Pineapple cream cheese muffins are easy to make, moreish and gorgeous. The cream cheese gives a luxurious moistness and if you want to indulge a little, these taste great served with a spoon or two of lightly whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 225g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 100g caster sugar
- 125g pack Discover Pineapple Halo
- 1 egg
- 150ml full-fat milk
- 120ml sunflower oil
- 100g ready-to-eat dried exotic fruit (from Sainsbury’s), roughly chopped
- Small, fresh pineapple, peeled and finely sliced into 9 rounds (optional), to decorate
Method
- 1. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan180C/gas 6. Line 9 holes of a muffin tray with 2 paper muffin cases in each hole. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and mix in the sugar.
- 2. In a medium bowl, cream the Pineapple Halo with a wooden spoon, add the egg and mix well. Gradually add the milk and mix until creamy. Whisk in the sunflower oil with a fork, then fold in the dried exotic fruit.
- 3. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the creamed mixture. Mix briefly until the flour is combined – make sure you don’t over-mix. Spoon even amounts into each muffin case so the mixture comes almost to the top.
- 4. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked and golden. Leave in the muffin tray for 15 minutes, then tip out and cool on a wire rack.
- 5. To decorate (optional), put the slices of fresh pineapple onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Put into the oven on its lowest setting for about 1 hour, until dried out. If the slices are still a little moist, increase the oven to 110C/fan90C/gas 1/4 and cook for a further 20-30 minutes. Transfer the slices to a wire rack – the pineapple will crisp as it cools. Store in an airtight container until needed.
Chef's tip
The decoration is easy to make, but packets of dried circles of pineapple are also available in supermarkets.