Bran Muffins

GI Chef’s Notes
These muffins are good to have as a mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon snack with a piece of fruit.  If you are dieting it is best to have just ½ a muffin and the fruit.  They are also a great way to add fibre to your diet too.

When measuring ingredients I find “cups” easier to use, but by cup I do not mean a cup you make your tea in, I mean a proper cup measure. You can buy these measures at your local Tesco or Morrisons.  They come in various sizes and are very user friendly and cheap. Try them!

1 cup = 250ml; ½ cup = 125ml; 1/3 cup = 80ml and so on.

Ingredients  
2 eggs
1 cup of soft brown sugar
¼ cup of olive oil
1 cup oat bran (press down in the cup so you can get as much in as possible!)
1½ cups of sifted flour
2 cups of wheat bran
½ tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
1 large piece of fruit grated – either an apple or a pear
1 cup of sultanas
2 ¼  cups of skimmed milk (although you can use semi-skimmed if you prefer)
Vanilla essence

Method
You must leave this batter to stand overnight in your fridge.  The batter can be kept for up to 2 weeks but you cannot freeze it.   You can however freeze the muffins once these have been made.

Beat the eggs, sugar and oil together.

Add all the dry ingredients, the grated apple/pear and sultanas (don’t grate the apple too finely as this adds texture to the muffin) which helps lower the GI.

Add the milk and vanilla essence – the essence can vary and is a personal taste
Stir well and then leave to stand overnight – I would like to point out that at this stage it does not look very appetising but don’t despair.

When I make my muffins I tend to use a muffin tray or a Yorkshire pudding tray but you can use cake cups too.   Fill the tray sections up to about half with the mixture and then bake in the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes at 180 °c until brown.  Obviously if you want to make smaller muffins then don’t use as much mixture.

I have to say that it took me about 3 attempts at these muffins to get them exactly how I wanted them so don’t be afraid to experiment with the ingredients.  If you find them too stodgy then reduce the flour slightly, too dry then add a bit more milk, not enough flavour then add some more fruit or vanilla essence, but remember to do everything within reason.

If you have any problems with this recipe or have any ideas you would like to add, please leave us your comments on the website.

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