A blast from the Past

Last weekend we were invited to friends for brunch. When I asked what to bring, they said muffins. I decided to make a lime version of lemon and poppyseed muffins as a kind friend gave me some limes which was a real treat!

Lemon and poppyseed muffins always remind me of the late 1990s and the whole blue and yellow theme for interiors which was popular at the time. In 1999 my husband to be and I moved into our first home, which was a very small apartment, but it was brand new and we were able to pick the colour scheme, which was a blue and yellow one. We had yellow painted walls, blue carpet and a blue kitchen with a very trendy (at the time) navy benchtop. We also got engaged that year, and many of our engagement presents were in the blue and yellow theme – lots of blue temuka pottery with a yellow trim. In my kitchen I would always have pile of lemons “artfully” displayed on one of my blue platters with the yellow trim – and lemon and poppyseed muffins were a firm favourite for using up the lemons.

The muffins haven’t lost their appeal nearly ten years later. Lime works just as well as lemons – the sourness makes a great contrast for the butteriness of the muffins. These are one muffin that substituting the butter for oil doesn’t give you such a good result –you need the butter to give a crunchy exterior and it really does add to the flavour.

Lime Poppyseed muffins

2 c self raising flour
¾ c sugar
Zest of two limes
2 tbsp poppyseeds
1c milk
75g butter, melted
1 egg

• Combine dry ingredients, then separately combine the milk, butter and egg
• Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix gently
• Spoon into muffin cases and bake at 200c for 15-18 minutes or until cooked through
• While still hot spoon over a syrup made by mixing ¼ c sugar with ¼ c lime juice