Carob Muffins

Carob powder is such a divisive ingredient in our family - husband loves it, Gaby tolerates it, the rest of us find it unpleasant. So lately, I've been baking two different batches of muffins with jam, to suit our different tastes. As carob is sweet and meanwhile flour-like, I had to adjust the recipe a lot, to take its unique qualities into account.

Here is an example of the recipe, executed with ricotta and strawberry jam.

Ingredients for the muffins:

• 1 egg
• 20 g sugar + a pinch of salt
• 60 g ricotta 
• 60 g milk 
• 35 g sunflower oil
• 25 g carob powder
• 80 g flour 
• 5 g baking powder

Preparation:

Beat the egg with the sugar, add the oil, ricotta and milk and mix. Stir in the carob powder, the flour, mixed with the baking powder. Half fill 6 muffin forms with the batter. Place a teaspoon of jam in the center of each muffin form, the fill in the forms with the rest of the batter. Sprinkle with a pinch of brown sugar on top of each muffin. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 30 min, until a toothpick test confirms readiness.

i made also a batch for myself and others, with normal sugar and flour and spiced with baked fig leaves - did you know, that baked fig leaves make for a very interesting spice? I brought a few leaves with me from Greece and made myself a small jar of dried powder, that I love to add to my muffins. Unfortunately, it lost some of its potent with time, I'll have to research further how to prepare and store it, so that the essential oils would last longer.

Husband loves to have his carob muffins with milk, I enjoy mine with my morning coffee and German lessons. Life is good, when everybody is happy, nicht wahr?