New Year's treat - Raspberry Muffins

 Raspberry muffins (and raspberry jam and redcurrant jelly)

  
I have been too busy gardening, and entertaining friends and family to treats from the garden, to do any blogging lately. I have also been harvesting raspberries every 2-3 days since December 12 - 7.5 kg so far. We eat them for breakfast and for dessert, and I have made ten jars of jam. I have also made two batches of raspberry muffins, which are very popular with visitors, so I am sharing my recipe (below). 


Raspberries have a short season (mid December to late January) so now is the time to enjoy them often. They don't keep well. If you have picked or bought more than you can eat at one time, put them (unwashed) into a leak-proof shallow glass or plastic container (I use a Pyrex baking dish which has a plastic lid). Add the raspberries to the container one layer at a time, sprinkling white sugar between each layer, then put the container in the fridge. If the raspberries are all good specimens (remove any manky or rotting ones before storing) they will keep reasonably well this way for up to a week, although they will give off a lot of juice and start to collapse. Such raspberries are best used for jam or baking, rather than eaten raw in that most simple but delicious of desserts, Raspberries and Cream. 

This dessert needs no tarting up if the raspberries are fresh and perfect, except perhaps a little caster sugar mixed into the raspberries half an hour before consumption. However, if you do wish to gild the lily, then marinating the raspberries in either elderflower cordial ( 1 T neat cordial to 300g raspberries) OR freshly-squeezed orange juice adds extra flavour and sweetness. The further addition of teaspoon or two of rum OR kirsch OR an orange liqueur creates another layer of delight. 

Raspberry muffins get the cream treatment

 

RASPBERRY MUFFINS

Ingredients

1 large egg

1/2 C mild oil

1/4 C melted butter OR sour cream

grated rind and juice of 1 large orange (1/2 C juice)

1/2 C yoghurt

1 1/2 C fresh raspberries

2 C flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 C sugar

1/4 t salt

Method

Heat the oven to 210 d.C; put rack just below the middle.

Grease muffin tins well (12 large or 24 small).

In a large bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients.

Fold in the berries, gently.

Sift together the dry ingredients.

Mix them quickly into the wet ingredients.

Spoon into muffin tins.

Bake 12-15 minutes.

Cool in the tins 5 minutes before cooling on a rack.

To serve: Dust with icing sugar sifted through a sieve and top with a raspberry; OR (fancier version) split across the centre of the top, dust with icing sugar, fill the split with whipped cream, top with a raspberry.