CINNAMON CHOCOLATE FEATHER PUDDING

FINDING YOUR INNER 16 YEAR OLD

Remember slumber parties? Sleeping bags spread out on the floor of your parents’ den, flashlights creating halos of golden warmth around youthful, innocent faces, silly whispered gossip about cute boys and evil catty gossip about rival girls while nibbling on forbidden snacks smuggled in from the kitchen while the folks watched TV only a few feet away? There was something so gloriously decadent and slightly subversive about a good slumber party, especially once one has reached the so-called age of reason and understanding when innocence is tinged by the naughty and one feels the burden of hovering parents lifted. Childhood slumber parties replaced by teen sleepovers, when the gossip becomes just a little less innocent, the snacks slightly more sinful and the laughter maybe just a tad less virtuous. Those carefree times of our youth spent in pajamas curled up in front of some old B movie or black & white horror flick, giggling, eating popcorn and forgetting all about responsibility and homework until Monday morning rolls around.


Ah, those slumber parties of our youth lost in the past, long ago nights spent with our best girlfriends long exchanged for nights spent with husbands and children. Hours on the phone or lunch out at some sidewalk café just doesn’t take the place of a good slumber party. But are we now too old for the goofiness, the childishness of a sleepover? And what do we do with the husbands?

Food Blogger Connect was the perfect excuse for a small group of otherwise perfectly respectable, well-behaved, responsible women to conjure up their inner 16 year olds and meet up for a wicked weekend! Sophisticated to a tee, leaving grumbling husbands behind (much too easily, one could argue), they swept into London on a carpet of good intentions and met up at their own proverbial Bat Cave, Cook Sister HQ, where shoes were kicked off, hair let down and the good times started to roll! It all began rather innocently with a braai – a South African barbecue – which found charming Nick, rather flustered surrounded by all that giggling womanhood, manning the tongs and firing up the grill. Glasses of rosé in hand, we nibbled on cheese that each of us had brought from our respective countries: France, Germany, Switzerland while waiting for the spicy sausages and the lamb chops to hit our plates. Mmmmm, hungry. Cameras already poised over plates, the food blogger in each of these lovely women pushed their way to the front of the bus. Everything, absolutely everything that would be eaten over the course of this long weekend would be photographed for posterity’s sake.

The Spice Girls do Charlie's Angels

Snarky, Sporty, Saucy and Zesty joined Sweary * in the conservatory for a hearty meal followed, of course, by a plateful of Koeksister! Dense and sweet, these are special South African treats like crullers. The ladies also spilled a load of candy and chocolate out onto the table, treats brought along from their homeland. Gifts were exchanged as was laughter, gossip and good food. And one very Spicy Weekend was kicked off!

Cooksister of course!

Carambar! Caramba!

Some highlights of a very Spicy Girly weekend:

- Saucy very excitedly shows up at London City Airport to a text message announcing “Zesty has landed and in need of a very STIFF drink!” and running straight into Zesty’s arms, dancing and screeching like teens, she listens in horror to Zesty’s death-defying experience on the autobahn.

- 4 women (Snarky slept chez elle) sprawled out on an air mattress and sofas or snuggled up in a sofabed or dashing in and out of the kitchen, coffee mug or wine glass in hand depending on the time of day, buzzing between laptop computers perched atop rowing machine and kitchen counter in order to keep the twitterverse alive with our updates and news. Clothes and shoes and chocolate strewn around, stacked on furniture, stepped over on the floor like those good old college dorm days. Spice Sorority anyone? The elegant dance of sharing one bathroom was choreographed to perfection and it was proclaimed that the FBC Spice Girls could easily live together in wonderful, joyous harmony all year round. Has anyone ordered that Tour Bus yet?

Just practicing our FBC presentation speeches!

- Wine, women and song… and chocolate, macarons and a risqué dvd of hot rugbymen in various states of undress, women draped over furniture, swanning between ogling the cute ones and screaming “fast forward!!! Not hot!” while carefully dividing macarons into 4 and tasting, analyzing, judging, commenting. And voting Zesty’s Studmuffin Raspberry Tea Macarons with Dark Chocolate Tachini Ganache filling the best of the evening hands down!

Now what is a slumber party without a few goodies?

One husband slouched on the edge of said sofa nervously flipping a rugby ball in his hands, up down, up down, back and forth, with a grimace on his face as if he was being forced to watch open heart surgery, finally, disgusted, mumbling under his breath, stomping off to bed.

