Blueberry, Apple and Lemon Muffins Recipe

Cherie says: “Two much-loved classic fruits are elevated with a zing of citrus in this failproof recipe. These sweet muffins are a mainstay of ours at home, ideal for the kids to take to school or demolish after.”

Makes:

6 large muffins

Ingredients

1 tablespoon chia seeds
¼ cup (60 ml/2 fl oz) boiling water
2 eggs
¼ cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) light oil (e.g. sunflower, rice bran, canola, light olive oil) or melted butter
1 cup (250 ml/9 fl oz) milk (or non-dairy alternative)
1⅔ cups (275 g/9¾ oz) gluten-free self-raising flour
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), sifted
½ cup (100 g/3½ oz) brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1¼ cups (200 g/7 oz) fresh or frozen blueberries, plus extra to decorate
¾ cup (150 g/5½ oz) grated apple, plus extra apple slices to decorate
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Tips:

Removing the muffins from their tin to cool completely prevents the muffins sweating in the tin and going soggy.
If your grated apple turns brown, it will make no difference to the end result. If using frozen blueberries, keep them frozen until needed. That way they won’t defrost and turn your batter purple.

Storage

These muffins will keep stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F (170°C/325°F fan-forced) with the oven rack positioned in the middle of the oven.

2. Line a large 6-hole muffin tin with high-sided muffin wraps (or grease the tin with a little butter or oil if not using papers).

3. Mix the chia seeds and boiling water together in a small bowl. Set aside for 2–3 minutes to form a gel.

4. Whisk the eggs, oil and milk together in a separate bowl. Tip in the chia gel and whisk again to break up the gel. Set aside.

5. Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk well to combine.

6. Using a spatula, tip the wet mix into the dry mix and gently fold it through until just mixed. (The mix should still be lumpy.) Fold in the blueberries, apple and lemon zest.

7. Using a ¼ cup spring-loaded ice-cream scoop, take a flat scoop of mixture and empty it into a muffin wrap. Repeat the process so you have two scoops per muffin wrap. (The mix should be about two-thirds of the way up each muffin wrap, leaving enough room for the muffins to rise.)

8. Decorate the top of each muffin with a couple of slices of apple and a few blueberries, transfer to the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, then rotate the tray and continue to bake for a further 10 minutes, or until the muffins are lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of each comes out clean.

9. Remove the muffins from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe from Gluten-Free Baking Made Simple: Properly delicious Wholegreen Bakery recipes for home by Cherie Lyden (£20, Murdoch Books). Photography by Ben Dearnley

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