Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins

I need muffins.
It's been a long day.

So on emptying the contents of my fridge i found some blueberries just dying to leap into a muffin batter, so I had to bake them, it would have been wrong not to! 

In a large bowl mix together:
375g self-raising flour
220g caster sugar

In a small bowl mix together:
90g melted butter
half cup sour cream
quarter cup milk
2 large eggs
lemon essense (I didn't have a fresh lemon today!)

Mix the wet into the dry
Stir in:
1 cup fresh blueberries

In seperate small bowl mix together:
half tub cream cheese  
1 tablespoon caster sugar

Put a dollop of mixture to cover the base of 12 muffin cases
Dollop a bit of the cream cheese mixture on top
then top off with the remaining muffin batter

Bake on Gas 5/6 for 20-25 minutes
Leave in the tin for a few minutes before removing onto a wire rack to cool 

Blueberry and Lemon Muffins...

...plus a few other things, like nutmeg and cherries and other berries!

It looks like half term is ending with a flurry of visitors, so I've been up early today to get the first batch of muffins in the oven. I have three different groups of people coming for three different meals over the next three days, then I'm going back to work for a rest! The kitchen has been a hive of activity since first thing - oh and did I mention, I've also made a pair of curtains before breakfast today too - just call me superwoman :)

In a large bowl mix together:
375g self-raising flour
220g caster sugar
grated rind of one lemon
teaspoon of nutmeg

In a small bowl mix together:
90g melted salted butter
half cup sour cream
quarter cup lemon juice (or milk if you don't have enough)
2 large eggs

Mix the wet into the dry then stir in:
1 cup fresh blueberries (and if like me you don't quite have enough, then make up with a mixture of other dried berries and cherries)

Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cases
Bake on Gas 5/6 for 20-25 minutes
Leave in the tin for a few minutes before moving onto a wire rack to cool

Then start making the second pair of curtains!!!

Blueberry and Lemon Muffins

Such sumptuous summery sensations (check me out with all that alliteration, and it isn't even term time!). Juicy blueberries make these muffins just the thing to share over the holidays. Which is exactly what I'll be doing with these ones. 

In a large bowl mix together:

375g self-raising flour

220g caster sugar

grated rind of 1 lemon

In a small bowl mix together:

90g melted butter

half cup sour cream

quarter cup fresh lemon juice

2 large eggs

Mix the wet into the dry

Then stir in

1 cup fresh blueberries

Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cases

Bake on Gas 5/6 for 20-25 minutes
Leave in the tin for a few minutes before moving onto a wire rack to cool

Currant and Lemon Muffins

It's Katie's moving day today - unfortunately one of her horses trod on her foot on Sunday, and so she is somewhat incapacitated!  
So it's all hands to the deck and a bunch of us are off to clean the new place and move her stuff in - so naturally we will need muffins for the troops! 

I fancied some fruit content to convince myself they are slightly healthy, and today i chose currants. I threw in some nutmeg and lemon zest and hopefully they will keep us going as the sun goes down and the boxes arrive.

In a large bowl mix together:
375g self-raising flour
220g caster sugar
a heavy sprinkling of nutmeg
the zest of 1 lemon

In a small bowl mix together:
90g melted butter
half cup sour cream
quarter cup lemon juice (made up with milk if there's not enough)
2 large eggs

Mix the wet into the dry, then stir in:
1 cup dried fruit (I chose currants today)

Divide between 12 muffin cases
Bake on Gas 5/6 for 20-25 minutes
Leave in the tin for a few minutes before removing onto a wire rack to cool

Serve with friends :)

Lemon and White Chocolate Pinwheels

I fancied making something a little different for Christmas, I've done Pinwheels before using mincemeat, but not everyone is a fan, so I dug out some lemon curd and white chocolate chunks and they taste delicious. 

They are quick to make, and for those purists amongst you, you could even make your own pastry first! I used the ready-roll as it's quickest.

Roll out some ready-roll pastry
Spread with lemon curd
Sprinkle with lemon zest 
Sprinkle with white chocolate chunks

Roll up into a long sausage, like a Swiss Roll
Slice into 1 cm chunks
Lay on a baking tray, spaced well apart

Bake on Gas 4/5 for 25-30 minutes

Carefully move them onto a wire rack to cool, using a palette knife

Finally dust with icing sugar for that fresh snow effect!!