- Why am I the only one that needs coffee and carbs to start my day? One downs an invigorating tall glass of water and grabs a piece of fruit (but they don’t call her Sporty for nothing!) while the other two seem to be able to take it or leave it. Argh! Am total catatonic monster without breaky!

- There’s no plaice like home. Wrong plaice, wrong crowd. Lovely evening planned at the Tate Modern restaurant although some (moi) are a bit astonished at stark, bare, low class diner design look for something meant to be so upscale. Food ordered, spirits high, Spice Girls + one lovely friend + one darling Mowie gathered together for a delicious meal. Three of our sisters are served their lemon sole which looks and tastes mysteriously like inexpensive plaice. Do not try and fool a table of food bloggers, mister! Haggling with the waiter, demanding an explanation, manager finally is pulled out of bed (or wherever he has been hiding) who then explains to a table of I’m guessing bimbos is what he thought? that 1) it is sole, 2) that sole and plaice look very much alike so easily mistaken 3) that he’s had trouble with his suppliers and that 4) he’ll not charge the table for 3 desserts. Sweary, arms crossed, lips pinched tightly together, is slowly fuming, the steam coming out of her ears visible. Snarky who’s head was expected to explode at any moment, is furiously texting husband who is sending back confirmation of the price difference between plaice and sole while Sporty, being the sport that she is, has put on her well-educated, knowledgeable school marm voice and taken the entire situation in hand: “There seems to be some mistake here….no, this is definitely not sole so why are our friends being charged for sole….I’d like to speak to the manager…no, this is not good enough….” She kept her head, sounded very professional and eventually got the job done! And enjoyed every minute of it, a sport to her. We had to calm Sweary and Snarky down and finally did and ended up deciding that we will not eat at the Tate Modern ever again. But I would like to mention that my Cappuccino Panna Cotta was out of this world delicious!


- Shopping: Ladurée, snapping pictures until requested to stop, it is not allowed s'il vous plait! Fortnum & Mason with Mr. Snarky, hands full of brilliant Papoose, scooting joyously around store eating all of the free samples. Sporty snappy pictures of sole (£12 per portion) and plaice (£1.10 per 100 g) to send with her letter of complaint to said Tate Modern, buying and buying, and finding, to my heart’s delight, food coloring paste for macarons! Out on the street, Zesty dashing out into traffic to snap that perfect photo of a double-decker bus!


- Traditional fish & chips in a traditional English pub followed by a run through Greenwich market and the noisy, brilliant, look-at-us-aren’t-we-fun Spice Girls talking their lovely way to a free plate of cinnamon churros and chocolate dipping sauce.


- An evening cooking together. Zesty’s fabulous Chicken Curry and Chick Peas & Spinach. Yum! Every girl in her jammies, A-Ha and Duran Duran playing loudly, dancing, singing, twittering, drinking wine and cooking and knowing that we have found true friends and sisters for life. Out of 5 simple food blogs friendships are created, like minds, like souls are brought together.

The Spice Girls are cookin' hot!

Too old? No, I don’t think so. There is indeed a teen still left inside each of us and all it takes is an amazing weekend together to realize this. Yes, we’ve added cooking to the gossip and the naughty dvd’s, the wine drinking is now legal and mostly under control, but the rest was there. All except for the prank phone calls. Maybe next time…

Girl Scout Camp was never like this!

Epilogue:

- Monday: standing for what seemed like hours ;-) listening to Sporty animatedly discuss dates with the date man, Saucy finally, carefully, thoughtfully selects a lovely jar of date mustard to bring back to her man (Grumpy Spice) as a surprise gift. Said jar of date mustard is duly haggled over and finally confiscated by customs agents at London City Airport claiming that it is actually a liquid and cannot be brought aboard the plane. Terrorism by mustard? Mean, evil customs lady stalks away and Saucy, at wit’s end, has nice young agent practically in tears. She finally thanks him for his kind help and tells him to take the date mustard home and enjoy it. She buys two ties for Grumpy instead.

- Later in the week as Grumpy Spice was grumbling about his difficult week, Saucy in all of her sauciness exclaims “Yes, it must have been sad for you to start your week without me!” which leads to Grumpy snorting “yeah, and we didn’t exactly waste a lot of time rushing to answer the phone every time you called!” Ouch! Did he really want me to call him over the weekend?

* Names have been changed to protect the innocent….and the not so innocent!


