Christmas muffins from Malvern

Chef John bakes up a storm

Supporting Children In Need

John Brandon, Sous Chef at Aldwyn's restaurant at Audley Ellerslie, baked his delicious Christmas Muffins live on screen for Audley owners earlier today. Can you almost smell the delicious aroma of freshly baked muffins with hints of cranberry, cinnamon... and possibly blueberry if that's your fruit of choice?

Ingredients for the dry mix

  • 200g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 75g dried cranberries (or either 75g dried blueberries or 150g fresh blueberries)
  • A pinch of salt

Add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir the ingredients together.

Ingredients for the wet mix

  • 1 egg
  • 100ml milk
  • 80ml vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder

Blend the wet ingredients together until smooth, using an electric whisk, a hand whisk or a kitchen aid.

Method

  1. Add the blended dry ingredients to your mixing bowl and mix together quickly but very briefly, until blended.
  2. It is especially important with muffin mix the ingredients together only very briefly. 10-15 seconds should do it.
  3. Split the mix between 8 large muffin cups or 12 small muffin cups/cases.
  4. Sprinkle the top with a little demerara sugar and cinnamon powder
  5. For small muffins, bake in a pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes at 185 degrees
  6. For large muffins, bake for 15-18 minutes at 185 degrees

Serving suggestion:

If you have some ribbon and/or icing sugar then tie around the cases and lightly dust with icing sugar for that festive effect.

Read more recipes from Audley Villages chefs.