Lemon & White Chocolate, Cheesecake Muffins

These are some of my favourites - you can't go wrong with Lemon, and as Cheesecake is my all time favourite pudding, then it seems only right to mix the two into one incredible muffin to share with my lovely friends coming all the way from the Netherlands for tea later.

In a large bowl mix together:
375g self-raising flour
220g caster sugar
grated rind of 2 lemons 

In a small bowl mix together:
90g melted butter
half cup sour cream
quarter cup lemon juice
2 large eggs

Mix the wet into the dry then stir in:
half cup lemon curd
100g white chocolate chunks

For the cheesecake filling -
Mix together half tub cream cheese 
1 tablespoon caster sugar

Put a dollop of the muffin batter in the base of 12 muffin cases
Put a teaspoon of cheesecake mixture on top
Cover over the cheesecake with the remaining muffin batter making sure none of it is exposed

Sprinkle the top with demerera sugar

Bake on Gas 5/6 for 20-25 minutes
Leave in the tin for a few minutes before removing onto a wire rack to cool

Blueberry Muffins

I should have made these muffins yesterday, for these guys who helped out all day at a garden work party at the Father's Heart Ranch,(check out their website for the wonderful work they do) http://www.fathersheartyouthranch.co.uk/, but I ran out of time. 

However, I managed to fit the baking in between things today, so that most of the gardeners still got to sample them. Those that didn't will just have to come back and garden some more next time the meadow needs mowing and I'll bake again.

In a large bowl mix together:
375g self-raising flour
220g caster sugar
grated peel of 1 lemon

In a small bowl mix together:
90g melted butter
half cup sour cream
quarter cup lemon juice
2 large eggs

Mix the wet into the dry
Stir in 1 cup fresh blueberries

Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cases
Bake on Gas 5/6 for 20-25 minutes
Leave in the tin for a few minutes before removing onto a wire rack to cool

Lemon Curd and White Chocolate Muffins

Well the Murder Mystery night had to be cancelled due to the persistant snowy weather, school got closed too :) But all of this excitement meant I ended up being left with dozens of muffins and only me to eat them - not the best idea. But thankfully muffins are freezable.
I always put them into a ziplock bag or sealed plastic container once they are cold, and then pop them in the freezer. defrost them individually if you like, and for that just cooked taste - bung them in the microwave for 12 seconds and they'll taste like they just came out of the oven.

Here's a picture of the snowy walk I went on round the village, the canal was mostly frozen except for where the barges moor.

 

In case I haven't written this recipe out before this is what I did for the lemony beauties -

In a large bowl mix together:

375g self-raising flour

220g caster sugar

grated rind of 1 lemon

In a small bowl mix together:

90g melted butter

half cup sour cream

quarter cup lemon juice

2 large eggs

Mix the wet into the dry
Then stir in:

half cup lemon curd

100g white chocolate chunks

Divide between 12 muffin cases
Bake Gas 5/6, for 20-25 minutes
Leave in the tin for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool

Sticky Lemon and White Chocolate Muffins

To go with the last recipe for our Christmas party this weekend I made these little lumps of yumminess!

In a large bowl mix together:

375g self-raising flour

220g caster sugar

the shaved peelings of one lemon

In a small bowl mix together:

90g melted butter

half cup sour cream

juice of one lemon made up to a quarter cup measure with milk

2 large eggs

Mix the wet into the dry

Then stir in:

quarter cup lemon curd

100g white chocolate chips

Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cases and Bake on Gas 5/6 for 20-25 minutes

Leave in the tin for a few minutes until removing onto a wire rack to cool.

For that bit of extra lemony stickiness ~

Mix together icing sugar and lemon juice to make a sticky pouring sauce - drizzle over the top of the muffins once they are on the wire rack

Raspberry and Lemon Muffins

Tonight is party night - Claire's Hen Party, and to honour the occassion she is being thrown a 'Pudding and Pants' party. We all take the bride-to-be a gift of a pair of pants, and a pudding to share with everyone else. I can't disclose what sort of pants I am going to suprise the bride with later, but I can say what combo of muffins I've been baking to take with me ~ Lemon and Raspberries.

