Coconut Cornbread Muffins - #MuffinMonday

For someone who won't eat cornmeal, I sure have reached for it a lot recently. I watched Jamaican YouTuber, Adrian Morris, make a batch of coconut cornbread on his channel and thought that would be great as muffins. (By the way, if you're looking for authentic Jamaican recipes, that's a good source.)

I didn't follow his recipe but ran with the idea. Jamaicans add cinnamon (leaf) and nutmeg to their cornmeal porridge . Coconut is also amazing with those spices so I added them in. However, I didn't want to add too much and darken the batter.

I didn't taste them but my mother and brother gave them good reviews.

We have a lot of corn muffins for this month's Muffin Monday. Be sure to scroll down to see all the corn and non-corn ones too. 

Coconut Cornbread Muffins

Yield: ~14 muffins

Ingredients

120 grams cornmeal

120 grams flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup shredded coconut

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 cup coconut milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425F. Line your muffin wells or grease them well.

Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until there are no streaks of white or yellow. It's one even colour. Stir in the shredded coconut.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar. Next, whisk in the coconut oil and milk. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Gently mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Don't overmix.

Scoop into the prepared muffin wells. Fill the wells almost full. 

Bake 5 minutes then lower the temperature to 350 F. Bake another 11 to 13 minutes or until q toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. 

Cool and enjoy.

Notes

1.  If you're in a cooler climate and your coconut oil has solidified, melt and cool it before using.
2.  I tried these with muffin liners and without. Thankfully, they didn't stick. 

 
• Bacon Cheddar Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
 
• Coconut Cornbread Muffins from Passion Kneaded
   
• Cornmeal Cheese Bomb Muffins from Magical Ingredients
 
• Honey Cornbread Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
 
• Lemon Pound Cake Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
 
• Maple Banana Cornbread Muffins from Food Lust People Love
 
• Onion Crunch Corn Muffins from Palatable Pastime
 
• Pineapple Coconut Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
 
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins from Making Miracles
 

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Turtle Bread - #BreadBakers

There is a really old Jamaican Christmas tradition of using bread shaped like animals as a centrepiece on the Christmas table. Some refer to them as fancy breads. This tradition is so old that most of my friends had never heard of it. I guess it has gone the way of the Jonkonnu parades. They happen in some communities somewhere but most of us have only read or hear about them. I actually saw one in person for the first time this past Christmas. I was in a supermarket that I don't normally go into. The bakery by my house apparently sells them too but I didn't get a chance to stop by. 

Jamaican Duck Bread Source

The most popular animal seems to be a duck floating in a pond. I looked at a picture and honestly just couldn't figure out how I would do it. Probably a cop-out but I just couldn't figure out the breast area in particular. It seems a lot of details might get lost in the oven. So I went turtle instead. Easy enough - the hardest part is doing the slashes on the shell. I didn't do it well and Mr. Turtle looked fine enough. 

My nephew won't let me eat Mr. Turtle. He says the turtle needs to live out his 100 years so Mr. Turtle is now in the freezer. Don't tell my nephew, but he is going to become a bread pudding next week. 100 years comes really quickly when you're a turtle.

Thanks for hosting Animal Shaped Bread, Stacy! It was fun getting creative with my dough and I can't wait to try other animals - even that duck. Scroll down to see all the other animals. 

Turtle Bread

Ingredients

400 grams flour

3 tablespoons sugar 

2 teaspoons yeast 

1 teaspoon salt 

220 ml milk

3 tablespoons oil 

1 egg yolk, beaten

2 raisins or currants (eyes)

1 egg white plus a splash of water (egg wash)

Directions

Mix together all the ingredients (except the raisins and egg white) and then knead until you have a smooth dough. The dough should not be sticky. If it is sticky, add in some more flour. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it has doubled. Alternatively, you can allow it to rest in the refrigerator overnight. 

When the dough is ready, pinch off a 70-gram piece and five 30-gram pieces. These will form his head, legs, and tail and the remaining dough will form the body. Shape the body into a flattened boule. Shape the 70-gram piece into a ball and then attach the head to the body.  Next shape the legs and tail. You can shape the tail a bit triangular. 

For the eyes, I suggest putting the raisins up a bit higher than you would think. As my dough proofed, the raisins moved lower and ended much lower during the oven spring. I had to use a toothpick to reattach them in the correct place. Honestly, sticking them on with a toothpick after baking is probably the easiest route. 

My eyes are too low.

