Strawberry Muffins

Winters are the best time for baking, especially in a hot city like Chennai. And the best part is we get lot of fresh fruits and berries which otherwise is not very abundantly found in Chennai. I love going to the fruit and vegetables shop and the very sight of fresh fruits and veggies make me extremely happy. Last week, during my regular visit to buy veggies, I happened to see a fresh pack of strawberries. These days, my mind is always preoccupied with the thought of baking and trying out new stuffs so that I can update my blog 🙂 I know too much of flour and sugar is not very good for health. So, this is the time when my mini cupcake mould comes to my rescue. Perfect for a small measure of flour and enough to experiment with. Small pretty ones which makes you feel less guilty even if you gobble 2 of them at a go. Perfect to pack in your kids lunch box, weekly once 2-3 such small cupcake is ok for growing kids, atleast it’s home made, isn’t it? 

Initially I thought of making a strawberry compote and then adding it to the batter. But then I thought of adding the fresh fruit directly. If you wish to frost these, it’s better to make strawberry compote and then add a spoon or so of it to whipped cream and frost the cupcake. But I prefer to make simple muffins so that I don’t add the fat of whipped cream too in our diet 🙂

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour 100 gm
• Salt a pinch
• Baking powder 1/4 tsp
• Baking soda a pinch
• Thick curd 2 tbsp
• Oil 2 tbsp
• Milk 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp
• Vanilla/strawberry extract 2-3 drops
• Beetroot powder a pinch (optional)
• Sugar 1/3 cup
• Strawberry 7-8
• Strawberry liquid 1 tbsp **

Method:

• Wash and pat dry the strawberries and chop them into bite size pieces. 
• Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar in it and keep aside for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid and use it in the cake batter. **
• Preheat the oven at 150-160 degree celsius for atleast 10 minutes.
• Grease a mini cupcake mould or line them with cupcake liners.
• Sieve the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
• Mix oil, milk, curd and sugar till the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the extract and the beetroot powder or 2-3 drops of pink colour. 
• Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and fold gently. 
• Add the chopped strawberry pieces and fold well.
• Pour into the muffin mould till 2/3 rd of its capacity.
• Bake for 20-22 minutes or till the centre looks cooked.
• Remove from oven and allow it to cool for 2-3 minutes.
• Transfer onto a cooling rack and cool well.
• Enjoy it with a glass of milk 🙂