Blueberry muffins

I confess that I have a love/hate relationship with muffins. A good muffin is a beautiful thing and I have eaten some spectacular ones. But a bad muffin is pretty disappointing. Case in point – most cafes serve muffins – but they are usually enormous, either dry or stodgy, and the flavourings, be they blueberries, apples or bananas, as stingy as if a small amount had been tossed into the mixture from a great distance with most landing on the kitchen floor. A good muffin however, is full of fruity goodness, not too large, not too sweet and has a texture that is slightly crumbly and moist at the same time. I think this recipe delivers a pretty delicious muffin experience. We are enjoying a wonderful season of blueberries this year and fresh blueberries have been plentiful and inexpensive. They are the star of these muffins, which are also made lighter in texture by the use of buttermilk. Enjoy for breakfast, morning tea, or whenever the mood strikes.

Makes 12 muffins

2 1/4 cups self-raising flour
3/4 cup raw caster sugar
120g butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
125g blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 180 C. In a large bowl combine the flour, lemon zest, sugar and blueberries. In a small bowl mix together the melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla and then, using a fork, add the eggs and mix until well combined. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix quickly with a fork until just combined. Do not overmix. The end result should look a little lumpy – like a sponge cake you are ashamed of. Spoon the mixture into a 12 hole muffin tin. You can use paper cases to line the tin, or grease lightly with a little butter, whatever suits your style. Bake in the oven for around 20 – 25 minutes, until the muffins are well risen and lightly golden. They are delicious straight from the oven, but also very good warm.