In honor of a delicious, spicy, chocolate-y weekend with the Spice Girls, I’ve made Cinnamon Chocolate Feather Puddings, otherwise known as Chocolate Pots of Loveliness. This recipe was adapted from the recipe in my wonderful old 1964 edition of Joy of Cooking. The puddings are steamed in a bain-marie in the oven and, eaten warm, they are indeed feather light and gooey with an incredibly rich chocolate flavor though without the bitterness of bittersweet chocolate. It is almost like eating a chocolate bar in meltingly mousse form. Chilled, the puddings sink slightly and become dense and very creamy and it is like eating the most decadent of fudge brownie puddings. And with only 1 tablespoon butter, 1 egg and 1 ½ ounces (42 g) chocolate! For 8 puddings! Not bad and definitely Girl friendly!


I would like to send this to Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey? Monthly Mingle. This month it is hosted by Erin of The Apartment Kitchen who chose the theme Special Sweet Treats. And these puddings are indeed special!


(and another huge thank you to Kerrin & Meeta for sharing their pictures!)

CINNAMON CHOCOLATE FEATHER PUDDINGS
Or Fabulous Potted Little Pots of Chocolate
Serves 8

1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 large egg
1 cup (250 ml) milk *
1 Tbs (15 g) unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ oz (42 g) semisweet chocolate, melted
1 ½ cups (190 g) flour
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ Tbs (7 g) baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla


* milk can be replaced by coffee for mocha puddings, but omit the cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter 8 deep individual ramekins.

Beat the egg until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy.

Add the milk and the melted butter and chocolate to the egg and sugar and beat just to combine.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon together and then stir into the egg/milk mixture until well blended. Stir in the vanilla.

Ladle into the prepared ramekins not more than 2/3 full and cover each dish with a piece of aluminum foil. Place in a large baking pan (I place a folded page of a newspaper in the bottom of the pan which keeps the water from boiling) and carefully fill the pan around the ramekins with hot water to come up about halfway. Bake/steam in the oven for ½ hour.


Carefully remove the ramekins from the pan, uncover and serve immediately for the warm, creamy version. Serve with salted caramel sauce or salted caramel, vanilla, cinnamon or coffee ice cream.

Warm and gooey

These can also be refrigerated and eaten chilled, but they will have sunken slightly and turned into dense, fudgy brownie puddings. Serve these with any of the above or whipped cream and fresh fruit. Or eat as is standing in the door of the refrigerator trying not to look guilty. Or being caught.

Chilled and denser

Decadent, sweet and chocolate-y like the perfect slumber party!

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SPICY CHICKEN CURRY

SPICE UP YOUR LIFE with a few food bloggers!

Slam it to the left
If you're having a good time
Shake it to the right
If you know that you feel fine
Chicas to the front
Uh Uh go round
Slam it to the left
If you're having a good time
Shake it to the right
If you know that you feel fine
Chicas to the front
Hi Ci Ya Hold Tight

Colours of the world
Spice up you life
Every boy and every girl
Spice up your life
People of the world
Spice up your life
Aaaahh!!!

- The Spice Girls, of course!

Food is sensual; press your hands into silky, soft bread dough, breathe in the sharp bite of yeast. Or slide a spoonful of shimmering, pearl-tinted panna cotta into your mouth and let it melt on your tongue, caressed by vanilla sweetness. Chocolate makes many of us swoon and the faint prickle of pepper or the heat of a good curry excites. Smells, texture, flavors, colors, food is an all around sensory experience infused with emotions and memories that, to many, is an inspiration, a driving force, a passion. And one must truly be passionate to the point of obsessive to become a food blogger. We wake every morning wondering what to cook and bake during the day, the words for the perfect blog post flit through our heads as we flip through well-thumbed cookbooks and draw up that shopping list. Cameras are flung over shoulders as we head out to the newest must-try restaurant and days, evenings and well into every night are spent dashing between kitchen and computer. Our talk is peppered with food words, our bookshelves heave and groan under the weight of so many cookbooks, a walk down any city street is nearly impossible as our noses are pressed against so many pastry shop windows, strolls lengthened as we dash in and out of butcher shops, bakeries, Aladdin dens of spices and cooking utensils. We travel light, suitcases half empty, as we head off to our destination or a trip back home, yet we return with bags straining under the weight of jars and bottles and boxes bought at grocery stores, pans and whisks and yet more cookbooks. Most of us have hidden chocolate drawers, our secret, coveted stash, and we love nothing better than to stare at and handle our precious ingredients, breathe in their heady odor, concoct, brew, create and share, basking in the sighs and groans of pleasure our food elicits. We are used to the strange, sideways glances, the looks of disbelief and confusion as we prattle on about food, and we shrug our shoulders and sigh for this is more than just a passion, an obsession, it is our life.

