Pear & Ginger Muffins for a Wisp of a Breakfast

Oh, how I have lamented so many times over the years the fact that I am not a morning person.  Wouldn't it be great to be the kind of person who springs right out of bed in the morning, five minutes before the alarm clock even goes off, with a great big smile across my face, and singing songs about sunshine and all that crap?  It would.  But alas, it is not so.  I am an outright, grade-A, bonafide grump in the morning -- every morning.  It's awful, but there it is.

Anyway, this morning was no exception.  I woke up, wandered into the study, sat in front of the computer for about five minutes, and then stammered off back to bed.  And as I lay there, I thought about three things:

1. Michael off at work, sitting at his desk and being tired because we went to bed so blasted late last night. (This made me feel rather guilty.  It also made me imagine him slightly in the manner of Bob Cratchet -- you know, all cold, hunched over, with holes in his mittens.) 2. What in sam-hell are we going to have for breakfast this morning because I am sick sick sick of everything I've been cooking up.  (This made me feel depressed, yet oddly inspired.) 3. If I'm quick, I can probably conjure up a batch of those muffins I've been eyeing before Emilia wakes up.  (This thought put a fire under my bum and made me spring back out of bed and rush to the kitchen, not all sunshiny, but out of bed, nonetheless.)

I love homemade muffins, but they do take a long to make in the morning.  Well, the mixing them up part doesn't take that long, but the waiting around for twenty or thirty minutes takes forever.  Also, they are usually a bit on the sweet side for me first thing in the morning.  However, I was thumbing through Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights cook book a few days ago and decided that I could not go on much longer without making her pear and ginger muffins one morning.  And there you go, I banged them in the oven, got Emilia out of her bed, we sat around and twiddled our toes for about twenty-two minutes, and then we rushed to the table for a nice little breakfast.  The muffins were yummy, not overly sweet and quite wholesome.

As with all the recipes from Miss Dahl's book, I tweaked it a bit, but not too much.  Every one of her recipes calls for the oven to be turned up way way way too high.  She also usually tells you to keep whatever you are baking in the oven for at least five to ten minutes too long.  Now before you start shouting that maybe our oven just runs hot, I'll have you know that I bought a new thermometer a week or so ago.  So there.  But really, do yourself a favor and turn the blasted thing down.  (She always says 375ºF, whereas I seem to have better luck at 350ºF.  Unless it is her granola, then turn it down to 300ºF.)

Also, this recipe calls for four egg whites.  I swapped it out for two whole eggs.  I would have done it as she says, but after making so many éclairs and vanilla pastry cream last week, I'm tired of wasting and/or burning through so many eggs.  Anyway, I was quite pleased with the result, and fully intend to do it again.

Sophie Dahl calls these muffins 'a wisp of a breakfast' if eaten on their own, and, I daresay, she is right.  This must be why I had four of them.  (They're small, ok?  Very, very small.)  And Emilia had two, with a healthy smear of strawberry jam on top.  I may have had one or two for lunch as well, for research purposes, and have determined that they are quite good at room temperature.  They taste much more pear-y when not warm from the oven, but I think I may add a bit more ginger next time around.  And yes, there are still a few left in the kitchen which I've been saving for Michael to have once he comes home from work, just to assuage the Bob Cratchet-y guilt I had this morning.   

 Pear and Ginger Muffins
 make 12-16 muffins, depending on your tins

sunflower oil, for greasing the tins (I used butter because that's the way I roll)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 ¼ cups spelt flour
1 ½ cups rolled oats
1 cup pear fruit puree
4 eggs whites, lightly beaten (I used 2 whole eggs)
½ cup plain yogurt
¾ cup agave syrup or honey
1 firm pear, peeled, cored, and diced
¾ cup raisins

Preheat your oven to 375º (but I think you're crazy if you don't go with 350º instead).  Oil (or butter) your tins. 

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.  Make a well in the center and then add all your wet ingredients, the diced pear, and the raisins.  Stir gently and only until combined.  Scoop the batter into your prepared pan(s).  Put it in the oven for 25-30 minutes.  Serve with apple butter or marmalade, or nothing, or a dish of yogurt, or scrambled eggs and bacon, or whatever, really.  (Recipe from: Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl.   Harper Collins, 2009.)