Plum & poppy seed muffins

March 16, 2014

The local fruit shop still has crates of stone fruit but they're clearly a little past their best - some a bit wrinkled, others speckled with brown, the odd bruise. It's a nice time to bake them instead of gobbling the fruit fresh.

I picked up a few plums for afternoon-snack muffins with this VeganYumYum recipe in mind. Sure, it's intended for peaches, but I was in the mood for a more sour-skinned twang. I tinkered with the flour too, going for a mix of plain and wholemeal wheat flours, and added some poppy seeds. So now they're a less fussy version of these.

The muffins are a little delicate to handle as they're nearly more fruit than muffin, and the batter remains a bit soggy where it makes contact with the plum pieces. But I love the riot of colour, from purple skin through to orange flesh, and the clash of sweet and sour and cakey crumbs.

Plum & poppy seed muffins
(adapted from a recipe on VeganYumYum)

1 cup plain flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons poppy seeds 
1 cup soymilk
1 tabelespoon lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 plums, chopped

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a muffin tray.

In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Stir through the sugar and poppy seeds.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soymilk, lemon juice, oil and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir them together until just barely combined (don't worry if there are some lumps). Stir through three-quarters of the chopped plums, then spoon the mixture into the muffin cups. Arrange the remaining chopped plums on top of the muffins.

Bake the muffins for 15-20 minutes, until a metal skewer piercing a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the tray for at least 5 minutes before removing them.