makes one dozen
Yes, I know, I lured you with the prospect of bread pudding, but you need to know how to make the muffins first, so remember patience is a virtue. First, let’s get started with the muffins.
2 cups (8.5 ounces) flour
1/2 cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (11 grams) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) sea salt
1 teaspoon (4 grams) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (3 grams) ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons (4 grams) ground ginger
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold butter, cut into 12 pieces
1/2 cup (112 ml) molasses
1 cup (8 ounces/225 ml) buttermilk
2 teaspoons (10 grams) coarse sugar, for sprinkling tops (optional)
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease one 12-cup standard size muffin tin or fill with paper liners; set aside.
Add the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices to a deep bowl. Whisk to combine. Add butter and using a pastry blender, or your fingers (my preferred method), blend until it forms a sandy-looking mixture.
Add the buttermilk and molasses to a small bowl and beat with a fork. Pour over the flour mixture and stir, using a fork or wooden spoon, until just mixed and there are no visible traces of flour. Spoon into the prepared muffin tins and sprinkle tops with an even amount of coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.