Cinnamon Apple and Salted Caramel Duffins.

I don't think this recipe could be any more Autumnal if I tried; a scrumptious little bundle of doughy joy, wrapped in a lovely cinnamon sugar blanket and brimming with a salty caramel centre and sweet, juicy cinnamon apple compote; how delicious! I am a huge fan of duffins and there crisp, sugar coated doughnut exterior; encasing a soft, fluffy muffin interior as you really do get the best of both worlds and to be honest, aren't both worlds bloomin' gorgeous! These duffins are utterly wonderful and moreish and you can honestly cram them full of any delicious filling you like but, my choice seasonal Autumn filling at the moment is most definitely cinnamon apple and salted caramel and I am sure you will love it too. So remember, the next time you head out on a chillly Autumn walk; wrapped up in your coziest attire and crunch your way through of a pile fiery orange leaves; leave one of these lovely little duffins waiting for you to tuck into back at home and I can assure you; with a duffin in one hand and a hot chocolate in the other you'll think wow, isn't this Autumn really rather magical.

Ingredients

Makes 10-12 duffins chock-full of cinnamon apple compote and salted caramel; aren't you lucky!

For the duffins:

210g plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
165g caster sugar
1 large egg
188ml buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

65ml sunflower oil

For the sugar coating:

150g Unsalted butter, melted

200g caster sugar

1-2 tsp. cinnamon

For the cinnamon apple compote:

Granny smith apple peeled and diced into very small cubes

20g butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

20g brown sugar

A splash of water

For the salted caramel filling:

250g light soft brown sugar

150ml double cream

1/2-1 tsp. sea salt (depends on your taste, I go all out!)

Method

1)  Start by preparing the cinnamon apple compote. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, add the brown sugar, cinnamon and tiny splash of water and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. 

 2) Add the apples and cook until soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool. The mixture will thicken as it cools.

3)  Next prepare the mind-blowing salted caramel! Heat the brown sugar, ½- 1 tsp. salt and cream in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Bubble for a few minutes, then leave to cool. I find it easier to fill the duffins while the caramel is still a little warm though as when it is completely cool it becomes very thick and harder to work with.

4)  Now prepare the duffins. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/ Gas mark 4 and sieve the plain flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. Add the freshly grated nutmeg.

5)  Next, whisk the buttermilk, large egg and sunflower oil together and add the vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients slowly into the dry ingredients and stir using a spatula until just combined.

6)  Take a 12-cup muffin tin and use a little oil to lightly grease each hole in the muffin tin. Spoon the duffin mixture into the muffin tin holes, filling them two thirds full. Alternately, use a cookie scoop and you get the perfect dollop!

7)  Bake for 20 minutes until golden and well-risen and until the surface of each duffin springs back when lightly pressed with a finger. 

8)  While the duffins are baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low-heat, pour into a bowl and set-aside. Now, add 200g caster sugar to another bowl stir in 1-2 tsp. cinnamon to create cinnamon sugar.

9)  Remove the muffin tray from the oven once the duffins are cooked and gently lift the duffins out onto a wire cooling rack. Immediately dip the duffins into the melted butter and then roll in either the sugar or cinnamon sugar to liberally and evenly coat them before allowing to cool completely on the wire cooling rack.       
                            

10) Once cool, use a cupcake corer, apple corer or sharp knife to gently remove the centre  of each duffin, creating a hole. Finally, fill each duffin with 1 tsp. salted caramel and top  with a mini tower of 1 tsp. glossy apple compote and devour and enjoy immediately!

Raspberry and Lime Jam Duffins.

There are many pairings that go together in this world; peanut butter and chocolate, macaroni and cheese, rhubarb and custard, kenan and kel but, never before had I realised just how fantastic combining a doughnut with a muffin would be. Never before had I even known about combining a doughnut with a muffin so thank you kindly Bea for your delicious recipe! The result of this gorgeous combination is a soft, moist, doughy bundle of joy, oozing with a luxurious, zesty raspberry and lime jam filling and enveloped in a shimmering blanket of sugar. 

I recently baked these duffins for one of my final assessments at Liverpool John Moores University where I just finished my second year studying Home Economics and I filled them with a lovely rhubarb compote and vanilla custard filling which I will definitely share on here at some point too but, for now I just thought that the vibrant, zesty raspberry and lime jam duffins would create the perfect little treat to enjoy on a nice summery picnic or to pack up for a trip to the seaside on a lovely, sunny day. Alternatively, if like myself all you are seeing outside your window is the all too familiar sight of a British summer filled with grey skies and showers of rain, then I think that means that we can all just eat even more of these melt in the mouth bundles of sweet, sugary heaven to drown our sorrows, after all they'll be no need for a bikini body in this weather so might as well get working on building up that extra layer of padding for winter!

Ingredients
Makes 12 delicious duffins
For the Raspberry and Lime Jam:

300g raspberries, fresh or frozen

300g jam sugar

zest and juice of 1 lime

For the Duffins:

210g plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
165g caster sugar
1 large egg
188ml buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

65ml sunflower oil

For the Topping:

150g Unsalted butter, melted

200g caster sugar 

1 tsp. cinnamon

Method

1)    Start by preparing the raspberry and lime jam. Place the raspberries, lime zest and juice into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and once turned to a pulp, add in the jam sugar and stir, allowing the sugar to dissolve. Bring to the boil again, boiling for about 10 minutes or until you reach the jam thickness you desire.

2)    To test the set of the jam, place a small tea plate into the freezer to chill whilst you boil the jam. Place a small bit of your jam onto the cold plate and if it is set the surface of the jam should wrinkle when you push a finger through it.

3)    Once the jam has reached your desired thickness, pour it into sterilized jars and set aside.

4)    Next, prepare the delicious duffins! Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/ Gas mark 4 and sieve the plain flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. Add the freshly grated nutmeg.

8)    Next, whisk the buttermilk, large egg and sunflower oil together and add the vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients slowly into the dry ingredients and stir using a spatula until just combined.

9)    Take a 12-cup muffin tin and use a little oil to lightly grease each hole in the muffin tin. Spoon the duffin mixture into the muffin tin holes, filling them two thirds full.

10)  Bake for 20 minutes until golden and well-risen and until the surface of each duffin springs back when lightly pressed with a finger.

11) While the duffins are baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low-heat, pour into a bowl and set-aside. Now, add 100g caster sugar to another bowl and into a final bowl add 100g caster sugar and stir in 1 tsp. cinnamon to create cinnamon sugar.

12)  Remove the muffin tray from the oven once the duffins are cooked and gently lift the duffins out onto a wire cooling rack. Immediately dip the duffins into the melted butter and then roll in either the sugar or cinnamon sugar to liberally and evenly coat them before allowing to cool completely on the wire cooling rack.

13)  Once cool, use a cupcake corer, apple corer or sharp knife to gently remove the centre of each duffin, creating a hole. Finally, fill each duffin with 1 tsp. of the raspberry and lime jam and devour and enjoy immediately!

p.s. any of the remaining jam can be popped in the fridge and enjoyed on toast or scones- well everybody loves a good scone with jam and clotted cream in Cornwall don't they!