The Blueberry Muffin

The blueberry muffin is thought of by my family as a classically American treat - whenever we travel to the USA my Dad always eagerly anticipates fantastic breakfasts finished off with a moist and fruit-heavy muffin. Along with treacle tart and coffee cake, muffins rank amongst his favourite ever bakes. In our recent trip to America, the muffin adapted to become our perfect afternoon tea treat. Bought from a Wal-Mart and carefully packed and brought to the beach the huge, blue juice stained delacies filled the afternoon gap perfectly  Once we returned to rainy England, we weren't quite ready to give up the muffin habit and so to the kitchen I was headed...

After a couple of baking flops recently, I wanted to be certain that these muffins would be a success. I have certain authors in the cookery book cupboard who I head to when looking for a reliable recipe for a true classic. These authors also tend to be the ones who have several books on the shelf, all with a particular favourite well-thumbed page. Examples include Rachel Allen, Delia Smith, Mary Berry, Nigel Slater and, in the case of todays recipe, Nigella Lawson. Just one look at the chocolate brownie page in our Nigella book FEAST shows the many many times it has been used (and the many many times brownies have been enjoyed in my household). Nigella's book How To Be A Domestic Goddess is full of delicious and irresisitible and so turning to it today I was certain there would be a decent blueberry muffin - and I was not to be disappointed.

Whilst perhaps not quite as large as their Wal-Mart relations, these muffins were good. Completely loaded with blueberry goodness (the more fruit involved = the more muffins acceptable to eat at one sitting!) and with crackly demerara sugared tops - I was happy. And with a recipe yielding 12 best-eaten-on-the-day-made muffins - I was settled!

Blueberry Muffins from How To Be A Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson
Ingredients: 75g unsalted butter, melted
200g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
75g caster sugar
pinch salt
200 ml buttermilk — (or 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 100 ml semi-skimmed milk, or 200ml milk and 1tsp vinegar)
1 large egg
200g blueberries ( I used 250g, which made them extra blueberry-y!)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200'C. Melt the butter, and set it aside to cool.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl
3. In a measuring cup beat together the buttermilk, (or yogurt and milk), egg, and melted butter
4. Using a wooded spoon and a light hand, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix gently to combine
5. Don’t worry about lumps; the important thing with muffins is that the mixture isn’t overworked
6. Fold in the blueberries, again keeping mixing to a minimum
7. Spoon into the muffin tin & bake for 20 minutes, by which time the muffins should be risen and golden and firm on top