Gingerbread muffins

Christmas baking today. The house smells wonderful. I wanted to make some muffins, as I had some beautiful little Christmas muffin cups in the cupboard, and I just love the smells of cinnamon and ginger in baking. Given that the weather is also freezing cold today - currently it is 1 degree Celsius outside - what better than warming up the house a bit with the oven.

I didn't ice my muffins; you could if you like, but they are lovely to eat warm, directly from the oven with a cup of tea. Did I mention the divine baking smell?

What you'll need

Makes 10 muffins

125g butter, cubed

175ml golden syrup

120g brown sugar

175ml milk

1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 cups plain flour, sifted

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon mixed spice (optional)

What to do

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place 10 greased muffin cups or papers on a baking tray.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, syrup, sugar and milk over medium heat, until the butter and sugar is melted (do not boil it). Remove from the heat and add the bicarb soda. Mix well and leave to cool for 5 minutes. 

Add the egg and mix well. Pour the butter mixture into a mixing bowl with flour and spices and mix well with a whisk to combine.

Divide the mixture evenly between the 10 muffin cups. Clean up any drips or spills of muffin mixture on the muffin cups using a clean cloth. 

Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Check to see if the muffins are baked by inserting a clean wooden or metal skewer into the middle of the muffin. If the skewer comes out clean, the muffins are cooked.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes, Serve warm with butter or by themselves.