One of my absolute favourites

This recipe is one I adapted, from a Nigella Lawson recipe. Pretty much it's the same as hers, but in order to make it lactose or dairy free, I couldn't use sour cream like her recipe calls for. Instead, I sour some milk with vinegar (either zero lacto milk, or if we are all out I use rice milk).

These muffins stay moist for a good few days! If anything, they get moister as time goes on (moist, oh how I hate that word in general, but in baking it's the best thing ever! haha). They are awesome. Good winter time muffins, when pears are in season. But if pears are not yet in season, use tinned ones, that's what I ended up using today as my kids aren't big fresh pear fans (yet happily eat the tinned stuff, go figure!).

This batch are off to a friend who recently had a little baby girl... kinda wish I had doubled the recipe so we could have some too lol.

Pear and Ginger Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar (or use a lil less like I do, yeah, I'm a bit sugar phobic I think lol)
1/2 cup + 6 teaspoons light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger (make it a massively HEAPED teaspoon, or add an extra teaspoon if you love ginger like me)
2/3 cup sour cream - (This is what I swap for soured milk... 2tsp vinegar in a measuring cup, filled up to 2/3cup with milk or dairy free alternative)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon honey
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pears, peeled & chopped to 1/4-inch dice (or a tin of pears, well drained and diced)


1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper muffin cups
2. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, granulated sugar, the 1/2 cup of brown sugar, baking powder, and ground ginger.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the sour cream/soured milk, oil, honey, and eggs together and then fold this into the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated (don't over-mix).
4. Stir in diced pear and then divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
5. Sprinkle each one with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar and then bake for 20 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack. Best eaten when still a little warm but still yummy cold!