Strawberry Coconut Muffins

When I was younger, it was my sister, Sarah, who did the baking.

I didn't really cook at all until I was pregnant with Izzy, and then I focussed on learning how to cook savoury meals.

I only started baking a year or so ago (according to my photos it was June 2010), and I started with muffins. Muffins are so easy to make, and should be impossible to mess up. Except the first time I made them, on a whim, with no pre-planning. I decided to make rhubarb muffins with Izzy. I didn't have any butter, so for some reason decided apple sauce would be the best replacement...not the oil or margerine that I also had on hand. My baking powder was years old. And I didn't have a muffin tin so I just used paper cake cases on a baking tray.

Yeah, they were flat.

Luckily, after trying to force-feed her one of these muffins, my Mum took pity on me and lent me her cook book...

...and I never looked back! (or gave her the book back, sorry Mum, at least you can see it's well-used!)

I've since graduated to making cupcakes, birthday cakes etc, and whilst I do love butter icing, muffins will always have a special place in my heart. They are sooo quick and easy to prepare.

These muffins took just 10 minutes to make up last night, and after 20 minutes in the oven they were ready, yum!

Strawberry Coconut Muffins
(adapted from Susan Reimer's Summer Fruit Muffins in the above cookbook)

Makes 12

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

• 280g plain flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 140g sugar
• 50g coconut (plus extra to sprinkle on top)
• 1 egg
• 250ml Kara coconut milk (or any other milk)
• 80ml oil
• 1 tsp coconut extract (optional)
• 170g fresh strawberries, chopped into bite-sized pieces (I quartered most of my strawberries, unless they were exceptionally large)

1. Pre-heat oven to 190C.
2. Line a muffin tray with 12 paper muffin cases.
3. Sieve the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl.
4. Stir in the coconut.
5. In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg.
6. Add the oil, milk and coconut extract, and mix.
7. Pour the wet bowl into the dry bowl and stir to combine. Don't overstir, the batter will still be slightly lumpy, but there should be no visible flour.
8. Add the chopped strawberries and mix in with just a couple of strokes.
9. Put the batter into the cake cases (mine came to about 5mm below the top)
10. Put into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a cake test/skewer comes out clean (this took exactly 20 minutes for me, in a fan oven at 170C).
11. Enjoy! :)

These are delicious. I love the coconut on top, and the soft juicy fruit inside. If only the weather outside matched how summery these muffins are!

It seems that us bloggers do like our themes. I often find that people make similar things at similar times, and it turns out that these muffins are no exception! After making these muffins last night, I read Maria's blog and saw that she'd made coconut brownies, and then this morning I noticed that Kate had posted about strawberry coconut filled muffins. Her muffins use jam rather than fresh strawberries, but still, slightly spooky!

Strawberries are such a summery fruit, and as summer is coming to a close I do like to bake with the last fruits of the season to store in the freezer...plus, Waitrose have got a special on big trays of strawberries at the moment so I have lots to use!! :)

What is your favourite muffin variety? Or your favourite type of baked good? Looking back at the photos from those first, not so successful (!), rhubarb muffins, the next muffins I attempted - from the cookbook - were pear and ginger. Those were really tasty, and I got some pears in our veg box this week so they might be next on my list. I need to clear up some space in our freezers first though!