Are you ready for another ‘true-Aussie’ recipe? Last year, I posted a recipe for Quandong Pie, featuring the ‘Australian native peach.’ Interestingly enough, this recipe has become one of my most popular posts.
Today’s recipe is Wattleseed Muffins with White Chocolate Chips. Wattle seeds are another Australian native food- also known as bush tucker. They come from Acacia trees that produce edible pods that can be roasted and ground into a fine or coarse powder. They produce a delicious nutty, chocolatey taste with a hint of coffee- a great addition to breads, granola and stews. They are also very nutritious, containing twice the protein of wheat flour. Did you know that Qantas airlines even featured ‘Wattleseed Ice Cream‘ on their flight menu?
Acacias have a special significance for Australians, as the blossom of the golden wattle has been adopted as the nation’s floral emblem. However, you have to be careful when eating the seeds of acacia trees- there are at least 700 varieties of acacias and many are poisonous! Luckily, I was able to buy my ground wattle seeds at a specialty store in Adelaide.
Golden Wattle flowers
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- Wattle seed pods
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- Roasted and ground wattle seeds
It’s interesting to note that even Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle were recently given an opportunity to smell and taste various native Australian foods when they visited a Melbourne restaurant. Evidently, she refused to taste native ‘finger limes’, but enjoyed the aroma of saltbush and admitted she has even cooked with wattle seed herself!
Meghan Markle experiencing native Australian saltbush
My recipe for Wattleseed Muffins with White Chocolate Chips is relatively easy and only takes about 15 minutes or less to bake. I had some Hazelnut Crumb left over from my Chocolate Mousse Cake, so I sprinkled some of that on top of my healthy but delicious muffins! If you also want the recipe for my Hazelnut Crumb, just click on the link.
This recipe was adapted by Neville Bonney’s recipe, as printed in his book Edible Wild Native Plants.
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. (180 C.) Combine the flour, baking powder, wattle seed and sugar in a bowl. Melt the butter and add to the dry ingredients, along with the eggs. Beat with an electric beater until smooth. Gradually add the milk and mix until moistened. Fold in the white chocolate chips into the mixture. Pour into the wells of a greased muffin tin, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until the muffins spring back when lightly touched. If you wish to add my Hazelnut Crumb on top of the muffins, refer to the link for my recipe on Chocolate Mousse Dome Cake with Hazelnut Crumb.Wattle Seed Muffins with White Chocolate Chips
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7 Comments
David
October 30, 2018 at 11:45 pmNo one is roasting and grinding acacia pods here (and we have a lot!) instead, we do it with mesquite pods – and the description is similar. I will give these a whirl with my mesquite flour!
Fran Flint
October 31, 2018 at 6:46 amGreat! When I return to the US soon, I’ll definitely have to get some mesquite flour in order to try some true American ‘native food’!
John / Kitchen Riffs
October 31, 2018 at 12:20 amI love the name, bush tucker! And I’d love to tuck into these muffins. I haven’t heard of these (nor had them, obviously). Sound neat — thanks.
Fran Flint
October 31, 2018 at 6:52 amThanks for your comment, John. Evidently the name ‘wattle’ was introduced by early colonists, who combined the thin branches of the acacia tree with clay in order to construct ‘wattle and daub’ houses in Australia.
Mimi
November 1, 2018 at 11:53 pmYay! I actually know what wattle seeds are! I had wattle bread when I was in the outback, and it was so good I considered starting importing them to the states! Love your muffing!
Fran Flint
November 4, 2018 at 10:21 amThanks, I can’t believe that a non-Aussie knows what wattle seeds are! I’m so grateful for your comment, Mimi!
Juliana
November 6, 2018 at 10:49 amI have never heard of wattle seeds…so interesting. The muffins look great Fran, thank you so much for the recipe, I would love to get a hold of these seed.
Have a wonderful week!