Dried Fig Muffins

Hayden has been sick with diarrhea & vomiting after his sch Halloween’s party. And he’s not eating at all because he was aware that he will be vomiting them out later. Thus, within 2 days, he has lost almost 1kg! Even d doc suggested putting him on drip in order to ensure he does not dehydrate further & stress out his kidneys. But in d end, hubby decided to take him home & try medication instead. So, with Hayden not eating well, I went online to search for something to bake that will have a strong taste to get Hayden interested in eating again.
That’s when I saw this interesting muffin receipe from HHB’s blog & since I love figs, I decided to give it a try. But as usual, I made some adjustment to it to reduce d sweetness since d originator stated in her post that it’s still too sweet for her even after she has reduced d amt.
End result – Hayden ate ½ muffin! Hubby commented that d muffin texture is ok but it’s too sweet for him & he does not like it at all. I informed him that I have reduced d sugar amt by 1/3 alrdy & d sweetness is from d figs. Well, cant go rd & please everyone. Since d main aim is to get Hayden to eat, I will consider this a success…
Yield 9 muffins

• 205g dried figs (de-stem & cut quarters)
• 90g unsalted butter
• 250ml apple juice
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 315g plain flour
• 2½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 125g sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract

Method:
1. Heat juice & butter in a saucepan over low heat until butter has melted.
2. Remove from heat & add in figs & zest. Leave to cool for abt 1hr or till figs r softened.
3. Preheat oven to 170C.
4. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt & baking powder.
4. Make a well in d centre & add all d wet ingredients. Stir until just combined with d batter still slightly lumpy. Do not over-mix.
5. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling to d rim of d cup.
6. Bake for abt 25-30 mins or until golden. U can also insert a toothpick into d centre & it’s done when toothpick comes out clean. Transfer muffin onto cooling rack & leave to cool completely.