Forgotten Fruit Muffins

Got wrinkly fruit in the the fruit bowl?
Make these delicious muffins!

There always seems to be a little bit of fruit hanging around that nobody wants to claim. The half-eaten apple that comes home in the kindy lunchbox. A couple of peaches left in the bottom of a tin. A banana getting browner by the hour. Or a handful of berries tucked in the freezer that aren't quite enough to do much with.

These muffins use one cup of fruit, and the beauty of them is that you can use whatever you have on hand. Fresh, tinned or frozen fruit all work, making them a great recipe for using up those odds and ends before they end up in the compost.

I first began calling these forgotten fruit muffins, because here in the Otematata Village, which is a popular holiday destination, people leave their cribs and holiday homes to head back to work, just as the fruit begins to ripen. The fruit is often forgotten and left to drop. I have made friends with a few crib owners now who they let me forage their trees for fruit.

Always ask for permission if you are collecting fruit from someone else's property.

What fruit can you use in muffins?

Almost anything!

Apples, pears, peaches, apricots, berries, feijoas and bananas are all great choices. You can use just one type of fruit or combine a couple if you don't quite have enough.

For larger fruit, simply chop it into small pieces. Drain tinned fruit well before adding it to the muffin mixture, while frozen berries can usually be folded through straight from the freezer.

It's a great way to use:

• Half-eaten or slightly bruised apples
• Overripe bananas
• Leftover tinned peaches, pears or apricots
• Frozen berries
• Feijoas
• Soft fruit that needs eating
• Small amounts of different fruits that aren't enough for another recipe

Easy lunchbox muffins

These fruit muffins are particularly handy for lunchboxes and smoko because you don't need to buy anything special to make them.

You can also change the flavour depending on the fruit you're using. Add a little cinnamon to apple or pear muffins, throw a few chocolate chips in with banana, or add some coconut or chopped nuts.

But they're just as good left simple.

I love recipes like this because they're practical, forgiving and make use of food that might otherwise be wasted. There's no special trip to the supermarket and no need to have exactly the right fruit sitting in the bowl.

And there is something rather satisfying about sending that rejected half an apple back in the lunchbox the next day disguised as a muffin — and watching it come home as nothing more than a few crumbs.

Sometimes you've just got to outsmart them.

Tips and Tricks

• No self-raising flour? No problem. For every cup of self-raising flour, use 1 cup of plain flour plus 1½ teaspoons of baking powder.
• Use whatever yoghurt you have. Any flavour of yoghurt will work in these muffins. I often use the gloopy bit left in the bottom of the yoghurt container that the kids have decided they won’t eat. It’s perfectly good for baking and saves it going to waste.
• Almost any fruit will work. Try apricots, nectarines, peaches, banana, rhubarb, apple, pear, raspberries, blackcurrants or feijoas. Fresh, frozen or tinned fruit are all good options — just make sure tinned fruit is well drained.
• Mix and match your fruit. You don’t need a full cup of one particular fruit. Half an apple, a few berries and a lonely feijoa can all go in together. That’s the whole point of Forgotten Fruit Muffins!

Want some other recipe ideas?

If you have lots of fruit to use, you could try these recipes;

Laura's easy strawberry ice cream https://www.thekiwicountrygirl.com/easy-strawberry-ice-cream-no-churn/

Jana's oats fruity slice https://themacphersondiaries.co.nz/oaty-fruit-slice/

Nadia's banana pancakes https://nadialim.com/super-banana-pancakes/