Goat’s Cheese, Fig and Basil Muffins

Name: Rukmini Iyer Goat Cheese Muffins Recipe | Savoury Muffins
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Makes 12 ordinary or 24 mini muffins
Ingredients: 250g self-raising flour; 100g strong goat’s cheese, chopped; 1 level tsp baking powder; 1 tsp sea salt flakes; freshly ground black pepper; 100ml olive oil; 150g natural yogurt; 50g chilled fresh basil pesto; 1 medium free-range egg, lightly beaten; 50g strong goat’s cheese, finely sliced; 12 slices of fresh fig; honey, to squeeze; fresh rosemary (optional)

by Rukmini Iyer from The Sweet Roasting Tin

A savoury snack for your dinner party or a lunchtime treat, these simple savoury muffins feature a classic combination of goat's cheese and fig.

Vegetarian Baking

Makes 12 ordinary or 24 mini muffins

Total 45 min

Prep 20 min

Cook 25 min

Easy

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Introduction from Rukmini Iyer

This is a muffin version of my favourite canapé – introduced to me by my friend Charlotte at university, and rolled out at pretty much every party I’ve ever given since. The combination of goat’s cheese, fig and pesto with a squeeze of honey is just perfect – in the absence of small rounds of baguette for crostini, this makes an excellent alternative. You could also make these with feta instead of goat’s cheese.

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour

100g strong goat’s cheese, chopped

1 level tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt flakes

freshly ground black pepper

100ml olive oil

150g natural yogurt

50g chilled fresh basil pesto

1 medium free-range egg, lightly beaten

For the topping:

50g strong goat’s cheese, finely sliced

12 slices of fresh fig

To serve:

honey, to squeeze

fresh rosemary (optional)

Essential kit

You will need: a muffin tin and 12 liners and a wire rack.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. Stir the self-raising flour, goat’s cheese, baking powder, sea salt and a good grind of black pepper together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl or a large jug, whisk the olive oil, yogurt, pesto and egg together. Very briefly stir the liquid into the flour and cheese, just until you can’t see any flour and no further – the less you mix, the lighter the muffin.

Divide your mixture evenly between 12 lined muffin cups, then scatter over the sliced goat’s cheese. Top each muffin with a slice of fig, then transfer the muffins to the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes.

Once the muffins are well risen and firm to the touch, cool briefly on a wire rack and serve warm, with a squeeze of honey and scattered with the fresh rosemary, if using.

These are best eaten on the day they’re made, but they can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 days and reheated gently in the oven as needed.

FOR DIABETICS: Omit the honey at the end.

FOR GLUTEN-FREE: Replace the self-raising flour with a good brand of gluten-free flour, or a mixture of gluten-free self-raising flour and buckwheat.

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