Courgette, coconut and lemon basil muffins

It’s that time of year again, the days of delighting in the first few courgettes have transformed into a bewilderment of abundance. As fast as I pick them, more are growing – it’s wonderful.

Courgettes are finding their way into as many meals as possible. I’m dehydrating them too in my Stockli electric dehydrator for winter use. Stored in large glass they are delicious added to soups, stews and curries and good to nibble on as a snack.

 

Courgettes are delicious in all kinds of baked goods – breads, cakes and muffins. My recipe for crunchy courgette muffins is here.

I have a large jar of dessicated coconut in the cupboard and an abundance of lemon basil in the polytunnel and thought they would go deliciously together with courgette in a muffin.

Courgette, coconut and lemon basil muffins

To make 24 muffins – I was baking for 20 people, so halve the recipe if you have fewer mouths to feed. They do freeze well and are handy for lunch boxes –  you can just bring one out the freezer in the morning and it will be defrosted by lunchtime.

Ingredients

375g / 3 cups wholemeal self raising flour

125g/ 1 cup white self raising flour

1 tsp baking power

140 ml/ 1 cup vegetable oil (I used sunflower, melted coconut oil would be good too)

125g / 1 cup soft brown sugar

350g / 2 cups grated courgette

150g / 1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut

1 lime or lemon,  juice (and zest too if it is organic or wax free, wash first)

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tbsp lemon basil (or lime or sweet basil) optional, chopped

4 eggs or 4 flaxseed ‘eggs’ – 4 tbsp flaxseed (linseed) freshly ground and mixed with 10 tsp cool  water, leave for 5 minutes before using

Two mixing bowls

Two 12 hole muffin trays and paper inserts (if using)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F

Method

Make the flaxseed ‘eggs’ if you’re making the vegan version.

In one bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and ground ginger.

In the other bowl, beat the eggs (if using). Add the sugar, vanilla, lemon juice (and zest). Mix together.

Add the grated courgette, basil and coconut to the egg mixture.

Next, pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix carefully making sure that everything is combined and you can’t see any dry flour.

Using a spoon, divide equally between the muffin cases.

Put in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. The muffins will be a golden brown and a skewer inserted into them will come out ‘clean’.

Put on cooling racks for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the tins and replace on the cooling rack until cool.

Store in an airtight container.

Tip: For a savory muffin, replace the sugar with 125g/1 cup oats added at the same time as the coconut. You may need a little extra liquid if the mixture is too dry – water, nut milk , milk or  a few spoons of dairy/non dairy yogurt