Dried Fig Muffins with Goat Cheese Filling

This month's muffins have a lovely flavor, light texture, and are quite a breakfast treat with the figs and tangy, creamy cheese filling. The whole wheat pastry flour adds a nice dimension of flavor as well. I really love the tender crumb of muffins made with that kind of flour. (Mine is freshly ground from soft white wheat, and the bran is sifted out.) Actually, I just realized that it is giving me brown bread muffin vibes and those are some of my favorites.

Notes: Don't use old, hard figs, definitely spring for freshly dried, soft figs that cut easily and have a nice, soft texture. The cheese filling should be creamy, not runny. Both kiddos liked these muffins, especially the filling, though it's been so many years since we have had fig newtons, they had forgotten about the delightful crunch of fig seeds, and eldest ultimately preferred the figs on their own.

Yes, these can be just plain fig muffins, and still delicious if you don't like goat cheese, but it's really just a tangy cheesecake filling. The muffins will dome more without the filling.

Fig Muffins with Creamy Goat Cheese Filling
makes 12-13 standard muffins

¾ cup (3oz./85g) crumbled, plain, soft goat cheese, room temperature
1½ tbsp honey (30g)
1 tsp finely grated fresh orange zest
¼ tsp vanilla

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (230g)
1½ tsp baking powder (6g)
½ tsp baking soda (3g)
½ tsp fine sea salt (3g)
2 large eggs, room temperature (100g)
½ cup light brown muscovado sugar (106g)
¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
1 tsp vanilla extract (5ml)
⅓ cup avocado oil (74g)
2 tbsp butter, melted (28g)
¾ cup buttermilk (180ml)
1 cup chopped, stemmed sun dried figs (Smyrna or Calimyrna are good)
3 tbsp turbinado or demerara sugar, for topping, optional

Grease or line a 12 cup muffin pan, preheat oven to 400ºF.

Make the filling:

In a bowl, combine the goat cheese, honey, orange zest, and vanilla. Beat with a fork until smooth. If the mixture seems crumbly dry, add a drop or two of buttermilk until smoothed and creamy.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, sugars, and salt. Combine the oil and melted butter and stir into the flour mixture until fully blended into fine crumbs. Work with fingers if necessary to break up any larger crumbs. In small bowl or liquid measure, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to the flour/butter mixture and whisk just until smooth and no lumps remain. Gently fold in the chopped figs.

Fill each muffin well almost half full. Add a rounded teaspoon of filling to the center of each muffin and gently press in. Top with the rest of the batter to cover completely. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar if desired.

Bake about 15-17 minutes until the muffins are domed and the edges start to brown. The tops should spring back when lightly pressed. Remove the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes before removing the muffins. Let muffins cool, or enjoy slightly warm.