Meeta, Cecilia, Katherine, Jamie, Jeanne, Hilda

Pam!

Now, imagine 50 such together, gathered around tables, plates in hand, cameras poised, feeling a lightness, a freedom to express our passion, share the excitement, act just as we please. There is a strange connection between the food passionate, food bloggers, an understanding that everything, or most things, revolve around food. That was Food Blogger Connect: laughter, information, networking, planning, gossip and more laughter. Friendships formed, friendships reinforced and intensified. And it’s all about the food.


But a conference like Food Blogger Connect is indeed more than just about the time spent together laughing, talking, networking. It is a learning experience and did we all learn! With pen and notebook in hand, I listened to the darling and exuberant* Jaden of Steamy Kitchen talk about monetizing one’s blog, earning money from not just advertising but from writing, speaking, actually turning our passion into a full-fledged career. Hilda, my wonderful, generous, funny friend of the stunning Saffron & Blueberry dissected a camera for us and explained how to adjust for speed, light, focus in such a clear, intelligent way that even I understood, taking information that will help me work my photography better. Add to that a brilliant, informative talk by fabulous, talented Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey? and Mowie of Mowielicious on perfect food styling and food photography and I may not even have to read the manual! Meeta, such a true, wonderful friend, also spent much time late at night helping me, advising, and with much patience explaining what I shouldn’t be doing and what I should do that I am now actually excited about working and improving my food photography rather than feeling beaten! Wonderful Jeanne of Cook Sister! spoke about Copyright and Plagiarism, so important to any blogger and fascinating to boot, and then about Effective Recipe Writing, which was brilliant and truly food for thought.

Meeta & Mowie

I then shared the stage with brilliant fellow writers and passionate bloggers Jeanne of Cook Sister! and Kerrin of My Kugelhopf speaking about Writing Style & Finding Your Voice for the food blogger. Three different voices, three different writing styles, we shared our secrets, our tips and advice on writing, whether personal story, restaurant review or simply a lead in to a favorite recipe. Emotions, memories, atmosphere, descriptions, each blog post is an experience to be lived by the reader and one must create the perfect atmosphere, serve the best food on a platter of well-chosen words and satisfy the reader with a joyous, emotional, mouthwatering experience. We hope that our presentation, our words, touched our listeners and inspired them to rethink their blog and find their own writing style, the style that expresses who they are.

Jeanne, Jamie, Kerrin

On Sunday Kerrin was joined by the lovely, delightful Julia of a Slice of Cherry Pie and together they presented How To Get Published & Get Feature Work: from Blog to Book (or Magazine). As a blogger just starting on my path towards professional food writing, this talk was particularly informative for me (I may have asked the most questions) and both of these talented women opened up and generously shared all of their knowledge and advice. Outside of the presentation, both Kerrin and Julia very kindly shared even more information with me, encouraging me to take my writing “career” to another level, to take the leap and be confident in my talent and I thank them both enormously!

Julia & Kerrin

I met so many wonderful people, all kind, fun, generous people with whom I do hope to stay in touch, but I also had the great luck of meeting and remeeting some wonderful friends I feel particularly close to: Sarah, Aoife, Adrienne, Julia, Katherine, Giulia, Sarka, darling Bruce, Heather, Catty and Eunice and hope that I will be seeing each of them very soon.


Thanks to a wonderful FBC Organizing Team (myself, Meeta, Hilda, Mowie and Sarka) lead by vivacious Beth of Dirty Kitchen Secrets.

* thank you Meeta for handing me the perfect word for Jaden!


Sunday night, Meeta whipped us up a fabulous chicken curry dinner, which I immediately made for JP and Clem when I got home. I ad libbed, using what I had on hand, added a bit more tang with a squeeze or two of lemon juice and served it over basmati rice. It was stunningly delicious! This is such an ideal dish because you add the ingredients more or less to taste. Fantastic curry, fantastic recipe and I’m betting that it is even better reheated the next day! So here is my take on Meeta’s Chicken Curry and sending out a hug and a clink of the wine glass to my very Spicy Spice Girls and the wonderful weekend we shared. Which will be covered in my next blog post.

