Use this basic recipe and vary the fruit, depending on what is available. Apples, blueberries, pears or blackberries all work well. Add a handful of dark chocolate chips for a special treat, or raisins for extra sweetness.
Ingredients
- 125g plain flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 150g low-fat natural yogurt
- 100g light muscovado sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 125g fresh or frozen (and thawed) raspberries
- 1 tbsp raw or demerara sugar
Method
- 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/ fan160C/gas 4. Line a 12-hole bun tray with 12 paper fairy cake cases.
- 2. Sieve the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into a bowl, then make a well in the centre. Put the yogurt, sugar, egg, sunflower oil and vanilla extract into a jug and whisk with a fork, then pour into the well in the flour. Add the raspberries and briefly fold in – don’t overmix!
- 3. Spoon a generous tablespoonful of the muffin mixture into each paper case. Sprinkle each muffin with the raw or demerara sugar. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until risen and springy. Kids ask an adult to take them out of the oven. To check if they’re cooked, push a cocktail stick into the centre of a muffin – they’re ready if the cocktail stick comes out clean. If they’re not ready, ask an adult to put them back in the oven for a little longer. Cool in the tin on a wire rack.
Chef's tip
Once the muffins have cooled, you can wrap them in cling film and pop them in the freezer – they’ll take about 30 minutes to defrost.