Tasty muffins galore!

My son had an inset day from school, so I planned a day of activities to keep them entertained.

We started off with some baking sessions which worked a treat. First off, banana muffins which worked well as a breakfast treat and then some rather special blackberry and chocolate chunk muffins.

If you've never made muffins before, they are incredibly easy to make, with very good results. I have to admit that they taste much better on the day of baking but they do last well and freeze well too.

The blackberry recipe actually makes 18 muffins, so we weren't going to get through those in a day (although I was seriously tempted!!). This was also a good way of using up a glut of blackberries picked from the allotment and then frozen. I think the fact that they were semi defrosted when they went into the recipe may have helped the final outcome but I could be kidding myself! This recipe could be adapted to many other berries, I imagine, with similarly tasty results.

Banana muffins (makes 12)

200g (7 oz) plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large bananas, mashed
150g (5 oz) caster sugar
1 egg
75g (2 1/2 oz) butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4 & place 12 paper cases in a muffin tin. Place the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in one bowl. Combine mashed bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter in another bowl. Fold in flour mixture and mix until smooth. Spoon evenly into baking cases. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly tapped.

So simple! I shall be making these again.

Courtesy of allrecipes.co.uk


Blackberry and chocolate chunk muffins (makes 18)

This recipe has been adapted by a recipe from the Goddess's Kitchen blog. It is a classic example of a muffin mix - combining all the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients and finally combining altogether. If you're using frozen fruit, allow it to defrost but not fully so that the fruit holds its shape when cooked.

250g blackberries (fresh or frozen)
30g bar of chocolate (milk, plain or white depending on taste)
2 eggs
240ml milk
120ml vegetable oil
200g caster sugar
375g plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
50g brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6, 400°F)  and put the baking cases into the muffin tray. Place the eggs, oil, sugar and milk in a large mixing bowl and beat together.
Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon and add to the wet mixture, stirring thoroughly. Smash the bar of chocolate into chunks - bigger than chocolate drops. Gently stir the chocolate and blackberries into the mixture. Spoon the mixture (about two thirds full) into the cases. Sprinkle sthe brown sugar over the tops of the muffins. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Delicious!!