Next level muffin-scroll combo

So on the weekend I decided that it had been far too long since I had last baked, and the situation needed to be rectified immediately. I mean seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a long savoury streak on my blog ever. I really am not sure what has gotten in to me, because you all know how much I love my baking. But fear not, for I just couldn’t take it anymore on the weekend and had to get back into my baking with a brand new recipe I decided it was worth sharing with you all.

A few weeks ago my partner and I made a giant cinnamon scroll, because cinnamon scrolls are basically his favourite thing, and he saw a Tasty video on Facebook that he desperately wanted to try. It didn’t go so well, perhaps because of our oven, and so even though it tasted pretty good, it was a little bit too bready and hard for his liking.

Because of this experiment, we had a lot of cream cheese and cinnamon left over, and so when I was thinking of what to bake, I thought it might be worth making something using these ingredients. I decided that I hadn’t really cooked muffins in a while, and how good it would be to make a muffin with the same flavours as a cinnamon scroll? I wanted to take it to the next level though and make it better than the basic cinnamon scroll by bringing in some delicious candied nuts, because I felt like this would bring together the muffin and cinnamon scroll so perfectly. I also love the flavours that walnuts bring to baking, they really bring it to the next level.

I ended up bringing in these muffins for our Melbourne Cup celebration at work, mainly because I was concerned my partner (and me) might eat all 12 if they stayed on our kitchen bench! They are seriously wicked, and full of the classic flavours of cinnamon scrolls with a bit of something extra. I have to admit, they aren’t the prettiest thing I’ve baked, but they make up for it in how damn good they taste. And in the end, cinnamon scrolls are meant to be an ooey, gooey mess…right?

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Cinnamon Scroll Muffins

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

Muffins

• 2 cups plain flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• 3 tbsp melted butter cooled slightly
• 1 egg
• 1 cup full cream milk

Topping and Filling

• 1 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1½ cups coarsely chopped walnuts
• 3 tbsp melted butter

Icing

• 60 grams cream cheese softened
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Place muffin cups in each hole of a 12 muffin baking tin and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and caster sugar together and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, milk until well combined.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the wet mixture in. Mix until just combine.
4. In another bowl, combine the topping ingredients: 3 tbsp of melted butter, cinnamon, brown sugar and walnuts. Gently fold half of the mixture into the muffin batter.
5. Spoon the muffin batter, about ¼ cup, into each muffin cup, and top with the remaining nut mixture.
6. Bake the muffins in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the muffins are golden.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
8. Whisk together the cream cheese, milk, vanilla and icing sugar until there are no lumps. Drizzle over the top of the muffins once they are cooled slightly. Eat still warm, or keep in a container for a few days.

These muffins were seriously good. I don’t know whether it was because I hadn’t baked for so long, but I really enjoyed making them. Although it involved a bit too much washing up for my liking (you know how much I dig a one bowl recipe), it was completely worth it for bringing all the delicious elements together into a next level muffin. The nuts brought an extra element to the classic flavours of cinnamon and butter, and added some much needed crunch to the dish. The icing was just there to be plain delicious, because honestly what baked good doesn’t taste better with cream cheese?

When I brought these into work, they flew off the tray, which I take as a sign that they were a hit. One girl even said they almost tasted healthy, which I laughed at, as these are pretty far from that! Although I will say, the batter itself doesn’t have much sugar, which I like because the filling is quite sweet. I can see what she means as they aren’t overpowering, and rely on the sweetness from the cinnamon sugar, and the cream cheese icing of course!

For how many bowls this used, I was actually impressed by how easy it was to make these. I didn’t even need my KitchenAid, which I was actually a bit dissappointed about. But it goes to show how simple the recipe actual was to make, if you have the ingredients. And you simply cannot beat how delicious it will make your house smell as the muffins are baking, it is seriously next level. I would bake another batch of these just for that, but then I would have to eat them. I guess it wouldn’t be so bad!

Until next time, happy eating!

Ella xx