Cinnamon Churro Muffins

 

I couldn't wait to share this Cinnamon Churro Muffin recipe with you today.  I adapted it from a blog called A View From Great Island.  I have adapted it to include British/European measurements.   I fell in love with the recipe as soon as I saw it and couldn't wait to make them.

They seemed to be very similar to the French Puff Muffin recipes you see all over the place, but they were also a bit different.  

If you are expecting little cakes, you will be disappointed. These are not little cakes, they are muffins through and through, and exactly what a good muffin should be. Not overly sweet (except for the cinnamon sugar coating), with a dense light crumb. Not soft like a cake would be.

 

They are lumpy and bumpy and generously coated in butter and a cinnamon sugar coating which packs a really vibrant cinnamon punch.  Included is an optional hot chocolate sauce, for dipping the finished muffins in.  It is thick and decadent.

Even if you don't make the sauce (and I hope that you do) these are delicious. Quick and easy to make. The brushing with butter and coating in the cinnamon sugar is probably the fiddliest part of the recipe. I double coated mine with the cinnamon sugar (not the butter) which made for a lovely crunchy coating.

I really hope that you will be inspired to give these a go!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CINNAMON CHURRO MUFFINS

These do have an optional hot chocolate sauce that you can make for dipping the warm muffins in. Delicious!

For the muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups (188g) plain all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 5 TBS (72g) butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup whole milk

To coat:

• 4 TBS (57g) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the hot chocolate sauce:

• 1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk
• 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream
• 1 cup (180g) dark chocolate chips
• 2 tsp cornstarch, whisked together with 2 TBS milk

 

All of the ingredients are pretty basic baking cupboard essentials.  I did use salted butter as I only keep salted butter in my house. If this bothers you then cut back on any salt in the recipe.

In the U.K. I would use castor sugar in the muffins themselves and then granulated sugar in the coating.

Make sure all of your muffin ingredients are at room temperature before beginning for the best results.  I also find it very helpful to have everything measured and in place before beginning. That way nothing gets accidentally left out.

If you have any questions at all, just message me or leave in the comments section below.

 

HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON CHURRO MUFFINS

There are basically three sections of directions to make these muffins. The muffins themselves, the cinnamon sugar coating and the hot chocolate dipping sauce. I found the sauce to be quite thick, but the muffins were delicious dipped into it.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter 8 muffin cups generously.

Whisk the dry ingredients for the muffins together in a bowl. Whisk together the wet ingredients separately.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking together just to combine. Do not over mix or beat, you want a lumpy bumpy batter. If it is a bit too dry, add a bit more milk, but not much.

Divide the batter between the 8 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes until risen and firm. They will not be golden brown, but a toothpick inserted in the center of one should come out clean.

 

Have your butter and cinnamon sugar ready, the butter in one bowl and the sugar and cinnamon mixed together in another bowl.

While the muffins are still warm, brush them first with some butter and then roll them immediately into the cinnamon sugar to coat. You may need to coat them twice with the sugar, I did.

To make the chocolate sauce, combine the milk and cream in a saucepan. Add the cornstarch and milk mixture. Place over medium heat.

Once it begins to steam add the chocolate chips and whisk constantly until the chocolate has melted amalgamated into the liquid. Keep over the heat until the mixture thickens and is dark in color.

Bring it just to the boil but do not let it boil.

Serve the warm muffins with the hot chocolate sauce for dunking.

Store any leftover muffins in an airtight container for two to three days, reheating them briefly in the microwave to serve.

 

HINTS AND TIPS FOR MAKING GREAT MUFFINS

Here are my hints and tips for making sure that your muffins turn out beautifully every time:

1. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. To prevent the mix from being overworked, first mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and mix the dry ingredients in another. Make a well in the dry ingredients, carefully pour in the wet ingredients, then stir the mix a couple of times to roughly combine. 

 2. Don't over mix your muffins. The most important rule of muffin making is to not over stir the mix. What you really want is to just moisten the ingredients. Do not stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump free. You want the final mix to be lumpy, and thick with a few floury streaks.

 3. Add your flavors last.  While spices should be added with all the other dry ingredients, additions like fruit and nuts should be added last. Give the batter one more light-handed stir once you've added them in just to combine.  

4. Line the pans. You can choose to either grease the muffin tin or line it with paper liners. If you choose to forgo the liners, make sure you grease the base and sides of the cups with oil spray or a little melted butter. If you're not going to eat the muffins for a while, do use paper liners as these will keep the muffins fresher for longer. 

