I used to love blueberry muffins when I was a child. My mum would buy them as a treat from the supermarket, and even though I was a chocolate addict, I much preferred my muffins to be dotted with juicy blueberries than chocolate chips. And they are one treat that I never got round to recreating after I had to cut out wheat and dairy. So when I felt like baking this weekend, and spotted a little punnet of blueberries in the fridge, it had to happen!
This recipe is actually adapted from a Mary Berry recipe and is a bit different to the soft muffins I once knew. These have a hardened top and a pudding like inside (think pub dessert) but are lovely in their own way. Plus they have quite a low fat and sugar content compared to a standard muffin. I also added dried cranberries to mine as I had some left over from another recipe and I thought my blueberries wouldn’t go far enough. It was nice the have the combination of juicy exploded blueberries, and chewy dried cranberries. I love mixing up recipes and adding what I have. Just be aware that adding too much fresh fruit will decrease the life span of your treats and can make them a bit soggy. Blueberries aren’t too bad but I find adding raspberries means you have to pretty much eat on the day. Not that I would complain but sometimes you want to pop one in your lunch box the next day to get you through the day at work.
Recipe
10 oz Plain Gluten Free Flour (Rice Flour would work fine)
3 oz Caster Sugar
3 oz Melted and Cooled Dairy Free Butter Alternative
2 tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
150g Fresh Blueberries
50g Dried Cranberries
8 floz Unsweetened Soya Milk
How it’s done
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl making sure they are well mixed. In another bowl, beat the eggs and add in all the wet ingredients until well incorporated. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry making sure everything is wet but allowing the odd lump and bump and not over mixing. Then fold in the berries.
Line a muffin tin with paper cases and fill them nearly to the top. These do rise but not a great deal, plus you want a nice generous serving! Bake these in a 160 degree fan oven or 180 degree if your oven isn’t fan assisted, and bake for about 2o minutes, or until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Enjoy warm or cold. These last a few days in an airtight container and are delicous warmed up and smothered in vanilla custard!
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