I was hosting in the Competition Theatre for 2 days and got to meet all my favourite bakers and Bake off Stars .... Dan Lepard
Stacie Stewart...
Brendan Lynch...
And Cathryn Dresser...
Had such a great time and pinched this wonderful recipe from one of the contestants in the bake off .... Lesley Reynolds, who lives in Scotland but was actually born in the same Maternity Hospital as me, near Clitheroe in Lancashire.
This is a wonderfully simple muffin recipe and so delicious ... a bit like a bakewell tart but without the pastry.
I've also made them with gluten free flour, a mix of potato and rice, and they turn out really well.
White Forest Muffins
150g white chocolate
50g butter
250ml milk
150g self raising flour
150g ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
75g caster sugar
2 x 100g bags white chocolate chips
1 large egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
black cherry jam
flaked almonds
icing sugar for dusting
Method
Pre heat oven to 180 oC/160 oC fan oven/gas 5.
Place 13 muffin cases in muffin tins.
Place butter and half the milk in a saucepan and heat gently, DO NOT BOIL.
Add the white chocolate and stir until it melts. Allow to cool slightly.
Sift flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.
Stir in the chocolate chips and the sugar.
Stir in the ground almonds.
Mix the rest of the milk with the egg and the almond extract and pour into the dry ingredients along with the chocolate mixture.
Using a metal spoon, fold all the ingredients together gently, until a lumpy batter forms.
Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases so that each one is half full.
Place 1/2 teaspoon of black cherry jam in the centre of each muffin.
Fill up each muffin case with the remaining muffin mixture.
Sprinkle flaked almonds on top.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown and spongy when touched.
Place muffins on a cooling wire to cool a little and dust with icing sugar.
Here's the finished Gluten Free version...
My favourite cake in a long time !! Enjoy xx
