Sunday 13 January 2013

White chocolate hazelnut berry muffins

Today, I caught up with a couple of friends who are heading off to the USA in three weeks. As I'm also penny pinching for my trip in July, we decided to do brunch in and try and save a few dollars.

I'm always tempted by a good old pancake stack whenever I make a nice breakfast - the lure of warm, fluffy pancakes dripping in butter and maple syrup is hard to resist. However, the thought of standing over a hot stove in 35 degree heat wasn't overly appealing, so I decided to do something I rarely do and make muffins. I threw them in the oven and hid in the airconditioning for 25 minutes - happiness.

Ok - so they aren't the most breakfasty of flavours - but they are seriously delicious. While my recipe calls for mixed berries, white chocolate and hazelnuts, almost any combination of chocolate/nut/fruit would work spectacularly. Adding a crumb, or streusel, makes the muffins look even more appetizing.


White chocolate berry muffins with hazelnut streusel
Makes 12.

Ingredients:

Muffins:

  • 2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
  • 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup mixed berries
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup rice bran oil
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk (or whole milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Streusel:
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts, crushed
  • 50g butter

Method:

  • Make streusel: combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Rub in butter until mixture resembles crumbs.
  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Mix together flour, sugar and chocolate chips.
  • Lightly beat the egg. Stir egg, oil and buttermilk into dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix. Fold in berries.
  • Divide among a greased 12-cup muffin tray, and top with one teaspoon of streusel per muffin.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
These muffins are wonderful warm, but will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days.

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