I have a confession, I'm not a huge blueberry fan...don't hate me! On their own I just find them a bit woolly and no where near as satisfyingly juicy as other berries. BUT when baked into a crumble, muffin, pancake or even a sauce their gooey juiciness just shines as they 'pop' in your mouth...
So this muffin recipe is from my good old faithful book, Muffins Fast and Fantastic by Susan Reimer. This is THE muffin bible in my opinion, we acquired it from a boot fair years ago and I swear every single recipe we have tried from it always produces perfect muffins. Well risen, soft inside and with just the right amount of sweetness (in my opinion). We aren't fond of super sweet cakes in this house which is why we bake our own rather than buy sugary supermarket versions full of additives.
These muffins are ideal for breakfast as they are packed with fibre from the oats which release energy slowly and the addition of yoghurt as well as milk means a good hit of calcium. Plus the Blueberries are a great source of antioxidants, as well as being tasty!
Anyway enough talking about muffins let's get to the good stuff...oh and see that VERY green looking smoothie? Pop back tomorrow for the recipe, if you've never tried a 'green' smoothie before this one is perfect for first timers...
Ingredients
- 3oz/85g Oats
- 4-5oz/110-140g Brown Sugar (as I mentioned above these aren't overly sweet but you can decide if you want less or more sugar)
- 1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
- 8floz/240ml Low Fat (or 0% fat) Natural Yoghurt
- 3floz/90ml Vegetable/Sunflower Oil
- 3-4floz/90-120ml Milk (add more or less depending on the size of your egg)
- 1 Egg
- 1/2tsp Vanilla Extract
- 7oz/200g Self Raising Flour
- Fresh Blueberries
Simply...
- Preheat the oven to 190-200c/375-400f/Gas 5-6. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cases.
- You will need 2 large mixing bowls and a measuring jug for this recipe.
- In the first bowl weigh in the Oats, Sugar and Bicarb, stir just to break up the brown sugar as this can be clumpy. On top of the oat mix add in the Yoghurt.
- In the jug first measure in the oil, then the milk and lastly the Egg and Vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- Tip the oil, milk, egg, vanilla mix into the bowl with the oat mixture, stir well to combine and put to one side whilst you prepare the last few ingredients. This gives time for the oats to swell and the Bicarb to do it's stuff.
- In the other bowl weigh in the Flour and add in the Blueberries, I have left the measurement for this blank as it really depends on how big your blueberries are and how many you like in your muffins! Remember not to put in too many or the muffins will be mushy, I use roughly half a small punnet.
- Tip all the wet oat mix into the flour and stir well to combine, be sure to get right to the bottom of the bowl to get all the flour! Once no more flour is visible in the mixture STOP stirring.
- Muffin batter is supposed to be lumpy and the more you stir it the tougher your muffins will be!
- Divide between the 12 cases, I like to make sure there's the odd blueberry sitting near the top so it pops and that bright purple bubbles up onto the surface...or just bung the mixture in!
- Pop in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes OR until golden and springy to the touch. Remember they will look darker than normal as they have brown sugar in them.
- Once done remove from the oven and take out to cool on a wire rack.
- If you can leave them to cool they will come away from the paper case easier but there's something about a warm muffin that is just too tempting...
Hope you give these beauties a go, they freeze really well too. Just pop them in a freezer bag when they have completely cooled and to defrost just leave them out overnight, maybe pop them in a microwave to heat them through slightly if you like.
Don't forget to pop back tomorrow for the smoothie recipe!x
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