Dates with lemon rind muffin

Dates are naturally sweet and super versatile in many dishes, especially for desserts. In addition to their vitamins and mineral properties, dates are also rich in antioxidants and fiber. As the fasting month comes around the corner,why not bake a dish that can be eaten as a dawn meal (sahur) or sunset snack (iftar) when breaking the fast?

The recipe is as followed:

Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups (375g) self-raising flour

1 cup (160g) wholemeal flour (you can replace it with self-raising flour)

90g butter chopped

1 cup (220g) caster sugar

1 3/4 cup (310ml) buttermilk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cup (240g) seeded chopped dates

1 tsp lemon rind (you can replace it with 3 tsp orange rind)

Method:

1. Grease 12 hole muffin pan. Sift flour into a large bowl. Rub in butter. Keep rubbing in till the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

2. Add dates and lemon rind with sugar.

3. Stir in sugar, buttermilk and egg. Do not overmix. The mixture should be lumpy.

4. Spoon mixture into prepared pan.

5. Bake in moderately hot oven (200-210 degree Celcius) for 20 minutes.

For younger kids (i.e infants/toddlers), the amount of sugar SHOULD BE REDUCED. Introducing sugary food can lead to dental caries and increase the sweet taste tolerance among the children. So instead of 1 cup of caster sugar, one can reduce the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup of caster sugar (165g) and add more dates into the mixture (add about 20-30g additional dates)

You can also sprinkle some chopped walnuts on the muffin to get the crunchy taste. Adults and kids will love it!

Tada..final product. Look at the texture and the amount of dates in this muffin. Ooh la la...

Happy baking!