Blackberry, Apple & Hazelnut Muffins

It's such a wonderful time of the year when the hedgerows start sharing their fruits,  There's been so many blackberries around this year and they're so early too.  I've also had lots of windfall apples at my allotment. We've been having porridge with stewed apple & blackberries for breakfast all week....I just wanted to do something a little different so what better way than to turn some of the glut into Blackberry & Apple Muffins....I added a little crunch with some chopped hazelnuts and topped the muffins with a little blackberry icing drizzle and dried apple pieces.

This recipe will make 12 muffins

If you prefer to measure instead of weighing your ingredients here's a handy Conversion Chart

Ingredients

For the apple crisps 

1 large tart eating apple, cored & thinly sliced into rings....place this on an oven tray covered with baking parchment, sprinkle over a little caster sugar and a dusting of cinnamon and bake at the ovens lowest setting until dry.....around 2/3 hours

for the muffins.

1 cup of grated tart apple

½ cup of blackberry puree ( I cooked my blackberries and passed through a sieve pushing all the fruit through besides the pips)

2 oz chopped hazelnuts

9oz/280gms Self Raising Flour

6oz/175gms caster sugar

½tsp baking powder

½tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp cinnamon

12floz/300ml buttermilk or plain yoghurt 

3oz/90gms melted butter

1 large egg beaten

3 tbsps icing sugar & a tiny amount of the blackberry puree to make a runny drizzle

Set the oven to 190c/380f/gas 5

Place 12 paper muffin cases in a 12 hole muffin tray

In a large bowl mix together the sieved Flour, caster sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda

In a jug mix together the buttermilk/yoghurt, the melted butter and the beaten egg

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, add the grated apple & hazelnuts and gently mix through...do not overwork it as it results in an airless muffin

Now add the blackberry puree, just  swirl it in the batter slightly to give a mottled effect.

Carefully place heaped tbsps into the paper cases, tap the tray on a hard surface to make the batter settle.

Bake for around 25-30 minutes

The muffins should be golden brown and springy to the touch

While still warm...but not hot drizzle over a little of the icing

Then place an apple crisp on top and serve.

These stay lovely and moist for a couple of days and they freeze really well....just use them up within a month or so.

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