Who doesn't love a good muffin for tea - or breakfast, for that matter? I created these savories a month ago for us to enjoy with a hot mug of chai and they were very tasty.

Cup;bakes and muffins have been made quite in recent times, and it's fair to say that both of these have had significant creativity lavished on them, with many new flavours being explored and presented on TVs and in books. Just as we enjoy cheese scones, savoury muffins make an excellent change from sweet treats, and there are so many offerings now that you are spoilt for choice. I've always loved the combination of bacon and maple, but I feel these muffins needed some extra oomph and so I added tomato, chilli and a pink peppercorn topping for extra crunch and visual interest.
Heritage
Pink peppercorns grow on a plant that is native in South America - the Peruvian Pepper tree - and they produce an essential oil that is commonly known as the "oil of true love', connecting to the heart chakra, which is all about balancing the ''give' and 'take' of life. Highly prized in aromatherapy and increasingly used in perfumes for its aromatic fruit, bark and leaves, the fruits of the tree hanging in rich clusters from gently drooping branches at the top of the tree, like rose-coloured flames. Starting out pale green, they turn into rubies as they mature, and it is at that stage that they are picked and used by chefs, gourmands and enthusiastic home cooks around the world.

Aromatherapist Adam Barralet recommends burning a combination of pink pepper, lavender and spearmint in your room for a while if you are preparing to have a meaningful conversation with someone you love. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvbTCNeGfE and www.adambarralet.com
A member of the cashew nut family (beware if you are allergic), they offer up a little spice, but not the sometimes vitriolic heat of black pepper or chilli, and they have a fruity, rose-scented perfume on the nose, so if you've never used them, get ready for a sensory trip to a land of Summery magic.
Try poaching or baking salmon, smothered in lime juice, and sprinkled with crushed fennel seeds and pink peppercorns. It is a flavour revelation - beautiful eating on a warm terrace for sure. I've also added them to chai tea before now, and will happily strew them across salads and on soups, because they are not that spicy, and add a delicate scent to everything they touch. They are also extremely pretty. I reckon they would work their charm on meringue - paired with plums and honey – or in a semi-fredo, made with strawberries.
Prep time: 20mins Cook time: 20mins
Ingredients
8oz bacon lardons, chopped into small cubes
1/2 egg cup maple syrup or dark honey
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 heaped teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon hot chili flakes
1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup kefir, buttermilk or yoghurt
2/3 cup vegetable oil (olive oil is also fine)
2 teaspoons pink peppercorns to garnish
Method
1-Preheat the oven to 400F, place the lardons on a baking tray, drizzle them with half the maple syrup or honey, and bake under a watchful eye until sizzling and golden. Then remove and set aside to cool.
2-Mix wet ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
3-Mix the dry ingredients together, and then add the bacon and whisk in the wet ingredients. This should form a nice, fluffy mixture with a soft dropping consistency. The flavour of the dough should be warm, spicy, mellow tomato and a little hint of sugar from the maple glazed bacon and sugar. Everything should be balanced.
4-Spoon the mixture into muffin cases, to the upper edge. Place muffin cases in a muffin tray and bake for 17-20mins until they have risen around 2cm above the edge of the muffin cases, and a cocktail stick comes out clean.
5-Brush with maple syrup and dot with the crushed peppercorns so that the syrup is the glue that keeps them in place.
6-Allow them to cool, then serve with Autumnal fruits and a cup of rose chai for afternoon tea, or as a main meal, with salads of tabbouleh, cucumber and yoghurt dip, red cabbage slaw and grated carrot.
Notes
1-For a festive breakfast you could serve a peach and aperol spritzer with the muffins: mix aperol with two dessert spoons of peach juice and soda. Add a twirl of lemon.
2-Serve these warm, but make sure you watch the temperature of the oven or the maple glaze will burn. We keep a sheet of tin foil on the top metal rack of our oven these days, and since we started doing this, everything has come out cooked to perfection.
3-If you are serving any leftover ones the next day, warm them in the oven over a tray of water. The steam this creates will ensure they stay nice and moist.
***bon appetit***
Credits: all photographs used are either mine or they have been sourced from Unsplash, a source of excellent, high quality pictures, which are free to use.
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