 5. Don't overfill your pans. Aim to fill the cups ¾ full to get muffins with nice round tops and to prevent them from spilling out over the top of the cups.  Often if your tins are over filled the muffins will rise to the top and then collapse on themselves.

 6. For extra interest, add a flavorful sprinkle on top.  Once the muffin cups are all filled, you can choose to sprinkle the tops with more fruit, nuts or a crumble topping, even sanding sugar or cinnamon sugar, for even more taste and or crunch. As the muffins rise these toppings will cook into the tops of the muffin.  

7. Protect your baking pan.  If there isn't enough batter to fill all the cups, half fill the empty ones with water. This will help the muffins bake evenly and will help to protect your pan from buckling.

 

8. Cooling them down. Once you remove the muffins from the oven, let them sit in their pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. This is especially important for muffins that aren't in a paper liner, as it will help them from falling apart. However, remove them after five minutes otherwise you risk them going soggy as they cool in the pan. 

9. Freeze extras for later. Muffins freeze beautifully, so if you can't enjoy them all on the day they're baked, wrap them in plastic wrap individually, pop into a freezer container, and put them in the freezer for later. They will keep for about 3 months and reheat wonderfully in the microwave for about 30 seconds on high from frozen. 

 

These are not smooth muffins. They are lumpy and bumpy as a good muffin will often be. They are not meant to be small cakes, do take care not to overbake them, however. They will be pale in color when done and as they are smallish muffins, do check before the end of time to make sure as they may bake up perfectly more quickly in your oven than in mine.

They are delicious however, with or without that hot chocolate sauce.  I have never had a churro actually so I cannot say if they taste like one or not, but they are lovely and buttery and cinnamony!   I hope you will bake them and enjoy them as much as I did!

 

I love muffins.  I have baked many, many different muffins through the years. Here are a few other recipes that are favorites of mine:

SPECIAL  K  BREAKFAST MUFFINS -These are the PERFECT breakfast muffins. Quick and easy to make. Delicious. I highly recommend. Simple and filled with fibre. You can use ordinary Special K cereal, or you can be a bit more extravagant and use one of the varieties which contain fruit. This recipe makes half a dozen fabulous muffins.  

GINGERBREAD MUFFINS - I am a hug fan of gingerbread anything. I think gingerbread is probably one of my favourite things to bake and eat! They are moist and delicious with a lovely crumb and beautiful ginger/cinnamon flavour. The recipe makes a full batch of 12 fabulous muffins!  

Yield: 8 muffins

Author: Marie Rayner

Cinnamon Churro Muffins

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 40 Min

These muffins are flavored with nutmeg and have a lovely cinnamon sugar butter coating. Similar to French Puffs, but different. There is an optional hot chocolate sauce to dip them in. Make sure your muffin ingredients are at room temperature before beginning for the best results.

Ingredients

For the muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups (188g) plain all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 5 TBS (72g) butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup whole milk

To coat:

• 4 TBS (57g) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the hot chocolate sauce:

• 1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk
• 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream
• 1 cup (180g) dark chocolate chips
• 2 tsp cornstarch, whisked together with 2 TBS milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter 8 muffin cups generously.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients for the muffins together in a bowl. Whisk together the wet ingredients separately.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking together just to combine. Do not over mix or beat, you want a lumpy bumpy batter. If it is a bit too dry, add a bit more milk, but not much.
4. Divide the batter between the 8 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes until risen and firm. They will not be golden brown, but a toothpick inserted in the center of one should come out clean.
5. Have your butter and cinnamon sugar ready, the butter in one bowl and the sugar and cinnamon mixed together in another bowl.
6. While the muffins are still warm, brush them first with some butter and then roll them immediately into the cinnamon sugar to coat. You may need to coat them twice with the sugar, I did.
7. To make the chocolate sauce, combine the milk and cream in a saucepan. Add the cornstarch and milk mixture. Place over medium heat.
8. Once it begins to steam add the chocolate chips and whisk constantly until the chocolate has melted amalgamated into the liquid. Keep over the heat until the mixture thickens and is dark in color.
9. Bring it just to the boil but do not let it boil.
10. Serve the warm muffins with the hot chocolate sauce for dunking.
11. Store any leftover muffins in an airtight container for two to three days, reheating them briefly in the microwave to serve.

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