I made these muffins three weeks’ ago because I wanted something savoury to take for  half time nourishment during the Crystal Palace v Newcastle game. As Palace supporters we’re really living on our nerves at the moment –  fighting a relegation battle while being plagued with injury problems – some of our best players are out. We’ve been in this position before and I remain optimistic of staying up (I’m usually a glass half full person) but every game is now a big challenge. Yesterday we missed out on a point when Spurs scored right at the end (and after Harry Kane missed some really easy chances to score against us too). So frustrating.

Anyway, enough about football. This is my slightly adapted version of a recipe I found on Genius Kitchen. I found the muffins stuck to the muffin cases so next time I’ll use a square of parchment  paper tucked into the muffin mould instead. I used seeds to top the muffin, giving a bit of crunch (and some added nutrients). I also used a mix of Gruyere and feta cheese.

Makes 12 small muffins

Ingredients 

• 150g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon blazing powder 
• Half teaspoon salt
• 1 medium egg
• 110 ml milk
• 25g butter 
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (I used a red onion)
• 25g feta cheese, crumbled
• 25g Gruyere cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds – about a teaspoon per muffin
• Black pepper (no need fo salt as the feta cheese is quite salty)

Method 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add in the chopped onion and cook for about five minutes until soft. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
3. Once cool, add in the crumbled feta, grated Gruyere and rosemary. Season with black pepper and give it a good mix.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. In another bowl beat the egg, then add in the milk and give it a good whisk.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the flour, using the minimum number of folding movements (you should finish folding in 15 seconds and ignore the lumps in the mixture – do not over mix). Gently add the onion mixture into the muffin mixture, folding in, as before, with as few strokes as possible.
6. Place squares of parchment paper in the muffin moulds of a 12 muffin tray (the paper cases I used stuck to the muffins so I don’t advise using them as in the picture). Scoop the mixture into each muffin mould – I used an ice cream scoop which makes this task much easier and gives you even sizes of muffins. Sprinkle over the seeds.
7. Bake in the centre shelf of the oven for about 20 minutes, or until well risen and golden – be careful not to burn the seeds.