Cherry Cornmeal Muffins

Stone fruit is back! Except the first lot of cherries I got weren’t the best, and they were nicer baked than eaten as is. So I took this very quick, very flavourful cornmeal muffin recipe, added cherries, some oats for crunch and all you need is torrential rain and a steaming mug of coffee to go with them.

Cornmeal is finely ground corn and I use makai atta as the Indian version of cornmeal. It is not ‘cornflour’, the thickening agent but literally ‘corn flour’. I’ve used it in pancakes, in an almond cake, and in this blueberry cake!

The flavour of corn is evident and it adds a more interesting dimension to the muffins, but if you don’t want to use it, more all-purpose flour instead is fine too. You could add almonds on the top instead of oats or even a streusel if you want extra sweetness and crunch!

The muffins are not overly sweet or buttery making them great to eat with coffee or even for breakfast. They’re super moist thanks to the yoghurt and the pops of juicy cherries are amazing. The batter comes together really quickly and they also bake in about 20 minutes so these could be ready before you know it.

I hope you’ll bake a batch today!

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Cherry Cornmeal Muffins

Soft and moist cornmeal muffins with fresh cherries

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 50 minutes mins

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Ingredients

  

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal (makai atta)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temp (55 gms)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg (see notes)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup yoghurt
• 200 gms cherries, halved and pitted
• 1/4 cup rolled oats to sprinkle on top, optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line 6 muffin moulds with muffin liners or grease them very well. The liners are recommended because the cherry pieces tend to stick to the pan.
• Sift the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt, if using. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again.
• Add the yoghurt along with a couple of tablespoons of the flour mixture (to prevent the batter from curdling) and stir. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat gently to combine. The batter will be thick.
• Fold in the cherries and you'll find the juices help the batter thin out a little. Divide equally into the prepared muffin moulds and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until browned and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool on a wire rack. At room temperature they will keep for about 2 days but I prefer to store these straight in the fridge for 4 to 5 days (fresh fruit adds moisture that could cause the muffins to spoil at room temp). Happy baking!

Notes

*I have not tried an egg substitute here. With the yoghurt, the muffins are already quite moist so you could probably add about 1/4 cup milk in place of the egg and they should taste good. Alternately, try this muffin recipe, or these cakes.

*If you don't have cornmeal or don't want to use it, swap it for all-purpose flour.

*Use almonds or any other crunchy topping instead of oats if you prefer.

*Any fruit or other kind of mix-ins will be great here, use what you have on hand!

*Prep time includes cherry pitting, just that bit takes a while!

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