Cinnamon & pear muffins

I’m finding myself with a lot of tinned goods recently, not unlike many people in our little shaky isles in the wake of our 7.8 earthquake.  It pays to be prepared.

I’ve heard the comment more than once that tinned pears are the least exciting of the tinned fruits….pale, bland, only good when topped with ice cream.  I had a hunch that this was wrong, but how to prove it?  By coupling tinned pears with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon, that’s how.

I’ve taken my inspiration for the muffin base from Donna Hay’s basic muffin batter.  Which is delicious if you’re on the hunt for a reliable basic muffin, by the way.  I will of course buy a replacement tin of pears for our emergency food stash, but this idea for pear-topped muffins could not wait any longer.  Sunday night requires a sweet little pick-me-up, amiright?

For these you will need (makes 12):

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence

For the topping:

• 1 tin of pear quarters, drained and cut into thin slices
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 knob of butter, melted

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade and grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

Place the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine.

In a smaller bowl, mix the egg, milk, oil and vanilla essence.  Add this to the dry ingredients and mix only until just combined.

Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin tray cups.  Arrange the sliced pears on the top of the batter.

Combine the topping ingredients and distribute over the top of the pears.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.