Thursday, March 06, 2008

A Berry Pleasant Brunch

What does one conjure up for a bevvy of girls of varying ages for a late breakfast? Muffins of course! And for one particular big girl, a gluten-free berry special treat.....

Blueberry Muffins (12)

Dry Ingredients:
5oz caster sugar
9oz self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
grated zest of a lemon

Wet Ingredients:
3oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, beaten
7fl oz milk (200ml)
1tsp lemon essence
150g blueberries

Heat oven to 180C fan/200C/Gas 6. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases (the cuter the better).
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients in a jug, pour into the dry and stir until just combined. Don't over mix else the muffins will be tough.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and firm. Cool on a rack.

Gluten Free Raspberry & Pink Pepper Muffins (also suitable for lactose intolerant) (makes 6)
90g rice flour
40g ground almonds
1tsp xanthum gum
1tsp gluten free baking powder
25g soya margarine
40g caster sugar
grated zest 1/2 lemon
1 egg
125ml milk (goats/rice/soya)
1tsp lemon essence
125g raspberries
1tbsp pink peppercorns

Preheat oven to 180C fan/200C/ Gas 6.
Sift flour, almonds, gum and baking powder into bowl and mix well (this is very important with gluten free flours). Add sugar and stir in lemon zest.
Melt margarine in a pan and leave to cool.
Whisk together egg, milk, lemon essence and cooled butter and pour into dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Fold in raspberries and pink peppercorns (I know it sounds weird, but trust me, it works!).
Spoon into muffin cases. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and cooked through/

So, the little girls were replete, the bigger girls were happy and the token male looked content. A berry acceptable outcome.