Spiced Cranberry Muffins

This year’s home baked Christmas Cake has gone down well in the ADK household – so much so that we are now down to the final few crumbs on the serving plate. How to fill the gap, I wondered, and maybe also use up some of the tasty ingredients left over from making it?

We still had some currants, golden sultanas, glace cherries and mixed candied peel in the cupboard. There was also the last of the juicy red cranberries, left over from making the sauce I’d been merrily ladling on to my roast turkey.

Too good to waste, of course, so they’ve all ended up in these New Year muffins. I’ve incorporated cinnamon and nutmeg to add to that seasonal feel of deep midwinter, so cosy up and enjoy.

Servings

Makes 12 muffins.

Timings

15 mins to make, 20 mins to bake in a fan oven at 160C.

You Will Need

• 280g plain flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• half tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• 120g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 110g fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped in a food processor
• 20g currants
• 20g sultanas
• 20g glace cherries
• 20g chopped mixed candied peel
• 240ml milk
• 90ml veg oil

Method

1. Prepare a muffin tin or mould. Switch on a fan oven to 160C.
2. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, chopped cranberries, milk and oil. Stir in the currants, sultanas, glace cherries and candied peel.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir so that no dry ingredients are visible.
5. Spoon the mixture into the tin/mould, and bake for 20 mins.
6. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Customise It!

Basically, the rule here is that if it might have gone in your Christmas Cake, and is sitting left over in the cupboard, then it’s good enough for the muffins! Swap in raisins for some of the currants or sultanas, for example. Chop up some nuts and add them in. I didn’t go so far as to feed in a teaspoon of brandy but, hey, why not try it? If mixed spice is all you have, then use it in place of the cinnamon and nutmeg.

First musical selection of 2025 is from Sophie Ellis-Bextor. I enjoyed her New Year’s Eve Disco shown on TV here. She performed Groovejet and Murder on the Dancefloor, both of which I have always rated, and also this one, which I don’t think I’d heard before. It is a paean to the classic Sheila B. Devotion track, Spacer, so can’t really go wrong. Here’s Sophie with Crying at the Discotheque.