Strawberry passionfruit muffins for a working bee

Did I mention that life has been busy with all the activities at Sylvia's school.  Yesterday morning I discovered that the working bee started at 10am rather than 9am.  With extra time up my sleeve I made the strawberry and passionfruit muffins I had meant to make the previous night.  They were made in a rush and not as popular as the choc chip cookies I took but I really liked them.

Last week was the school play.  I made hedgehog and sourdough pizza with tomato and cheese for the cake stall.  At the last play, the cake stall was in the foyer.  This was great while mingling and hanging about after dropping off the kids.  Whereas this year, we had to stand outside for half an hour and then find seats in the auditorium at the same time we were meant to head for the cake stall at the back.  I preferred it when it was in the foyer but nevertheless, the hedgehog disappeared and so did most of the pizza.

The hedgehog only needed half a tin of condensed milk so on the weekend I made a favourite condensed milk choc chip cookies with the other half of the tin.  This is such a good reliable recipe.  And as the empty container proved at the end of the morning tea, everyone loves a good choc chip cookie.

However one of my problems of late is that I want to experiment.  I am doing it less as I try to get Sylvia to eat more of our meals, and less for groups where I must cater to everyone, often children with less adventurous tastes than me.  These strawberry and passionfruit muffins were more for me than for a crowd but they weren't too strange to take along.

Strawberries are ridiculously cheap right now (only slightly over $1 for a 250g punnet) and we had some passionfruit to use up.  It was only 1/4 cup so I added 1/4 cup blood orange juice.  (Even though I had earmarked the blood oranges for salad with a tahini dressing or topped with vegan cheese).  I had aqua faba and was in such a rush that it was easier to just add a bit more of it than melt butter.  Faye of Veganopoulous does it in her oil-free baking so I figured it was worth a try.

Though everyone loved the choc chip cookies, one parent pointed out the muffins to her kid who has allergies.  In fact quite a few of the muffins were eaten and I really liked them.  (Unlike Sylvia and E).  They had lots of juicy strawberry chunks and were not terribly sweet. 

It was hard work weeding and trimming bushes around paths.  My arms are actually a little sore today as I don't usually do this sort of work in our small garden.  It felt quite outside my comfort zone.  So while I had to ask for a little advice in the garden, I was pleased to be able to feel quite at home in baking for the morning tea.   And pleased it was appreciated as I left with my empty cake tins.

I am sending these muffins to Kimmy and Mary-Ellen for Healthy Vegan Fridays, and to Stuart and Kat for Treat Petite, and to Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary for No Waste Food Challenge.

More strawberry recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Creamy strawberry icy poles (gf)
Rhubarb and strawberry crumble (v)
Strawberry chia seed jam (gf, v)
Strawberry dumplings (v)
Strawberry and smoky chickpea salad (gf, v)
Strawberry soup (gf, v)
Strawberry sushi with chocolate sauce (gf, v)
Watermelon, banana, strawberry, peach juice


Strawberry Passionfruit Muffins
Adapted from Baby Cakes
Makes 35 mini muffins

1 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate (baking) soda
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 cup passionfruit pulp
1/4 cup orange juice (or more passionfruit)
1/4 cup aquafaba (chickpea brine)
3/4 cup milk ( I used soy)

Preheat oven to 200 C.  Line 3 x 12 cup mini muffin tins.

Mix flours, baking powder, bicarb soda, sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Toss strawberries in the dry ingredients.  In a small bowl, mix passionfruit, orange juice, aquafaba and milk.  Pour wet ingredients into strawberry mixture and mix until combined.

Spoon into prepared muffin tins and bake for 10-15 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.  Leave in tins for 5-10 minutes and then remove and cool on a wire tray.

NOTES: I used silicone tins and lined them with circles of baking paper on the bottom.  I didn't have time to let them cool much before I took them out and a few collapsed but most were ok though I did need to run a knife around the edges.  I used muffin papers to line some of the tins and these didn't work so well because the muffins stuck even when cold.

On the Stereo:
The Crane Wife: The Decembrists