When I was asked to come up with a savory muffin for Pure by Cuppa, a juice bar that opened inside Harvey Nichols at Turkey’s first open-air mall Kanyon, I exhausted pretty much every website I frequently visit and cooking book I have to come up with alternatives. To tell the truth, I came across very few savory recipes that tempted me.
So I started thinking about ingredients. It had to had cheese in it (also good for longer shelf life). I thought Ricotta – having a mild taste and soft texture – would be perfect for a muffin. Then there had to be some kind of a spice or vegetable to pair it with. So, to give it a twist, I added dried basil. The result was quite good. Dried basil gives a wonderful aroma and smell to these tender yet soft muffins. Definitely a keeper!
Here’s also what else I have been baking for “Pure by Cuppa” at Harvey Nichols Istanbul:
Poppy Seed and Parmesan Straws
Hazelnut Biscotti
Ricotta and Basil Muffin
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup Ricotta cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
Method
Mix flour, baking powder, dried basil and salt in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, olive oil, sunflower oil and Ricotta cheese and whisk to blend. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir with a fork just to combine. Line a 12 – small muffin tray with muffin cups and spoon the mixture into the cups. Bake at a temperature of 375 F (190C) for 20 – 25 minutes.
Yesterday, we have tried your Ricotta&Basil Muffins. They look the same as in the picture.
But we doubt about the taste :)..
We cooked them maybe 30min but inside was still soft and looks not well cooked. Was it because of ricotta? Or because of our pre-World-War-Period Oven?
(Maybe fresh basilico instead of dried?)
Bests,
Hi Basak
I am sorry to hear that you were not happy with the results. If I had not tried the above recipe a dozen times I would have doubted the measurements, but I never had a problem. Using fresh basil may be the problem as it will be considered a liquid rather than a dry ingredient but guessing you didnt put a lot of it, there might be other problems. It may be the consistency of the cheese? Was it too runny? I wouldnt know about the oven tough. Hope it turns out better the next time (if you are still tempted to try it of course). Best. Cenk
No, no, no.. Don’t get us wrong!
The recipe is PERFECT!
And of course we will try it again. As you say the cheese might be the problem (Galbani/Santa Lucia-Ricotta). We will try another one.
We would never think about that.
Thank you!!
Basak&Roby
I tried the muffins last weekend and with a minor mistake (I was not wearing my contacts and thought the salt was supposed to be 1 tbsp instead of 1 tsp) they turned out great. I used “Lor” cheese instead of ricotta – not a bad substitute. I thought the amount of liquids in the batter may still be increased a litte – I like them a bit moist myself..maybe I’ll add some parsley pesto instead of dried basil.
Anyway, thanks for the recipe. Also a big hit with late night guests – some were too full to sample them, but made me prepare doggy-bags for breakfast 🙂
Aysegul – I am glad that you and your guests liked the muffins. Parsley pesto is a great idea. I will try it too. Thanks for the suggestion.
hi Cenk,
just tried the recipe…3.5 years later 🙂
turned out perfect, moist and delicious, just like I love it!
thanxxx…
I wanted to invent a pizza muffin, and I based it on your recipe. Substituted fire-roasted crushed tomatoes for part of the milk, and added grated Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese and finely chopped black olives. (And extra basil.) Beautiful—so rosy orange—and delicious. Took maybe an extra ten minutes to bake.
These muffins were the perfect texture, and the basil and ricotta flavors were great together. I’m going to keep the recipe and try other herb combinations — love these!