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There are cook books that some of us carry around for YEARS!  I have a couple of those… actually I have more than a couple… but there are two or three that I have actually been using for many many years.  One of these is a muffin cookbook that I got about 25 years ago.

One of my in-laws recognized that I loved to cook and make muffins, I always had some hiding in the freezer, they were always a handy food to have around.  So one year she bought me a book, Muffins: a cookbook.  There are food smudges on most every page and the cover is long gone. Notes mark almost all the pages.  It’s one of those really small coil bound books.  Published by Muffins Publishing and written by Joan Bidinosti and Marilyn Wearring.  It has always been a favourite and it’s the first place I go when I want some really good muffins.

I had a hankering for some good muffins… but I wanted them with some kind of icing… creamy and sweet but not bite into sugar kind of sweet.  The muffins are from this cookbook but the icing was improvised…. a variation on a cream cheese frosting that so many people love.  You can frost these as I have… or not… they are just as good naked!

Muffins

• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 3 large, ripe Bananas
• 1 Egg
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Crunchy Peanut Butter
• 1/2 Cup coarsely chopped Peanuts

In a large bowl stir dry ingredients.  In a small bowl mash bananas, whisk in oil, peanut butter and egg.  Stir wet ingredients into dry.  Fill muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Frosting

• 1/2 Cup of Cream Base (see below)
• 350 Grams Cream Cheese
• 1/2 Butter
• 4 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
• 1 Cup Icing Sugar

Mix all ingredients in a stand mixer – start slow and then whip until light and creamy, about 3 – 5 minutes.  You can add less or more sugar to taste.  Top muffins with icing and try… just … TRY to stay away from these!

I generally dislike really sweet icing and so I use a base of a cream that my mom’s been using for the cream filling in the srnci hrbety (reindeer ribs) forever.  It helps the icing hold it’s shape and cuts down on the amount of sugar needed to get the butter and cream cheese icing to hold it’s consistency.  Instructions are below.   This cream can be kept in the refrigerator for about a week or even frozen and pulled out when needed.  It’s really quite versatile.

Cream Base

• 500 ml milk
• 2  HeapingTablespoons of Vanilla Pudding (UNSWEETENED and the kind that requires cooking)  I use Dr. Oetker’s (or 1 package)
• 2 Heaping Tablespoons Flour
• 2 Egg Yolks

Mix all cold ingredients in a saucepan and then cook on the stove on low to medium heat stirring frequently.  Make sure that you use the wooden spoon or whisk and mix the whole base of the pot frequently.  Once it starts to get hot make sure you mix a lot.  The mixture will get quite thick… and that’s exactly what you want.  As it cools it will get to be about the consistency of cooled but not cold butter.

This is half of the amount I used on a birthday cake a couple of months ago and last time I flavoured it with peanut butter…. PB2 actually… and it was so damn good!  This will make about twice what’s needed for the recipe above… but you can freeze the rest for the next batch of muffins…. my next batch will be chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting… !  Yup… I’m on a roll!