Jammy Coconut Muffins: A Sweet Welcome Home
After a few weeks on the road, I’ve been rediscovering the joy of home-cooked goodness. I’m finally back in the kitchen, loving every second of it, and I accidentally stumbled on a new recipe that’s quickly become a favourite.
There’s a certain novelty to travel food, especially when you’re moving between restaurants, airports, and packaged meals. But that novelty wears thin the moment your final boarding pass is scanned and you realise you’re 18,500 kilometres and 27 hours away from your own pantry. So once I was back on solid ground after a wonderful trip to the UK, it was no surprise I found myself itching to tie on an apron and start cooking something homemade.
Of course, returning home to a nearly bare fridge was its own kind of challenge. But it pushed me to reach for an old favourite: Jo Seager’s trusty chocolate chip muffin recipe. It’s one I’ve leaned on many times when visitors are due and I want to fill the kitchen with the smell of something fresh and moreish.
The only problem? No chocolate chips in sight.
Foiled, but only briefly, I got creative. A quick dig through the pantry turned up a bag of desiccated coconut strands. I folded them into the base batter, which gave the muffins a beautifully moist texture with a subtle tropical flavour.
But the real stroke of luck was the jar of Morello cherry fruit preserve tucked behind the marmalade. A generous spoonful placed in the centre of each muffin before baking turned them into soft, jammy delights with a pop of tart sweetness. The tropical coconut with that sharp cherry centre was unexpectedly perfect. And just like that, my Jammy Coconut Muffins were born.
The best part? They were mixed, baked, and served in under 20 minutes. The first batch disappeared in one sitting. I had to make a second batch just to confirm they were as good as I remembered. (They were.)
Variations to try
- Swap cherry jam for raspberry, apricot or plum preserves
- Add a little lime or lemon zest to the batter for extra brightness
- Use coconut cream or milk in place of standard milk for even more tropical flavour
These muffins are a reminder that sometimes the best recipes happen when you’re not following one. A little pantry improvisation, a bit of travel inspiration, and a whole lot of home comfort in every bite.
Jammy Coconut Muffins
Makes: 12 medium sized muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 100g melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp coconut essence
- 1 cup vanilla yoghurt
- a dash of milk
- 60g jam (any flavour, I used Morello Cherry preserve)
Method
- Preheat oven to around 200°C.
- Mix together the dry ingredients, make a well and add melted butter, eggs (beaten slightly beforehand), essence, yoghurt. Fold together until dry ingredients are moistened however don’t be tempted to over mix (or the muffins will come out tough). The mixture will be quite firm so add a dash of milk to thin slightly (1/4 cup is ample).
- In well-greased muffin tins add approximately one tablespoon of mixture – enough to half fill the each muffin tin. Carefully dob a teaspoon jam in the centre of each, then top with another tablespoon of muffin mixture so that the filling is encased.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until cooked and golden brown.
