Author's Note

During both World Wars, food and supplies were scarce. Karla, one of the main characters in the novel The Electrician and the Seamstress had to use whatever she could find to feed her family. Her husband, Bruno, often had to rely on the black market to find ingredients. It was a dangerous but necessary task to feed his family. These muffins are versatile allowing you to mix different types of fruits or nuts depending on what you have on hand. Karla was able to harvest figs and apples from Bruno’s family farm.

Karla’s High Protein Fruit Muffins

Cottage cheese has become popular on social media. It was a good protein alternative to feeding people during World War I but didn’t become popular in Germany until after World War II. The novel, The Electrician and the Seamstress took place during the rise of the Nazis. The post-war era saw significant advancements in the food processing and packaging industry, which greatly facilitated the production and distribution of cottage cheese. Infrastructure and manufacturing improvements helped facilitate packaged food. Government policies and regulations supported dairy farming and ensured food safety, further promoting the availability of cottage cheese. These combined factors led to the widespread adoption and popularity of cottage cheese in the post-war period. I added Cottage Cheese to the recipe to boost protein.

Ingredients
  • Blender
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
  • 1 cup apple sauce (I use low sugar) 1
  • 2 bananas
  • 1 cup fig (optional) 2
  • 5 tbsp butter or coconut oil
  • Batter
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups flour 3
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cup of blueberries 4
  • Chopped almonds or walnuts (optional)
# indicates possible substitutions
Substitutions
  1. For: 1 cup apple sauce (I use low sugar) use: There were times Karla could only find apples or figs.
  2. For: 1 cup fig (optional) use: Cook down fresh figs with some water and blend to apple sauce consistency using immersion blender.
  3. For: 1 1/2 to 2 cups flour use: I use King Arthur gluten free
  4. For: 1 1/2 cup of blueberries use: If Karla didn’t have enough blueberries, she would put them in the pot with the figs for a little more sweet.
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F, and prepare muffin pans with liners.
  2. Blender
  3. Blend the wet ingredients in a blender or food processor
  4. Batter
  5. In a large mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients
  6. Add the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and blend thoroughly.
  7. Fold in the blueberries.
  8. Fill muffin cups up to about 3/4 full and put try into oven.
  9. Bake
  10. The muffins will turn golden and are ready when a toothpick or wooden skewer comes out clean. About 30 to 40 minutes.
  11. If you use muffin/cupcake paper, remove them from the pan right away so the paper doesn’t stick. Alternatively, I had success baking in a square brownie pan.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

Serves: 12

Category: Snack

Cuisine: International

Updated: 1 month ago

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