A huge spicy thank you to Meeta, Mowie & Kerrin for the pictures of Food Blogger Connect!

CHICKEN CURRY as Spicy as you like

Chicken pieces for 4 to 6 (I used 4 leg/thigh pieces, separated)
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 jars or cans (about 14 oz/400 g) tomato pulp, chopped tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsps garam masala or to taste*
1 tsp turmeric or to taste
¼ to ½ tsp Cayenne pepper or chili powder/flakes or to taste
Several tablespoons Greek yogurt, regular yogurt, sour cream or quark (fromage frais) to taste
Juice of about half a lemon

* I had run out of coriander and cumin

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil and then lightly brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Remove the browned chicken to a plate.

Add the chopped onions to the hot oil in the pan and sauté, stirring often, until tender and golden brown. Add the chopped garlic and, stirring, continue to cook for another minute or two until the garlic is tender. Stir in the tomato pulp, add the spices and the salt and pepper, stir until blended and then return the chicken to the sauce. Push the chicken down into the tomato sauce to cover. If you need to, top it up with a small amount of water.

Allow to simmer on low for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and starting to pull away or fall off of the bone. Now remove the chicken to a plate and stir a 2 or 3 heaping tablespoons of the yogurt into the sauce, depending on whether you want the sauce more tomato-y or more creamy. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and pepper, Cayenne or garam masala as desired to heighten the flavor. Squeeze in enough lemon juice to taste. One or two squeezes should do it!

Return the chicken to the pot, turn off the heat and cover. Allow to sit so the flavors meld a bit while you make the basmatic rice. Before serving, gently reheat the Chicken Curry. If you like, you can add a handful of chopped fresh coriander/cilantro.


Serve the Chicken Curry over the rice. You can serve it with a side of vegetables and cool yogurt Raita if desired.

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BLUEBERRY STREUSEL MUFFINS

WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING…


What a month it has been. I take a break from regularly scheduled programming – telling the tales of my week vacation out East, the recounting of fabulous, mouthwatering meals, of my falling in love with France all over again – in order just to catch up a bit, catch my blogging breath so to speak, and bake a little. I’ve been busy, so busy, and see that my kitchen has slowed down as has my blog. But where have I been?

My son, my baby boy, has flown the nest. Early morning on the last day of March we watched him walk away from us, through the metal detectors, watched the plane take off into the blue and carry him off to the other side of the world. He is now in New Orleans, volunteering, rebuilding, giving to others as he slides into adulthood, discovers who he is. He has dreamed of “becoming an American” for so many years and now he is living that dream. I hear the pleasure and pride in his voice when we speak on the phone, the surprise and thrill of doing a good job and being recognized and appreciated for what he, what they are doing for the community. He tells of neighborhood women and church groups bringing them hot meals and home-baked cakes, of local residents leaving them cold drinks and snacks at their work sites, of people recognizing them as lowernine.org on the street and in restaurants and saying hello, shaking their hands, thanking them for the effort they are doing. And my son is proud. As are his parents.


And my brother’s birthday has come and gone, this first birthday not followed up with a phone call, my sons and I singing “Happy Birthday to you, you belong in the zoo” loudly, joyously across the miles to him; no e-mails from him describing the birthday cake he baked for himself this year, the dinner he enjoyed with his friends, the concert they heard or jazz club visited. And so many thoughts flitted through my mind all day long of all the great meals he’ll never eat, wines he’ll never taste, films he’ll never see, moments in my sons’ lives he’ll no longer share with us. Tickets have been purchased, our places reserved, for that summer trip to Florida where we will be going through and dividing up his belongings and I know how many memories will slide through my mind as each object slips through my fingers, as I sit and think “is this all that is left? Is this all that it comes down to?” Yet know that his memory will live on with each cake I bake in one of his pans, each cream I turn out of one of those old copper jello molds, each pot of chili and red velvet cake made from his recipes, each time I slide one of his cookbooks off of my shelf. He loved great food and wine, was a fantastic, creative, passionate cook and baker and that, I will make sure, will live on in my kitchen.

