Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry muffins in Spring is just wonderful. They’re so easy to whip up and affordable because berries are starting to come into season.
Last month I experimented with a recipe to make a healthier-than-normal batch. I have been trying to reduce my sugar intake by utilizing natural sugars from fruits and honey. I’ve also been trying to eat less processed flour and have resorted to mixing Rye flour with Stoneground flour in most of my recipes.
If you’re gluten-intolerant, you can safely substitute the flours with a self-raising gluten-free mix and if you’re vegan, I recommend you use a flaxseed egg and oat milk for this recipe. I have tried it with almond milk but the texture of the muffin is not the same.
I also encourage you to buy maple syrup that isn’t processed. The Canada Grand A that they sell in most shops are suitable, but if you’re paying less than R100 for the bottle, it’s probably not natural.
Did you know: Pure maple syrup has less calories than honey. It is an antioxidant and a natural sweetener. Most notably, there is a substantial amount of zinc and manganese in this pure sugary substance. Just 1 tablespoon contains more than 1/3 of your daily value of manganese. For an athlete, manganese is important for muscle and nerve health.
Ingredients
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup stoneground white bread flour and 1/2 cup 100% rye flour)
1 tsp baking powder
2 small ripe banana, mashed
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 large egg at room temperature
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 tablespoons oat milk/regular milk
Method
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin pan with 12 muffin cases.
Mix the mashed banana and baking soda together in a tiny bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt together.
In another large bowl, whisk milk, oil, egg, vanilla and maple syrup well.
All the banana mixture to your wet ingredients and stir gently with a spoon.
Make a well in your dry ingredient and pour the wet ingredients into it.
Add blueberries and fold the mixture gently until you cannot see any flour. Don’t overmix otherwise the mixture will become dense.
Fill the muffin cases until they’re 3/4 full and bake for 23-25 minutes. Mine took exactly 23 minutes to bake but depending on your oven this could vary. If you want a crispy top, you can dust each muffin with a sprinkle of sugar.
