My foolproof cheese muffins

This is pretty easy muffin recipe and so far the muffins have never failed to rise – and please.

I love hot cheese muffins smothered with butter. So much so that it’s often an in-between meals snack for me, and part of my campaign to reduce my intake of biscuits and cakes (my first preference). I don’t have the time to bake them daily, but I can bake them once a week and freeze them the minute they are cool, and then reheat in the oven when needed. I’ve experimented with lots of recipes and this one is pretty foolproof. I’ve fiddled with it a bit to give the muffins a little extra kick.

CHEESE MUFFINS

• 2 
cups flour
• ¼ cup sugar (optional, use castor)
• 2 rounded teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1 level teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup yoghurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons Djion mustard
• 1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
• 2 eggs beaten

1  In a bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and paprika

2  In another bowl beat together yoghurt, butter, eggs and mustard.

3  Add this mixture to dry ingredients and blend gently,  just enough to be moistened. If the batter is too stiff – and it has been for me, I drizzle in the 1/2 cup of milk to soften it. You don’t have to use the whole half cup. Use just what you need to make the mixture easer to mix.

4  Spoon mixture into a 12- muffin pan which has been pre-greased with non-stick spray (Weighless is a good brand).

5  Bake in oven preheated to 200 C (190 C if you have a fan oven) for 15 to 20 minutes. Muffins should double in size.

• Before baking, test that your baking powder is still fresh by dropping a spoonful of the powder into a glass of water to see if it fizzes. If it doesn’t, throw it away. It’s often better to buy sachets of baking powder rather than a tin.
• Give your muffins a stronger flavour by spooning in two tablespoons of grated parmesan to the flour mix.
• You can also add some finely chopped parsley to the mixture.  – Ingrid Shevlin