Blueberry Lemon Muffins

So this weekend was a bit of a bust. My little Wee Man came down with a 24 hour sickness bug on Friday and, generous little soul that he is, shared it with me and my husband. He was much better by Saturday but we were absolute write offs and Mr R is still a little off today. We had planned to go to a pop up bagel shop on Saturday from @flos_appetizing, which I am really sad to have missed out on, one strange thing I've found here is that you can't find bagels here in the supermarkets, so this was a chance to get a really good bagel and I had been dreaming of their kolache (something akin to a doughnut with sweet cheese and jam on top) after seeing a picture of them on Instagram. I guess I will have to keep my fingers crossed for another pop up soon and a better weekend this week!

If you have been following me on Instagram you will have seen I've taken part in two group collaborations with some really talented bakers. You can check out the hashtags #naturecollab2019 and #patterncollab2019 to see what the other bakers and I created. There are some absolutely stunning entries. It's been so lovely to take part in these and to find community in a group of people who are based all over the globe. The saddest part is not being able to get to taste what every one else has made!
I went for a coconut cake that I dubbed my 'White Swan' for the nature collaboration and a coffee and cardamom & lemon Battenburg for the pattern collaboration. There is still one more collaboration I am involved in to come in June which I am super excited about. I've made a trial run of the cake once before and its really pushed my boundaries and played with things I never thought I would make in my kitchen at home! The theme is music and I have taken inspiration from Pink Floyd and thats all the clues I'm going to tease you with. You will just have to wait to see what it is!!

So let's get to these muffins!

Blueberry muffins are a coffee shop staple but quite often, depending on where you buy them, they are the over processed, mass produced cake with lots of sugar and a disappointing amount of fruit. These muffins have the look of the commercial muffins but they are wonderfully moist, contain less sugar and are loaded with fruit.
Blueberry and lemon is a perfect flavour combination. The zesty lemon compliments the sweet perfumey blueberries and the smell of the muffins once cooked is wonderful. These muffins are also topped with a crumble like topping that gives you a contrasting texture to the soft main body but it doesn't hinder them from forming that iconic mushroomed top that you want from a muffin!

The original recipe I adapted these from used sour cream but I swapped it out for 10% fat Greek Yogurt. I don't think this means you can really call these muffins a healthy option but, compared to the original recipe, they are lower in fat and contain more protein. So, in my opinion a lighter option, especially when you factor in that a lot of other muffin recipes out there call for almost double the amount of sugar and that's not counting the ones that suggest adding blueberry jam to the mix or use an extra 2 table spoons of sugar on top! Although blueberries aren't strictly in season yet here in Europe I do recommend using fresh blueberries rather than frozen. The frozen berries contain too much moisture that will make the muffins soggy and if you defrost them before putting them in the mix you'll end up with purple muffins.

So with the greek yogurt, low sugar and being loaded with fruit these muffins sound like a breakfast treat! When you make these muffins they will definitely earn you extra brownie points at home or at work to go alongside everyones morning coffee.

BLUEBERRY LEMON MUFFINS
Makes 12

Ingredients

Muffins
250g Plain Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
Pinch Salt
115g Caster Sugar
115g Unsalted Butter, melted
2 Eggs, beaten
Zest of 2 Lemons
2 tbsp Lemon Juice (approx ½ lemon)
140g Greek Yogurt
200g Fresh Blueberries

Topping
55g Plain Flour
Pinch Salt
35g Unsalted Butter
35g Caster Sugar

• Start by making the crumble topping. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Place in the fridge to chill.
• Preheat the oven to 180°c and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
• Place all your dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer and give them a quick mix with the paddle beater to make sure they are evenly mixed.
• For the wet ingredients. Melt the butter (I pop mine in the microwave and give it 30 second blasts until it is almost completely liquid and then stir any remaining lumps through) and leave to cool whilst you prepare the rest of the wet ingredients.
• In a large jug combine the yogurt, lemon zest and beaten eggs. Pour in the cooled melted butter and lastly the lemon juice. Mix well and then pour into the dry ingredients and throw in the blueberries.
• Mix on a medium speed until everything is just combined. Really try not to over mix this batter as if you do the resulting muffins will be tough and not light and fluffy.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cases and top each muffin with around a teaspoon of the crumble topping (don't feel obliged to use it all you can keep any left over in the fridge and use it for another batch of these muffins or use it for a crumble) and bake for around 17 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• Remove the muffins from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
• These muffins will keep well in an airtight box for 3-4 days

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