Double Corn Muffins
You thought you were the only one who could take a break? Then think again, because these days even the weather takes a break. The tapering spikes of ice on the car mirror, today, reminded me of a geography lesson on stalactites, but they also looked very beautiful. That’s the kind of weather we had today, unpredictable.
But the spikes of ice also reminded me of a very interesting Planet Earth documentary, we watched, on Sunken Caves in Mexico, called sinkholes or cenotes. It was so breathtaking and scary at the same time. The water-filled caves attract scuba divers, cavers and speleologists. If you are an adrenaline-seeking personality, then this is the ideal sport for you.
A week after we watched the documentary my daughter’s class had a talk on careers. The young man giving the talk asked her what she would like to be when she grows up. She stood up and said “Speleologist” and the young man asked Spe…what? Apparently, he had never heard of the word and so had most of her classmates, and frankly speaking, I had never heard of it either. They thought she had made up the word. It was a very funny experience.
So much for cave diving and Speleologists. Today I want to share with you a recipe for muffins that I made and served with soup. I added corn, capsicum and parsley but I think it can also go well with chives. I seem to like chives better. It has a stronger smell than parsley.
Corn and Capsicum Muffins
Preparation time: 15 minutes; Baking Time: 25 Minutes; Makes: 12
Ingredients
- 125g (1 cup, 4½oz) plain flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 150g (1 cup, 5½ oz) yellow cornmeal
- 4 teaspoons caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 300ml (1¼ cup) milk
- ¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
- 60ml (¼ cup) oil
- ½ red capsicum, finely chopped
- 400ml (13.5 fl.oz) corn kernels drained
- ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (225°C). Brush a 12-hole, medium muffin pan with oil or melted butter.
- Sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in the cornmeal and sugar and make a well in the centre.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk, Tabasco (if using) and oil until combined.
- Add the egg mixture, capsicum, corn, and parsley to the well. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until all ingredients are just moistened. Do not over-mix, the mixture should look quite lumpy.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, leave to stand for 5 minutes then transfer onto a wire rack to cool.
- For cup measures: spoon the flour into the cup, heaping it up over the top, then slide a knife across the top to level off the extra. Be careful not to shake or tap the cup to settle down the flour or you will have more than you need. I use a 240ml American cup.
Points to Note
- Please note that oven temperatures are given as a guideline only. You may need to add or reduce the suggested temperature depending on your oven. I baked the muffins at 425°F (220°C) for 27 minutes.
- If you prefer, use whole wheat flour instead of white. A little extra milk may be required as wholemeal flour absorbs more liquid.
myfavouritepastime.com
Step By Step Photos
Please always remember to assemble all ingredients before you start.
Sift the flour, salt and baking powder.
Add cornmeal and sugar to the sifted flour.
and stir thoroughly until mixed.
Now make a well in the centre of the flour.
Place the egg, milk, Tabasco (if using) and oil in a separate bowl.
and whisk until combined
Pour the egg mixture into the well.
Then add the capsicum, corn and parsley.
Stir quickly with a wooden spoon or fork until all ingredients are just moistened.
Spoon the batter into prepared muffin pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until golden on top.
If you love capsicum and corn like me, you will love these muffins.
You can eat these as a snack or serve with soup.
myfavouritepastime.com
My Favourite Pastime 
Thank you for featuring my muffins on your menu. I feel more than honoured. Hope the Mister had a wonderful dinner. Enjoy the rest of the week!!!
Also, “speleologist” comes from the Greek word spelia (or spilia) which means cave! So speleo-logist is an expert on caves 🙂 Sorry, being Greek I just had to add that 😉
Thanks so much for unravelling the speleologist mystery, i think greeks must be very good in Sciences because a lot of scientific terms are of greek or latin origin. I am so glad to meet another buddy from Greece. Never visited your country but it’s on my long and windy bucket list! I hope to see more of you in future. Have a fantastic weekend!
I have a bad feeling I recently threw out a bag of cornmeal (it had expired I think). I wish I’d found this recipe just a little earlier! Oh well, I’ll just have to go buy another one in order to try these! They look scrumptious!
Ha ha that is hilarious. I love corn in all forms, the flour for baking, corn on and off the cob, cream style….please just buy another one and try out the recipe. It is very nice and you might also want to try the cheese and cornmeal muffins, they are cheesy and good too. Thanks so much for stopping by and wish you a wonderful weekend. Hope to see more of you in future!!!
Ok, you said the magic word! (that would be cheese!)
Say cheese…, thanks for checking on your comments. The cheese ones, are really good. Take care and have a good weekend!
I love corn!!!
Me too!!!
Liz, these look and sound delish, and another wee nibble I know my cheese-fiend kids would love! I went diving in the cenotes of Mexico about 10 years ago – interesting but a bit scary to be honest! Prefer to be out in the open water.
You are very daring, I just talked about cenotes of Mexico in this post. I could never dive, I would die of fright. I salute all those people who can do scary things like diving, bungee jumping etc. My daughter in France is adventurous and daring. Thanks for stopping by and for promoting me on Facebook!
I really liked the story of spe…spre….what?!?!? lol. I did like it though. I think you should do a story with every recipe. And like ‘speleology’, I have never heard of capsicum in muffins … so the two have some relationship *smiles*
At any rate, seeing the muffin pictures makes me want to have some tea now.
LOL…oh my god you are so funny, have you ever laughed until your tears are falling, thats what am doing now, you are not alone several people have never heard of capsicum in muffins. They are great with soup though. Thanks for the networking spirit.
Never know there actually a savory muffin, especially u use a bell pepper within muffin…
great execution Liz!
Oh yes you can pretty much add anything and omit sugar. Love your blog. It’s really unique. Thanks for stopping by.
I think I may have to try these!
And also start a general “muffin category”…..
Also also: I love reading your recipes! They all look SO. GOOD.
Thanks for stopping by and for reading my recipes (it’s a good sign), I have bookmarked the omelettey muffins. Thanks!
These look delish!!
I enjoyed eating them, since I love capsicum and corn. Thanks for stopping by!
Love the idea of serving these with soup! I bet they would go great with my basil and sundried tomato soup, can’t wait to try it!
Thank you for stopping by. I have just been to glimpse the basil and tomato soup. Love soups, will give that a try sometime! Thanks.
Liz, these look soooo good! I love corn bread and anything in muffin form is so fun! Im definitely going to give them a try!
Hi laura, nice to hear from you. You know I always love your comments. If you do try them give me a shout. Next week I shall be posting something from your blog…Have a great weekend.
Oh my, these look quite delicious!
I love your blog, I have just been there again, to admire the beautiful pictures. Thanks for stopping by. Mama is really baking….
Speleologist! A very interesting occupation ! I love spelunking in caves and admire its beauty than studying about them though.
Me too, I love watching documentaries on caves, or exploring ‘normal’ caves, but why would I want to study a cave? no inspiration whatsoever. Thanks for stopping by and liking my posts. I appreciate, thanks!
Lovely take on savoury muffins. I must try this some day.
How is Singapore and the bentos? You always make some really interesting and cute ones. They always make me smile. I’m going to try making one soon…