Mugwort Red Bean Muffin (Korean Herbal Sweet Bean Muffin)

Quick answer

Total time: 47 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 10

About this dish

This muffin combines mugwort powder and cooked sweet red beans in a soft, fluffy batter that bridges Korean traditional flavors with Western baking technique.

Mugwort contributes a distinctive herbal fragrance - faintly bitter, grassy, and deeply aromatic - that permeates the entire crumb and gives it a muted green hue. The red beans, folded in whole, add pockets of grainy sweetness that burst with each bite. Cake flour and baking powder keep the rise gentle and the texture light, while melted butter adds moisture without heaviness. The combination of mugwort and red bean is deeply familiar from Korean rice cakes, but baking it as a muffin introduces a crisp top and a pillowy interior that the steamed rice cake format cannot offer. Mixing the batter in no more than ten to twelve strokes prevents toughness - visible streaks of flour are acceptable and even preferred over a smooth, overworked batter. The beans should be folded in last with a gentle spatula motion to preserve their shape. These muffins pair naturally with grain-based lattes, where the roasted notes in the drink echo the earthy quality of the mugwort.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

cake flour180 gg

mugwort powder12 gg

baking powder7 gg

sugar80 gg

salt2 gg

egg2 piecepiece

milk110 mlml

melted butter70 gg

cooked sweet red beans120 gg

vanilla extract3 mlml

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Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Heat

Preheat the oven fully to 180°C and line the muffin tray with paper cups.

If the cooked sweet red beans are wet, press them gently with paper towel so extra moisture does not weigh down the batter.
2

Season

Add cake flour, mugwort powder, baking powder, sugar, and salt to a bowl.

Whisk until the pale green color is evenly distributed, breaking up any visible pockets of powder before the wet ingredients go in.
3

Heat

In a second bowl, loosen the 2 eggs first, then whisk in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.

Use butter that is warm, not hot, so it blends smoothly without partially cooking the eggs.
4

Heat

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and fold with a spatula, scraping from the bottom, only 10-12 strokes.

Stop while a few flour streaks remain, because a smooth batter can bake up tough.
5

Heat

Add the cooked sweet red beans last and fold gently with the spatula held upright.

Turn the batter only two or three more times, just enough to distribute the beans without crushing them.
6

Heat

Fill each cup to about 80% and lightly level the tops.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the tops spring back and a skewer comes out clean, then cool briefly in the tray before moving.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Mugwort Red Bean Muffins combine aromatic Korean herbs with sweet bean paste in a fluffy batter.
Finish cue: Fill each cup to about 80% and lightly level the tops.
Avoid this: Avoid overmixing to keep muffins tender.