Monday, October 27, 2008

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins


I used to have this unexplainable hatred towards strawberry anything.
Strawberry ice cream
Strawberry cheesecake
Strawberry pudding
Strawberry jam
Strawberries.
….
Eugh! Blegh! Welgh!
But I didn’t get it. They are fragrant, nutritious, healthy, refreshing, nice and pretty to look at...but I couldn't bring myself to like them. I guess the chemistry was just not there.
I could eat fresh strawberries...but only and only if they are super sweet, super juicy, super premium quality, which I totally can NOT afford, thus, hardly eat. LOL! (They are normally sold at HKD78/USD10 per itsy bitsy teeny tiny pack). Yes, I am a high maintenance, picky, strawberry non-eater.

So what changed me? Nothing fancy. It’s McDonald’s Strawberry Sundae! LOL. From that cup on, it’s all I want, and I can’t believe I am saying this, but these days, I want it even more than my former favorite, the Chocolate Sundae.

My newfound love for items slathered with strawberry jam opened a whole new window of opportunities, and I went straight back to something I roughly know how to do (i.e. didn’t screw up too often)….muffins ^_^Strawberry Jam & Cream Cheese Muffins

Recipe
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 6 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 3 tbsp strawberry jam
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Filling
- 6 pieces of 1x1 cm cream cheese cubes
- 6 x ½ tsp strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, make a well in the middle. Mix all the wet ingredients, pour into dry ingredients, mix roughly, pour 1-2 tbsp batter into greased muffin tray (or lined with paper cups), add 1 cube of cream cheese and ½ tsp strawberry jam, top off with more batter until almost full. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

OK, so now I am loving strawberry jam…which is basically sugar ^_^…but who knows…maybe soon I’ll be craving these healthy berries daily? Em…don’t get your hopes up :p

12 comments:

  1. Hahha...you stole my line...picky, high-maintenance:p
    But I am the opposite of you...i LOVE strawberries...oh my, especially those from California:)
    The prices are definitely not so lovable though...you're right...but I'm glad you like strawberries now...hehe, welcome to the club!

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  2. wow.. I just saw today that you were in Manila! Glad you enjoyed your trip, and boy, you've eaten almost everything you had to try, i should say.. hahahha.. and congrats on the balut challenge! I'm a filipina, but I'd never have survived it! They say the best way to eat it is in the dark so you don't have to see it! :o)
    By the way, your muffin is awesome.

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  3. Strawmaberries! Haha converted by Maccas -___- I;m not a fan of Maccas but strawberries are awesome and your muffins look so!

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  4. These muffins look so good, and I can't believe you didn't like Strawberries!! Welcome to the strawberry world!

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  5. strawberry cream cheese muffins.... waw! biasanya aku pake menu penutup... kereeeeeen n lezaaat n ma'nyuuuusss, meskipun namanya ga persis......, salam dari indonesia, bandung.

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  6. I am taking some of your muffin, is it all right? *wink* Imagine eating this muffin with a cup of coffee in the chilly morning. That must be nice.

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  7. You should try making homemade strawberry jam, though if strawberries are that expensive there, maybe not. Love the combo of cream cheese & jam. Yum!

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  8. We love you even if you are high maintenance. :) These muffins look wonderful!

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  9. thanks for the encouragement, guys...i'll continue to find ways to love these healthy berries :)

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  10. Anything with strawberries AND cream cheese has got to be good! ;)

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