In a large bowl mix together:

375g self raising flour

220g caster sugar

grated rind of one lemon

In a small bowl mix together:

90g melted butter

half cup sour cream

juice of one lemon, made up to a quarter cup with milk if necessary

2 large eggs

Mix the wet into the dry

Stir in 125g fresh raspberries (one cup)

Put a dollop in the bottom of 12 muffin cases

Drop half a level teaspoon lemon curd on top

Cover with the remaining mixture

Bake Gas 5/6 

For 20-25 mins

Leave in the tin for a few minutes before removing onto a wire rack to cool

Lemon and White Chocolate Muffins

As us our custom around here we cook meals for our friends who have just had a baby, to make their first few weeks a little less stressful. Today is my day, so naturally they had to have muffins for pudding. My choice was lemon and white chocolate - thought that would go with the nacho chilli I also made. Can't wait to try one once I've written out the recipe here.

In a large bowl mix together:

375g self raising flour

220g caster sugar

grated peel of one lemon

In a small bowl mix together:

90g melted butter

150g sour cream

quarter cup of the juice of the above lemon, topped up with milk

2 large eggs

Mix the wet into the dry ingredients
Then stir in:
half a cup of lemon curd (I used slightly less, as the jar ran out today!!)
100g white chocolate chunks 

I sprinkled white glitter sugar on the top too, if you fancy it

Divide into 12 muffin cases
Bake on Gas 5/6 for 20-25mins
Leave in the tin for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool

Sticky Lemon Drizzle Muffins

If you want an ooba sticky muffin then this is for you!

In a large bowl mix together
375g self raising flour
220g castor sugar
the rind of one lemon

In a small bowl melt 90g salted butter
add three quarters of a cup of sour cream
2 large free range eggs

Add the wet ingredients to the dry
and mix together
add one cup of lemon curd
mix in well

In a seperate bowl mix together
half a tub of cream cheese
with one tablespoon of castor sugar

Put a small spoon of muffin batter into the base of 12 muffin cases
add a teaspoon of the cream cheese filling
cover with the remaining batter

Bake on gas 5/6 for 20-25 mins
leave in the tin for a few minutes before removing to cool on a wire tray

Mix together the juice of one lemon
with icing sugar to make a sticky paste
Spoon the 'Drizzle' over the cooked muffins
This will make a great sticky mess, but will taste delicious

Lemon and Poppy seed Muffins

In an attempt to cure Jack's cold I figured he'd need extra vitamin C, so instead of his requested Cherry Bakewell Muffins - which would match his nose (my recipe for these is further down the blog), I decided to hit him with a lemony creation.

Here's the recipe ~
380g self raising flour
220g castor sugar
90g melted butter
rind and juice of one lemon
half a cup of sour cream
quarter cup of milk
2 large eggs
210g lemon curd
poppy seeds

mix the dry ingredients together,
mix the wet ingredients together
put the wet into the dry, mix together, add the lemon curd last, then put the mixture into muffin cases and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
bake on gas 5 for 25 mins.


They oozed over the top of bit, so maybe the mix was a bit wet, so next time i'll cut out the milk and see if they are a bit firmer.

Which would you prefer to cure your cold?

Dragonfruit and ?

... lemon!
That's what I came up with when I searched the kitchen. I've never tried dragonfruit before, but it's a bit like a cross between kiwi and pear. It looks ooba pretty being pink outside and speckledy inside. You can't eat the skin, but the flesh choppes up easily like melon.
This is the recipe -

375g self raising flour
220g castor sugar
the rind of one lemon
the juice of one lemon
90g melted butter
half a cup of sour cream
quarter of a cup of milk
2 large eggs
the flesh of a whole dragonfruit diced into small cubes
mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

mix the wet ingredients together,

then add the wet to the dry.
stir together, and add the dragonfruit.
bake on gas 5 or 6 for 20-25 minutes

leave to cool, then invite your friends over :)