Longan + Wolfberry + Muffin

Wolfberries are known to improve one’s vision. A check on the internet reveals that other than medicinal wonders they do for your peepers, there is a host of other benefits to the berries, alleviating them to the status of superfoods. But there are just so much wolfberries I can stand to eat. Somehow I never liked wolfberries. But I am told to eat them to help improve my poor vision – between going blind and wolfberries, I’d choose the latter.

So the idea was to bake up some wolfberry muffins. Someone suggested adding longans to make it a truly oriental bake. Hey why not?! Who doesn’t fancy a little longan once in a while? And that my friends, is how the idea of Longan and Wolfberry Muffins journeyed bloom tall and handsome in my humble oven.

Out of the oven, the muffins set off the unmistakably scent of longan in the air. This must be how the longan plantation smells when the fruit is in season – not that I ever been to one. But you get the drift… no? Then give the recipe a try. You know? Wolfberries are good for you.

Longan & Wolfberry in a Muffin

(Fills 10 small muffin cases)

 Ingredients:

130g       Cake Flour

½ tsp     Baking powder

¼ tsp     Baking Soda

110g       Sour Cream

60g         Castor Sugar

20g         Macadamia nut oil / Sunflower oil

1no.       Egg

¼ tsp     Salt

50g         Dried Longan Meat

20g         Dried Wolfberries

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190˚C placing a rack in the center of the oven.
2. Rinse the dried longan and wolfberries before soaking in water to hydrate the fruits. Use just sufficient water to barely cover the fruits, setting aside for 15mins. Drain the fruits and reserve the excess liquid for later use.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix it well for even distribution.
4. Place the wet ingredients – Sour cream, sugar, oil, egg and salt in a large bowl and mix well with a hand whisk.  Add the longan/wolfberry liquid reserved from earlier and stir well to combine.
5. Add the sifted flour mixture and stir quickly and swiftly till no more flour particles are visible. Try not to overmix.
6. Stir in the hydrated longan/wolfberry and scoop the batter into 10 small muffin cases.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 15mins or till golden brown. If using cake skewer, it should emerge batter-free.