Magical Muffins

After the failed flan, I needed a pick me up. The fiance had picked up some blueberries while we were shopping, so I figured muffins would be the best. Now, I know muffins (I have been making them for years, and have written a few of my own recipes for them), and this time I tweaked the recipe first. The end result is a basic recipe, one where any fresh fruit, nuts, or chocolate could be added at the end. Probably even dried fruit would be good, like adding dried, sweetened cranberries and orange zest. So, here we go...

Basic Muffins

1 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (65g)white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons (10g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
3/4 cup (180ml) milk
1 tsp (5ml) vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup (75g) butter, melted
1 cup fresh fruit, or chocolate chips
(if using fresh fruit, dust it with a little flour to keep it from sinking in the batter) 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add milk, egg, and butter; mix until ingredients are moistened, do not overbeat.
4. Stir in fresh fruit. Spoon batter into twelve greased muffin cups.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Streusel Topping
(Best used on fruit muffins)

1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
2 tablespoons (15g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (1g) ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon (15g) butter or margarine

1. Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon.
2. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon over each muffin.

The minute I smelled the batter I knew they were going to be good, and oh my was I right. They were light, airy and not too sweet. The berries burst in your mouth and the streusel was nice and crunchy. I had one while they were still warm, and then another for breakfast. I will have to admit, they got better over time. (Usually, I prefer baked goods fresh out of the oven).

The pièce de résistance came the next day. For a while, I had been wanting to take something to one of our neighbors down the street. She is a friend of the family, the mother of one of my fiances friends. Twice now she has had us over for tea, and I really wanted to return the favor. So, I suggested we take a few muffins over, but my fiance thought we should have her and her husband over for dinner instead. It was a wonderful evening, as I really do enjoy their company. Best of all, she loved (this really isn't a strong enough word) the muffins, and made me promise to teach her how to make them. I was very happy, and will be using this recipe again and again.