I’m enjoying Muffin Monday way too much. The whole point of it is to have fun and be creative with baking, but I never thought I would look forward to that email each week with the secret muffin recipe to be recreated in some way for the following Monday. It’s exhilarating as I wait on pins and needles to see what I will be inspired by and then what I will come up with.
I’m also creating the best muffins I’ve ever made. Muffins are probably my favorite thing to bake, and I like to think I’m pretty good at making them. I love pretty much every muffin I’ve ever made. But last week’s White Chocolate Cranberry Muffins were crazy good. Sweet, tart, insanely moist. I love them!
When I received this week’s email, I saw it was another chocolate muffin. Baker Street is killing me with all these chocolate muffins. This one was chocolate and caramel. Caramel I can definitely do. So I went to the drawing board to figure out what I could create. I had just made Salted Caramels, so those would definitely make the cut. But I needed more. Eating a date for breakfast, it dawned on me that they would make a great addition, with their natural sweetness and caramel like flavor. But these muffins needed more.
While brushing my teeth, I had a flash of genius. Make the muffins like sticky toffee pudding. I couldn’t wait to get to the kitchen to make them. The muffins were super easy to put together, as I did not soak or puree the dates as in traditional sticky toffee pudding. If you don’t have homemade caramels to stick in the middle, I think store bought ones would work well too. When the muffins come out of the oven I soaked them with a sugar syrup after poking holes.
It came time to do the taste test. These muffins may have been a great idea, but if they didn’t taste good, none of it mattered. One bite . . . and pure heaven. The muffin is super moist with all those dates, softened from baking, that almost melt into the muffins. The vanilla flavor is prominent in the delicate muffins. Caramel peaks out of the center, tasty both warm and at room temperature, but the molten caramel of a warm muffin is hard to beat. It is really the super simple syrup that makes the top melt in your mouth moist and gives a great caramel-like flavor. I was afraid the syrup would be cloyingly sweet, as it’s pretty much made of all sugar. But it was super rich with deep, complex flavor. It was exactly what I was looking for. I think the almond milk in it added that slightly nutty flavor, so I would recommend using it if at all possible. In addition, Lyle’s Golden Syrup is amazing in this and many other recipes. Try to search some out, but honey or maple syrup would probably work in a pinch. Is it weird I’m all excited about Mondays now? If you make these muffins, you will be too!
Sticky Toffee Muffins #MuffinMonday
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 10 1x
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1 stick unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup finely chopped dates
- 4 caramels – homemade or store bought
Syrup
- ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup almond milk
- ¼ cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 10 cups in a muffin tin with paper liners.
- Make the muffins. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. I did this easily by hand, but a hand or stand mixer would work as well. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until once again light and fluffy. Stir in the flour until it is mostly mixed in, then add the milk and mix until a batter is formed. Stir in the dates.
- Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop batter into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup, filling about halfway. Place about a nickel sized piece of caramel on top of the batter. Do not let it touch the sides of the paper liners. Scoop more batter on top of the caramel, filling all the way to the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating halfway through if necessary, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
- While the muffins are baking, make the syrup. In a small saucepan, cook sugar, milk, and syrup over medium heat until it comes to a bubble. Allow to cook and bubble for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and allow to sit until muffins come out of the oven.
- Once the muffins and syrup are both done, poke holes all over the tops of the muffins using a toothpick and spoon syrup slowly over them, focusing in the center, but making sure the entire muffin is covered. Serve warm or cool completely in pan. May be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or frozen, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 3 months. Thaw wrapped in parchment placed on top of foil in a 350 degree F oven for about 20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.
A great adaptation, Laura! Love toffee – this is totally my kind of muffin 🙂
★★★★★
Thank you so much! These are my new favorite muffins!
I’m not a huge fan of dates but the one exception is sticky toffee pudding so I know I’d love your muffin. And I feel the same excitement as you do as a muffin recipe evolves! Such fun!
Thanks, Stacy, and thanks for visiting 🙂 I can’t wait to make traditional sticky toffee pudding now. I know I’ll love it.
Brilliant idea!!! These look super sticky tastyyy
★★★★★
Thanks, Kayle! I love that they’re so gooey and sticky and moist. Mmmmmm!
I love dates, and it’s great that you were able to find inspiration through them! I need to make more muffins; they’re the perfect thing to bring into work or to have in the freezer for a fast breakfast!
I love dates too, but only discovered them a few months ago. Yes, muffins are perfect to share or freeze, and of course eat 🙂
OMG so tasty! They look fabulous and I like that you used dates.
Thanks, Natalie! I want to use dates in all kinds of baked goods – such a unique and tasty ingredient.
Sticky pudding in a muffin? These sound like they need to be on my to do list. I can see why you were excited!
Thanks, Abbe and thanks for visiting 🙂 These are for sure a must-bake. Possibly the best muffins I’ve ever made!
Yes, please!
★★★★
The next batch I’ll be sure to send some your way 🙂
Oh these muffins both sound and look amazing!
Thanks, Medeja 🙂 They taste amazing too!
What a great creation!
Thanks, Debbie 🙂
Sounds like a great combination.
A great combo for sure. But you tasted these . . . it shouldn’t just sound like a great combo!
Yumminess (maybe not even a word) is the first word that came to mind when I saw these muffins! I like the addition of dates!
Yumminess is totally a word in my world 🙂 I love the dates in these muffins too! Thanks, Ruby!
You had me at sticky toffee. 🙂 I am a toffee fanatic. And eating it first thing in the morning sounds like a dream come true!
Sticky toffee should be a part of every meal! Thanks, Sally!
These look incredible – so indulgent! Love the twist on a classic.
Thanks, Lucy, and thanks for visiting 🙂 I cant wait to make traditional sticky toffee pudding now.
Yum, these look so delicious! Sticky toffee…but it’s a muffin! Does that mean I can it for breakfast and not feel bad? 🙂
Oh, yeah, these are totally guilt free breakfast decadence 🙂 Thanks, Rachel!
I like this one too !
The recipe of the sirup is so amazing !
Thanks! The syrup is fantastic! I was surprised at how complex the flavor is.
Just made these – currently cooling but the kids can’t wait to try! Wasn’t sure what “all purpose flour” was as here in the UK it’s plain flour or self raising flour – I opted for self raising – Googled all purpose flour after the event and it would suggest I got it wrong (should have used plain) but they look good regardless! Thanks for the recipe
Hi Victoria! I hope the muffins turned out great even though you used the self raising flour. I haven’t made that recipe in quite some time and now I am craving these muffins!
They were delicious! A real hit with all of the family. I’ll definitely be making them again – and I’ll try plain flour next time to see what difference it makes!
Yay! Let me know how they turn out with plain flour when you make them.