And vacation. We took one week off and got in the car and drove off into the distance, east towards adventure and romance. We headed up into the mountains leaving computers, phones, work, worries and Boston behind and laced on our walking shoes, shrugged into our padded coats and headed even further up into the mountains, getting lost, caught in barbed wire, stared at by insolent cows. We stomped in snow and threw a real snowball or two at each other, ate soft, chewy baguette stuffed with thick slices of local cheese, laughed, chatted and felt the weight of the world slide right off of our shoulders. The evenings were spent savoring gourmet delights while candlelight flickered in our eyes and we planned the next day’s pleasures. Then off to Lyon and Annecy and some of the best meals we’ve ever eaten, one gorgeous city and a trip back in time to ancient Gaul.

We seem to only pack the restaurant guides for trips these days...

And my huge success. I am so proud. Thanks to a dear twitter friend reaching out to me, I am now a proud contributor to the Huffington Post Food section and my first article has been published. I invite each and everyone of you to hop over there, read my article and please leave a comment if you are so inspired. And all Retweets and Facebook shares are greatly appreciated! I am bursting with pride and excitement and feel appreciated as a writer, knowing now just how far and how high I can go.

All it takes is a little determination, a lot of self-confidence, patience and friends (thank you, lovely ladies, dear friends!) and slowly but surely things work out in the end. They really do.


And I will be speaking this June at Food Blogger Connect in London about, what else, Writing Style & Voice alongside the very talented Jeanne of Cook Sister! and Kerrin of My Kugelhopf. Snap up one of the last remaining tickets for this fantastic conference specially designed for the food blogger, filled with information and “secrets” from the best, networking, great food and great company!

And Clem. Lost little boy, so multi-talented, energetic (when he has something that he’s passionate about), creative and did I say talented? After a few years of sleeping, thinking and sleeping some more, he has found his passion, his calling, his thing (for lack of a better word). He is winding up his first year of architecture school top of his class, works on the side free-lancing for architects, works day in and day out all day and all night churning out project after stunning project. And on top of it all, he is as happy as a bug in a rug. What pleasure to see someone so content with what he is doing, where he is and where he is going. The world is his oyster and the pearls are his for the grabbing and will one day be tumbling from his fingertips.


I made these moist, delicate muffins for Clem. Muffins more tender than our favorite Cranberry Muffins, muffins bursting with blueberry flavor and just a hint of fresh lemon tang. Muffins so light and tender they melt in the mouth, barely sweet, just enough, topped with a gorgeous, crunchy streusel topping with the depth and warmth of dark brown sugar and cinnamon. I used blueberries left over from my Rhubarb Berry Crumbles and my beautiful Mixed Berry Pie and a new recipe for muffins from my wonderful Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook.


BLUEBERRY STREUSEL MUFFINS

1 ¾ cups (220 g) flour
1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
2 tsps baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup (200 ml) milk
¼ cup (50 ml) vegetable oil
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon (optional)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries*
1 recipe Streusel Topping (below), optional but fabulous

* I used frozen blueberries which I simply tossed (still frozen) with a large pinch of flour

STREUSEL TOPPING:
3 Tbs flour
3 Tbs packed brown sugar, light or dark but well packed
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs (30 g) butter, preferably unsalted, cold or just slightly softened

Place the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and toss to combine. Add the butter, cut into cubes, and, using only your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients quickly until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with no large chunks of butter left. Set aside while you prepare the muffin batter.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease twelve muffin cups or line with paper muffin/cupcake cups. **

In a small bowl, toss the frozen blueberries with a large pinch of flour if using frozen berries.

In a medium bowl, blend the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (as well as the lemon zest if adding) and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl or large glass mixing cup, combine the milk, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla and whisk together with a fork until well blended.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir just until all of the dry ingredients are moistened and everything is well blended. Do not overmix muffin batter or the muffins will be tough rather than light and tender. Fold in the blueberries just until the berries are evenly distributed. If using frozen berries, the batter may turn blue!

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Divide the Streusel Topping evenly between the muffins, sprinkly on the topping generously over the top of each muffin.

Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes ** or until the muffins are puffed up, the Streusel Topping is a deep golden brown and a tester stuck all the way in the center of one muffin comes out clean or with only a crumb, no liquid batter.

Remove the muffin tin from the oven and allow to cool just slightly before carefully lifting out the muffins out of the tin using a sharp knife to pull the muffins up so as not to burn yourself.


** You can use pretty much any size muffin tin for this recipe, mini, regular or large. Simply divide the batter evenly between the lined or greased cups not filling each cup more than 2/3 (two thirds) full and adjust baking time accordingly, simply keeping an eye on the muffins. Mini muffins can take as little as 10 minutes, medium 18 – 20, jumbo as much as 30 minutes.

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