These very simple muffins give an incredible taste explosion in your mouth: gingery heat, tangy rhubarb and the sweet creamyness of white chocolate. And they are so quick and easy to make.
Re-photographed: June 2020
These muffins are simply an adaptation of my rhubarb and ginger crumble cake (recipe here).
I have added chunks of white chocolate, which go,so well with the sharpness of the rhubarb. I have also added a little baking powder to give the muffins extra lift – which I think they need compared to the original cake.
These are also good made using frozen rhubarb (cook from frozen) or with a good cooking apple (just peeled, cored and chopped into slices)
Gluten-free or dairy-free?
These are great made as gluten-free and/or dairy free, especially with decent dairy-free white chocolate available.
For gluten-free:
Use a good GF self-raising flour, perhaps with a tablespoon more of the crème fraîche.
For dairy-free:
Use thick coconut cream or soya milk in place of the crème fraîche. The coconut cream adds a lovely subtle coconut flavour that works so well here.
Use a good dairy-free white chocolate (available in most supermarkets). I am not a massive fan of them eaten as they are, but they cook well in the muffins with all the other lovely flavours..
Fancy a larger cake?
If you fancy a larger rhubarb and ginger cake, try my rhubarb and ginger crumble cake. It is just as easy as these muffins and is very tasty. Recipe: here
Recipe: rhubarb, ginger & white chocolate muffins – makes 9
For the cake
- 40g vegetable oil
- 150g soft brown sugar
- 1 large free-range egg, beaten
- 125g crème fraîche or natural yoghurt (low-fat works fine here)
- 150g self-raising flour
- 1 level teaspoon baking powder
- 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 level teaspoons ground ginger
- 150g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into small pieces (about 1cm)
- 4 pieces stem ginger, drained and chopped roughly
- 80g good quality white chocolate, roughly chopped
Spiced sugar topping
- 40g soft brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- a couple of tablespoons of stem ginger syrup from the jar
Ginger icing(optional)
- 80g icing sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons stem ginger syrup from the jar
- a little water, if needed
(1) Preheat the oven to 170C(fan) and pop muffin cases into tins.
(2) Mix the flour and spices together in a large bowl and add the remaining muffin mix ingredients, stirring gently until incorporated without over-beating.
(3) Spoon into the muffin cases: just over a tablespoon or so of the mixture, coming to just over half full.
(4) For the spiced sugar topping, mix the sugar, cinnamon and ground ginger together and sprinkle over the top of the cake mixture.
(5) Bake for about 25-30 minutes until light golden on top.
(6) Drizzle the hot muffins with stem ginger syrup – a teaspoon or so per muffin – and remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool fully.
(7) Once cooled, mix the icing sugar with stem ginger syrup to give a fairly thick icing, adding a little water if needed. Drizzle over the cakes.
Phil's Home Kitchen 