- Dust diced apples with flour and set aside
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl
- Beat the egg, sugar, oil, milk, cinnamon and vanilla with an electric mixer for 1 minute
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and fold with a wooden spoon until just incorporated.
- Add apples to the batter and fold gently.
- Line a cupcake tray and fill each slot 3/4ths of the way up.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes at 180ºC or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes before digging in!
Author: Sneha Sundar is the creator of You Dim Sum, You Lose Some; a philosophy she adopts both in and out of the kitchen.
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