Vanilla and Poppy Seed Muffins

This post goes out to you in order to let you know that I haven't completely disappeared. After having been put on bed rest for the past few weeks, I had no other choice but to let go of everything and to accept the fact that the little girl in my belly and I apparently need lots and lots of quiet. My pregnancy taught me once again that life just has its own ways and that things don't always go as planned. But the most important thing is that my daughter and I are fine. I'm allowed to get up again and last weekend, I even felt like baking again. I chose a very easy recipe which would not take much effort and time. The result was still very satisfying - perfect for these first spring days.

I'm very much looking forward to taking up baking and blogging again. First, however, I will enjoy the remaining time with my baby so close to me and then, when she's finally here, I guess, it will take some time to get used to a new rhythm. But I'll be back, I promise!

In the meantime, I wish you all the best. Love, Katrin

Recipe

(from the lovely Zucker, Zimt und Liebe by Virginia Horstmann)

190g flour

280g sugar

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

one pinch of salt

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

120ml milk

2 tablespoons greek yogurt or crème fraiche

240ml vegetable oil

3 eggs

vanilla seeds of one vanilla pod

for the icing:

100g icing sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk

The recipe says that these ingredients make about 8 muffin-sized cakes, I ended up with more.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line your muffin tin with paper cases.

In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds and set aside. In another bowl, combine milk, crème fraiche (or yogurt), oil, eggs and the vanilla seeds. Add the dry ingredients this this mixture and beat well until you have a smooth batter. Don't overmix, the cakes won't be as fluffy otherwise.

Fill your dough into the prepared cases and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Test with a wooden skewer, whether they are done. No dough should stick to the skewer.

When the cakes have cooled down, prepare your icing. In a bowl, mix icing sugar and milk until smooth. Spread onto your muffins and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sugar pearls. Stored in an airtight container, these little cakes keep for about 3 days. I even thought, their flavor improved after one day.