Boysenberry and Yoghurt Muffins
Over the weekend I went on another foodie trip, this time to Wauchope. Wauchope is a large country town about 25 minutes drive north-west of Lake Cathie in New South Wales, where I live. I went up specifically to check out the Wauchope Farmers' Markets, because I'm interested in having a stall there one day soon. It's a small market but what makes it special is that every stall features something grown or made locally, which really should be at the heart of any good market. I had a lovely wander through the markets and spent about 15 minutes chatting to a gentleman named Drew, who owns and runs Comboyne Orchard.
I love the friendliness of country markets; the stall holders are so welcoming and you can almost always be guaranteed of a hearty chat, local knowledge, free samples and a basket full of tasty fruit and vegetables! This time was no exception, Drew gave me some excellent advice on country markets to check out in my region, and I came away with a fresh punnet of fat juicy boysenberries for just $5.
The boysenberries were destined for a batch of sugar free muffins. A visit to my Granny's house on Friday had also yielded a dozen fresh eggs from my Aunty's hens, lucky me! I needed to use some up though because I won't get through them all in the week before I get another dozen from her! So they were perfect contenders for my muffins too and made the uncooked batter a rich golden hue that you just don't get from supermarket eggs. These muffins will be frozen individually in zip lock bags, ready for my work lunches over the next 3 weeks - and I'll give a few to some friends who helped me move house over the weekend too.
Boysenberry and Yoghurt Muffins
Makes 24 muffins
This muffin batter is quite versatile - you could add any kind of berry, stewed apple or rhubarb and achieve similar results. The batter is fairly thick, so depending on how big your eggs are, if the mixture seems a bit too dry after adding all the ingredients, add an extra egg (lightly beat before mixing in).
Ingredients
2 ½ cups self-raising flour
90g butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup skim milk
160g low-fat plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons no sugar maple syrup
125g boysenberries, cut in half.
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease 24 cupcake tins. Alternatively, line with patty cake liners.
2. Sift flour into a large mixing bowl.
3. Rub butter into flour until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
4. Stir in cinnamon
5. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the eggs, milk, yoghurt, vanilla and maple syrup. Fold gently until just combined.
6. Gently fold in boysenberries.
7. Place two tablespoonfuls of mixture in each cupcake hole, place in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden.
8. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack and allowing to cool completely. Dust with a little extra cinnamon before serving.
