Apple and Cream Muffins

Today I bring you a cream and apple muffin recipe that I'm sure you're going to love. Once you master the muffin technique, you can vary the recipe a bit and get a different and delicious result.

These muffins have pastry cream inside them, which makes them very, very moist. Don't be intimidated by making the cream at home. It won't take you more than 10 minutes and the result is worth it. You'll see that among the ingredients is the Nomu vanilla extract. I find it sensational. It gives an authentic vanilla flavor to my creations and it's very handy to have a jar in the pantry. You should be ready to make a tasty dessert at any time!

I make the muffins in a Kitchen Aid, but you can perfectly prepare them with a whisk. I have the WMF ball-tip whisk and it's perfect for these preparations. If you're thinking of getting a manual whisk, in my opinion, it's the best option.

Ingredients

For the cream:

• 250ml milk
• 1 dessert teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 60gr sugar
• 20gr cornstarch
• 2 egg yolks

For the muffins:

• 2 large eggs
• 175gr sugar
• 60ml milk
• 190gr arbequina olive oil
• 210gr flour
• 2 dessert teaspoons of honey
• 5gr Royal baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 1 dessert teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 apple
• Sugar for sprinkling
• Peach jam

Note: all ingredients should be at room temperature.

Directions

For the cream

1. Heat the milk in a saucepan, before it boils, remove it from the heat.
2. In a bowl, put the yolks, the sugar, the vanilla extract and the cornstarch. Beat them with the help of some whisks.
3. Add a little milk to the egg bowl and mix well. Then add the rest of the milk and mix.
4. Put the mixture in a saucepan and place it over medium heat. Whisk until the cream thickens. Remove it from the heat and put it in a container to cool. Cover the cream with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic touches the surface of the cream so that a skin does not form. Let the cream cool completely before using.

For the muffins

1. Put the eggs and sugar in a bowl. Beat with some whisks until you obtain a very foamy mixture. You can do this in a stand mixer like a KitchenAid with the whisk attachment.
2. Incorporate the milk and beat well.
3. Add the oil and the vanilla extract and mix. Also add the teaspoons of honey and mix again.
4. Add the sifted flour, the salt and the Royal baking powder. Beat until the flour is well incorporated. If you are preparing the recipe with the KA, when you add the flour beat at maximum speed for 1 minute.
5. Put the batter in a bowl, cover it and store it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. You can leave it up to 24 hours without problem.
6. After the time has passed, take the bowl out of the refrigerator and beat the batter with some whisks. Preheat the oven with top and bottom heat to 250º.
7. Place the paper liners for muffins in the baking tray. Fill the liners halfway.
8. Put a tablespoon of pastry cream and finish filling them with the rest of the batter. Put another teaspoon of pastry cream on each muffin
9. Peel and core an apple. Slice it thinly with the help of a mandoline.
10. Place 2 or 3 apple slices on each muffin and sprinkle them with a little sugar.
11. Lower the oven temperature to 210º and bake them for about 16 minutes. No one knows your oven better than you, so you'll likely need to add or subtract a minute or two.
12. Once baked, let the muffins cool on a wire rack.
13. Finally, you can brush the surface of the muffins with a little peach jam so they shine.

Le Creuset nonstick muffin pan

Notes

• Since they contain cream, it's preferable to consume them within a maximum of 2 days and keep them in a cool place.
• To glaze the surface with jam easily, you can put a little jam with a few drops of water and heat it for a few seconds in the microwave and mix. You'll see it will be easier to brush with it.