Sweetly Spiced Plum Muffins
Makes 10
Takes: 30 mins to 1 hour
Muffins are great for breakfast or even as a treat, and the scents of sweet spices fill the air whilst they are baking. Easy to make and perfect to get the kids helping in the kitchen.
Ingredients
115g unsalted butter
4 tablespoons honey
150g soft light brown sugar
250g plums
125g raisins
75g pecan nuts (optional)
2 tablespoons apple juice (or orange juice)
125g plain flour
100g wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas 4 and line a muffin tin with 10 muffin cases.
Gently heat the butter, honey and sugar in a pan until melted. In the meantime slice the plums making sure you remove the seed.
Remove the melted sugar from the heat and add most of the plums, keeping a few aside for the tops of the muffins. Add the raisins, pecans (if using) and apple juice and stir well.
Sift the flours into a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt. There will be some bran left in the sieve, which you can discard or save some to sprinkle on top of the muffins before baking.
Add the eggs to the butter and mix well before adding in the flour. Give it all a few final stirs, not too many as the muffins will be heavy. A few lumps make a lighter muffin.
Fill the muffin cases to the top and pop on some reserved sliced plums, pushing them into the batter slightly.
Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until the muffins feel springy when pressed.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. Eat when warm or pop in an airtight container for upto 5 days.
