An ode to Nigella - beginning with Blueberry muffins

 

Nigella’s Blueberry Muffins

This recipe and the few to follow are all a result of my Sunday afternoon spent non-stop baking, and of course, inspired by the one and only Nigella Lawson.

I don’t care what people say, she is still my idol, and she is still the original domestic goddess in my eyes.

I love when I get on a baking role, and these muffins were the first off the mark this past Sunday afternoon. I had spent much of the weekend looking through all of my Nigella cookbooks after a big room clean out (yes, I have all of her books) and this recipe caught my eye.

These muffins actually aren’t terribly sweet, which is good! They taste just that little bit healthier…

I am a muffin rookie (cupcakes are my thing, and there is a big difference between the two!) and I was able to make these with ease, so you should find these a breeze! 

You can find this recipe in Nigella's most faaaaabulous book for the baking mad (and one of her oldest) "How to be a Domestic Goddess - Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking"  - you can purchase the book here (I HIGHLY recommend) - https://www.google.com.au/search?q=how+to+be+a+domestic+goddess&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&gfe_rd=ctrl&ei=W5GdUt_VEsyN8QfM24DICQ&gws_rd=cr#channel=fflb&q=how+to+be+a+domestic+goddess&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=shop

Ingedients

• 75g unsalted butter
• 200g plain flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 75g caster sugar
• pinch of salt (I used Himalayan pink salt)
• 200ml buttermilk (alternatively, use 100g natural yogurt and 100ml skim milk)
• 1 egg
• 200g blueberries

Method

1. Melt the butter, and set it aside to cool a little. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, and in a measuring jug beat together the buttermilk (or yogurt and skim milk), egg and melted butter.
3. Using a wooden spoon and a light hand, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix gently to combine. Don’t worry about the lumps: the important thing with muffins is that the mixture isn’t over worked, as this will result in a tough and dry muffin (yuk). This step definitely tests my heavy-handedness…
4. Fold in the blueberries, again keeping the mixing to an absolute minimum.
5. Spoon into the muffin cases, best way to ensure they are all the same is by using an ice cream scoop, but any spoonful will do.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, until the muffins are risen and golden, and firm to the touch.
7. EAT. Warm, cold, with butter (you don’t really need it though) – they are fabulous warm because the hot fresh blueberries creates its own jam.