With all my talk of things that have not been good in the garden this year, (and then reeling off a list of the things that have done well and caused envy in several of you – sorry), I can report that blackberries have done really well this year. We have several blackberry brambles in our hedge – which says a lot for my weeding skills.
It has been lovely to watch the girls crouching by the hedge feasting off the goodies. Although, this has occasioned me to stand over them a few times reminding them that they must only eat the berries that look like purple raspberries and not to eat any that are single purple berries (again my lack of weeding skills and the habit of deadly nightshade liking to grow in hedges). Am I coming across as paranoid? If I am, then it’s because I am.
I formed a bad habit of giving the girls something to eat when I meet them from school. This means a trip to the shop next to their school for a mint choc chip ice cream a couple of times a week, or a chocolate bar fetched out of my bag. But I do try to cook them something once a week. I was inspired by Michele’s recent post about bran muffins. The ones I cooked in the end are roughly based on my mini chocolate muffins but are probably healthier. I wondered how they would be received by the girls, as they can be fussy little blighters. I am pleased to report that they really enjoyed them and ate several.
This recipe makes 12 mini muffins (fairy cake size) and would make 6 normal sized muffins.
60g wholemeal flour
60g plain flour
30g oatbran
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
100ml milk
1 egg
25g melted butter
50g muscovado sugar
1 eating apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
50g blackberries (frozen, if that is what you have)
2- 3 tsp of demerara sugar for the topping
Method
Measure the flours, oatbran, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl and mix well.
Put the milk, egg, melted butter, sugar, apple and blackberries in a large bowl and mix these well. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix lightly. Do not overmix. Divide the mixture into 12 fairy cake cases. Sprinkle each one with demerara sugar.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°c, gas mark 4 for 15 -20 minutes until golden and firm on top.
most intriguing. They sound lovely and not too sweet. I will definitely have a go.
I hope you do Marion, they are a taste of autumn.
These muffins look really good. Question for you: What is muscovado and demerara sugar? I’ve never heard of these before.
Well there I go with my assumptions! I thought these would sugars would both be well used in the US. Muscovado is a dark brown sugar with a fine texture. It gives a caramel taste to everything. Demerara is a brown sugar with larger crystals than your ordinary everyday sugar so it doesn’t melt as easily so gives a lovely crunchy top to your muffin. On another matter – guess what? I went out today and found the slugs feasting on the pumpkins!One was almost entirely eaten and in such a short time. Evil, evil slugs.
These muffins sound really, really good.They will be perfect to keep in the freezer for an easy, delicious snack. From now on I am going to call mini muffins fairy cakes–a much more pleasant name for them.
We always called little cakes fairy cakes when I was young, it was the British name for them, then cupcakes and muffins came along and everything changed. I still insist on calling them fairy cakes in this house though. I agree, a much nicer name. These cakes exist because I really liked the look of your bran muffins. I will try them when I buy a pack of All Bran.
having blackberries is nothing to be ashamed of, if I had a garden I would have a few blackberry spots too. Love these muffins, such a perfect and classic flavour combo. This makes me want to head into the kitchen right now.
It’s not so much the planning of the blackberry spots as the lack of time to tackle the brambles. But hey, this has had an unexpected bonus and I could pretend I left the brambles on purpose.
These sound great. Sadly, blackberries are over in France, and they weren’t much cop when they were here: much too sweet when compared with our lovely tart-yet-sweet fruits. I’ll think of a substitute though (frozen berries I’m thinking). Luckily, I bring muscovado sugar over from England. That too is virtually unknown here: but goodness, don’t the French love it when they try it?
Well, do you know this is really surprising me. There I was in a little world of my own convinced that everyone had a bag of muscovado in their cupboard. I love the idea of you in a car filled with bags of sugar.
I’m glad that your blackberries did so well–we must have some successes, especially when there are evil slugs feasting in the garden. I really like the idea of combining them with apples in a dessert–ideal for fall.
Thank you Nancy, what with the woodlice and the slugs it’s a wonder anything survived.
Those muffins look very tasty Kath, especially with that lovely purple juice desperate to get out. And you have a couple of very lucky girls.
Thanks Choc x
A very lovely & tasty recipe indeed! I have made your recipe & my hubby & I loved it so much! A huge thank you! xxx
Oh Sophie I am pleased. Did you use gluten free ingredients? I would be interested in what you used. Best wishes Kath
Some of my happiest childhood memories are of brambling along the lanes near our village, of course eating as much as we gathered. These muffins look so good.
Thank you Debora, I am really enjoying your posts featuring lovely things from your book. It’s on my Christmas list.
Mmmm – so much nicer than the boring old Blackberry and Apple crumble I usually make! Used to go blackberry picking down our lane with the kids and once reached too high and fell forwards into 6ft high nettles which stung my whole legs through jeans! Had to limp home. Always think of that when I think of blackberries.
I have razor sharp memories of blackberry picking and of walking home with little plastic boxes of berries, scratched, strained fingers and arms. I also remember my mum leaping over the hedge to pull something from my Sister’s – who was in the push chair but had managed to pull something from the hedge – mouth. These muffins look terrific – lucky girls
A terrifying moment for your poor Mum. Blackberry picking has many childhood memories for me, not least the time when my older sisters thought my mum was badly injured and started to ring for an ambulance only to find that the tears were tears of laughter and the ‘blood’ was the blackberry juice she was covered in after falling over with the harvest and squishing every last berry underneath herself.
Hey not too sweet and healthy at the same time, must try them!
Thank you, I hope you do try them, they are good with the splodges of fruit.