Cover the dough and allow to proof at room temperature until noticeably puffy. This could take up to an hour depending on the temperature of your room. 

Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

When the dough is ready, brush with the egg white mixed with water. Next, slash his back with a sharp knife to form his shell. Stress not if it isn't perfect. You can also give him some toes. I did cut some but didn't snip deep enough so that detail was lost in the oven.

Bake 35 minutes or until golden. 

Enjoy your creation! 

• Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia
• Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu
• Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Hedgehog Bread from Making Miracles
• Honey Bear Loaf from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Animal-shaped Breads from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Matcha Milk Bread Turtles from A Messy Kitchen
• Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Peacock Shaped Pizza Rolls from Magical Ingredients
• Piglet Bread Rolls from Sneha's Recipe
• Turtle Bread from Passion Kneaded

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Gingerbread Spice Christmas Tree Bread #BreadBakers

I am extremely excited about how this bread turned out. I pictured it in my head and went over how I would shape it way too many times. How many layers should I use? How much dough do I need? How would I shape each layer into the same size triangle? Decisions. Decisions. I calculated the area of the circles of star breads I have made in the past then figured out rectangles with the same area. I drew a sketch of what I would do. Who says you don't use maths after you leave school?

Try to work as quickly as possible. You don't want this bread rising too long or it will start to lose its shape. However, even if it does, it will still look great coming out of the oven. Your hard work will not be for naught. 

Thanks so much, Felice for hosting this month's Tear & Share Holiday Breads. I was so happy to flex some creative muscles. Scroll down to see some other gorgeous loaves for your holiday table. 

Gingerbread Spice Christmas Tree Bread 

Ingredients

Dough

330 grams flour 

3 tablespoons sugar 

2 teaspoons yeast 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 egg

1/2 cup milk 

1/4 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Filling 

1 egg, beaten 

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon 

2 teaspoons ginger 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Directions 

Mix all the dough ingredients together and knead for about 7 minutes. You want a very soft dough. It should not be too sticky to handle though. If so, sprinkle in some flour, if it is dry, add a tablespoon or so of milk. 

Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled. I prefer to let it rest in the fridge overnight. 

When the dough is doubled, mix together all the filling ingredients. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. 

Divide the dough into 2 pieces. Working with one piece at a time,  roll each into an 11" x 14" rectangle. Using the diagram below as a guide, cut out a triangle that has a base of 11 inches and a height of 14 inches. 

Place the unshaded (isosceles) triangle on the parchment paper.  Brush with the beaten egg then top with a third of the filling - roughly 3 tablespoons. 

Form the two remaining pieces of dough (the shaded areas or right-angled triangles) into a triangle on top of the filling. The 14-inch sides should meet in the middle. 

Brush with more egg and sprinkle with another third of filling. 

Top this layer of filling with the shaded (right-angle) triangles from the second piece of dough.

 

Brush with egg again and top with the rest of the filling. 

Cover with the second unshaded (isosceles) triangle. You may need to stretch the top piece a bit. But fret not, it will work out in the end. 

Gently mark out a center "trunk" for the tree. I started with a one-inch trunk at the bottom and then narrowed that towards the top. 

Cut one-inch strips on either side of your trunk. Be sure not to cut your trunk! I placed my ruler in the middle for the one-inch areas and used wooden spoon handles as I narrowed. That ensured I didn't cut too far in.

Twist each strip in the same direction. 

Allow the tree to rest for about 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Brush the dough with the remaining beaten egg. 

Bake 25-30 minutes. 

Celebrate! You made it!

 #BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month the Bread Bakers are making Tear & Share Holiday Breads, a theme chosen by Felice from All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

And don’t forget to check out all the amazing breads baked by our talented bakers ~

• Baklava Danish Tear and Share Treat Bread by A Messy Kitchen
• Buttery Soft Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cheesy Chicken Chutney Pull Apart Skillet Rolls by Sneha's Recipe
• Cheesy Tomato Tapenade Party Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Cranberry Cinnamon Star Bread by Making Miracles
• Fruit Mince Braided Star Bread by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Gingerbread Spice Christmas Tree Bread by Passion Kneaded
• Herb and Cheese Star Bread by Ambrosia
• Koledna Pitka - Bulgarian Christmas Eve Bread by Magical Ingredients
• Pumpkin Spice Pull-Apart Loaf by Palatable Pastime
• Spiced Chrysanthemum Bread by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Turkey, Cranberry and Cheese Pull Apart Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm