Blueberry Breakfast

I thought I'd make French Toast Cups this morning and fill them with blueberries and maple yoghurt for breakfast. I thought that's what I'd do.... till I discovered that all the bread in the house had gone mouldy! The unexpectedly humid weather we've been having recently has taken it's toll. So with PlanA so obviously dashed against a mouldy wall, I had to come up with a PlanB. So here it is...

Blueberry Muffins with Maple Yoghurt and Mango:

(makes 12)
Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
1 tbsp sugar
4 eggs
2 - 3 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 punnet blueberries

Yoghurt Dressing:
1 1/2 cups plain yoghurt
1 - 2 tbsp maple syrup (use the good stuff not the maple flavoured syrup... you don't need much)

Mango diced
Spray oil for greasing muffin tin

Method:
Preheat oven to 190C. Grease muffin tin.

Beat eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the flour a little at a time and mix. You should have the consistency of pancake/hotcake mix.

Pour into muffin tins (only fill to 3/4). Add blueberries (I added about 8 to each muffin... the more blueberries, the juicier!). Bake for 20 minutes (or until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out dry).

While the muffins are cooking, peel and dice the mango (I used one R2E2 which was more than enough) and mix the yoghurt and maple syrup.

When muffins are done, allow to rest 5 minutes (this makes it much easier to remove from the muffin tin - remember there are no liners or patty pans).

Arrange muffins in bowls, pour over maple yoghurt and sprinkle with mango. Yum.

Mango Muffins

I've been reading Julia Child's autobiography/biography My Life in France on my newly acquired Kindle and it just confirms for me how much I love her. It's her openness and willingness to throw herself wholeheartedly into her new life with husband Paul in France that I find so enchanting. That, and of course, her absolute fascination with food, particularly French cuisine. I fully intend to wax lyrical about the book and about Julia herself, but not here.

This blog is purely for the fruits of such inspiration. So, duly inspired by Julia Childs and the fact that I bought two crates of mangoes yesterday and am casting around for what to do with them before they spoil, I've come up with a recipe for Mango Muffins.


Mango Muffins
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (65ml) vegetable oil - don't use olive oil, the flavour is too strong
• 1/2 cup (125ml) milk - a little extra if the mix is too dry
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup (110g) white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups (220g) plain flour
• 1 cup (or 1 large) mango, peeled and diced - be adventurous and liberal with the mango
• spray oil

Method

Preheat oven to 190C. Oil a 12 cup muffin tin or use paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine oil, milk and egg. Beat lightly.

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt baking powder and sugar. Toss in diced mango and stir to coat with flour. This is an important step and is often missed out. When you add fresh fruit to cake or muffin mix, it's important to coat it in the dry ingredients/flour mix to stop the fruit from disintegrating when cooking.

Pour in milk mixture and fold together trying not to crush the mango too much.

Spoon mixture into muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the tops bounce back from the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes and remove from the tin.

These are deliciously light, soft and fluffy muffins. They can be stored in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days or frozen...if they last that long!