Blueberry Muffins

These blueberry muffins use readily available ingredients. The steps and tips below cover mixing, baking and storing them.

Ingredients

250 g wheat flour
100 g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
200 ml milk
80 ml oil
150 g blueberries
A pinch of salt

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in one bowl. In another, whisk the eggs with the milk and oil.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon just until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.
Divide the batter among the cases, filling each about three-quarters full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. After a few minutes, transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.

Time and portions

About 40 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Tips and variations

Avoid overmixing, which can make the muffins dense.
Use fresh or frozen fruit. Frozen blueberries do not need thawing.
Replace the blueberries with chopped chocolate or pieces of apple.

Mixing the batter

Use one bowl for the dry ingredients and another for the wet. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt so the baking powder is evenly distributed. Whisk the eggs, milk and oil in the second bowl. A whisk and spoon are enough; there is no need for a mixer.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir only until no dry flour remains. A few small lumps are fine. Long, vigorous mixing can produce dense muffins. Add the fruit last, folding gently with a spoon so it does not get crushed. If using frozen blueberries, add them without thawing and work quickly to keep the juice from colouring the whole batter.

Filling the cases and baking

Place the cases in the muffin tin, which will support the paper as the batter rises. Divide the mixture evenly using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Leave space at the top of each case: overfilled cases can overflow and join together on the tin.

You can reserve a few blueberries for the tops. Do not push them in deeply if you want them to remain visible. Put the tin in the preheated oven. Towards the end of the baking time, insert a skewer into the centre of one of the larger muffins, avoiding the fruit. If raw batter sticks to it, bake a little longer and test again. Blueberry juice on the skewer does not mean the batter is raw.

After baking, wait a few minutes until the muffins can be safely removed from the tin. Set them on a rack so steam does not collect underneath. Do not put warm muffins in a closed container: condensation will dampen the tops and paper cases.

Variations and storage

Instead of blueberries, use small pieces of apple or chopped chocolate. Cut the apple fairly small so it has time to soften. Do not greatly increase the quantity of very juicy fruit, as excess juice can make the centres difficult to cook through. Fold in each addition briefly, just as you would the blueberries.

Store cooled muffins in a closed container. Serve plain or with a little icing sugar. To take them with you, let them cool completely and arrange them in a container so they do not squash each other. The paper cases make them easy to portion.

If the cases cling tightly after cooling, wait a little longer and peel the paper slowly away from the sides. Arrange muffins for serving in a single layer so their soft tops are not crushed.