More hygge recipes to get you through the dark, cold nights: bakewell muffins

We mentioned in a previous post that hygge is a Danish word meaning roughly to enjoy the pleasures life brings and be content. So here’s another recipe to help you bring on the hygge this winter.

Today I’m taking a day off from studies to have a bit of a play about with some recipes, one of which is bakewell tart in a muffin. Hey what can I say, I like a challenge.

We’ve made a batch of these to take with us to our annual winterfest gathering at Mole End tonight.

One of my true pleasures in life is a pot of tea and a slice of GOOD bakewell tart. There’s nothing like it. I experience extreme disappointment at poor bakewells but we won’t go there.

I learned to make muffins (properly) this year thanks to the most awesome book by a colleague’s wife, it’s available on amazon and I totally recommend it.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0952885832/

So for 12 of my fabulous bakewell muffins (BIG coffee shop style ones) you will need.

• 500g plain flour
• 4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 eggs
• 250g of sugar
• 250ml plain yogurt
• 350ml of milk
• 180ml of vegetable oil
• 4 teaspoons of almond extract
• 200g of ground almonds
• Raspberry jam

How to

Step 1.

First preheat your oven to 170 C for a fan over or 190 C for a conventional oven & then prepare your muffin tin – if you aren’t using muffin wrappers, oil your tin.

Step 2.

In a bowl, combine all your wet ingredients and sugar and then give it really good mix to break up the egg and combine the egg and oil.

Step 3. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a really big bowl. Add your ground almonds and give it a stir to mix through.

Step 4. Pour your wet into your dry, give it enough of a mix to combine but don’t over mix, it will be lumpy but that’s ok.

How to know it’s right, it should drop thickly and easily off a spoon, you can add more milk if it’s too thick and a little flour if it’s too runny.

Step 5. Quarter fill your muffin cups with batter and then add a teaspoon of raspberry jam to the centre.

Try to keep it central to stop it oozing out the side of your muffin.

Add more batter to cover the jam (the muffin cup should be NO MORE than three-quarters full. Do not over fill as they will rise heaps in the oven.

At this stage if you want, you can sprinkle flaked almonds on top to make them look pretty.

Step 6. As quickly as you can, get them in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 mins, until they are golden brown on top.

Step 7. Let them cool (as that jam will be like lava) and then nom!