If you’re anything like me you’ve probably been tempted for the better part of the summer every time you walk into a grocery store and see watermelons on sale. I was wondering if watermelon would lend itself well to baking, and after a bit of googling I found out that it does. The common consensus is that watermelon has a pretty weak flavour, so unfortunately you can’t get actual watermelon-flavoured muffins using natural ingredients.
While these muffins indeed don’t taste that much like watermelon, I think they have a really funky and different flavour that makes them one of my new favourite recipes.
Ingredients
- Flour 400 ml 1²⁄3 cups
- Baking soda 10 ml 2 tsp
- Baking powder 10 ml 2 tsp
- Cinnamon 2.5 ml ½ tsp
- Salt 2.5 ml ½ tsp
- Butter, at room temperature 85 g 6 tbsp
- Granulated sugar 150 ml ²⁄3 cups
- Eggs, beaten 2
- Vanilla or plain yogurt 125 ml½ cup
- Lemon juice 5 ml 1 tsp
- Watermelon, pureed 250 ml 1 cup
(about ¹⁄8 of a watermelon) - Watermelon juice liquid concentrate 75 ml ¹⁄3 cup
(the canned frozen stuff will do)
or watermelon powdered juice crystals
Want to make these muffins after the summer has long gone? Just slice up your watermelon, remove the rind and place it in an airtight container or plastic bag in your freezer. It’ll keep pretty well for up to a year.
Directions
- If you’re using powdered crystals, just check the instructions for the amount of powder needed for ¹⁄3 cup / 75 ml and add it to the watermelon puree. Stir and skip to step 4.
- If you’re using liquid concentrate, start by putting your puree in a saucepan and let it simmer on medium heat while stirring occasionally. It’s not going to smell great (sort of like boiled potatoes), but I promise it’ll make good muffins in the end. Do this for 10-15 minutes or until about ¹⁄3 of it has boiled away.
- Put what’s left into a measuring cup and add liquid concentrate until you have a full cup / 250ml of watermelon goodness.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs to the sugar mixture.
- Add the watermelon, yogurt and lemon juice to the sugar mixture.
- Combine both the wet and dry ingredients until well combined. Don’t over-mix it though, a lumpy batter is good.
- Pour the batter into greased muffin molds and bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with no more than a few crumbs on it.
Makes about 12 muffins. These are best served warm or at room temperature and are really good for breakfast alongside a couple of fresh slices of watermelon. If you want to keep these for the long side of a week or more, you’ll need to keep these refrigerated so they won’t go bad.
The end of summer is closing in fast, so enjoy your watermelon muffins while you still can!