Being a person of impulse, this very quick and easy muffin recipe is just perfect for me.
I love being able to have something delicious and hot out of the oven within 20 – 30 minutes.
So when I saw this recipe, at first I wasn’t quite sure how I felt because one of the unlikely ingredients is mayonnaise.
OK, I know it is weird and a bit gross sounding. I am not a great mayo fan, but I was intrigued so I tried to bake the muffins. Huge Success! Now I buy a bottle of mayo, just for these muffins – because they are delicious.
Baking Made Quick and Easy
I love baking but sometimes it is such a schlepp to get a good result. You have to be careful of ingredients and how long you mix the batter; and timing and the temperature of the oven – and then you spend ages cleaning up and washing all the bowls and appliances.
This muffin recipe only requires a small mixing bowl, a measuring cup and some measuring spoons. Oh and a small muffin pan. Mine makes six. Quick. Easy. Delicious.
Recipe for Quick and Easy Muffins
1 Cup flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
½ Cup of Milk
2 tablespoons Mayo
Mix it all together and spoon into a greased muffin pan. Cook in a preheated oven of 180C for about 15 minutes or till golden brown.
They are totally delicious when you eat them hot and dripping with butter.
Muffins vs Scones
I’m not really sure if this technically is a muffin or a scone.
I bake it in a muffin pan and the consistency of the dough is muffin-like. There also isn’t any sugar in the recipe or egg. I have added sweetcorn and herbs and banana (at different times) and got great results.
I guess it is actually a cross between a bread and a cake; baked in a muffin pan and with a scone-like texture. Made with mayonnaise.
When I think back to my childhood, scones were much more popular. There was hardly ever a tea party or event where you didn’t have scones on the table – big ones and small ones. And some of the town’s ladies were known for their scones. Yip, scones were big in the Free Sate in the 60s and 70s.
The jam and cream scones were always popular as well as the scones with finely grated biltong on top. Cheese and Marmite often appeared on the savory scones.
My mom sometimes made cheese muffins for supper on a Sunday night – big cheesy muffins (with a touch of Cheyenne pepper) dripping with butter.
But generally in the Free Sate we were scone people.
I never really thought about it until recently. But now I understand – it was part of our Colonial Heritage.
Origins of Scones and Muffins
I believe muffins originated in the USA. There they come in all kinds of wonderful flavors like blueberry, choc-chip, bran, sweetcorn etc. The perfect American muffin is symmetrical with a domed top. In present day South Africa they are a must have on most corporate breakfast/brunch menus. In upmarket areas, trendy coffee shops usually serve a wide variety of sweet and savory muffins.
Scones are flatter with a floury top and bottom and are cut and baked on a flat baking pan. They originated in Scotland and spread to the Commonwealth countries, which is no wonder they were one of our treats growing up. A distinct taste of our Colonial legacy. When I was growing up in the 60s I knew old people on farms who still had portraits of Queen Victoria hanging in their parlors. Scones were one of the better parts of this legacy.
So now that I’ve shared this wonderful, quick and easy muffin recipe (with a history lesson) with you, there is only one thing left – get baking.
