tray and 12 muffin cases
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF), Gas mark 4, and line the muffin tray with the paper cases.
Place the buttermilk, eggs and saffron in a bowl and whisk together until smooth.
In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix in the sugar. Add the cubes of butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Add the wet ingredients and mix together, then fold in the apricots and pistachios. Spoon the batter into the muffin cases, filling each case about three-quarters full.
Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown on top and springy to the touch. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to finish cooling.
These soft, moist muffins are flavoured with chunks of pear and the gentle heat of ginger. The riper the pears, the sweeter the muffins will be. They would be perfect for a picnic or a quick snack on the run.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes
Ready in: 45 minutes
Makes: 12 muffins
275g (10oz) plain flour, sifted
200g (7oz) caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
4 eggs, beaten
150ml (5fl oz) vegetable oil
300g (11oz) pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm (½in) dice
12-cup muffin tray and 12 muffin cases
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, and line the muffin tray with the paper cases.
Place all the ingredients, except the pears, in a large bowl and whisk together until smooth, then fold in the pears and divide between the muffin cases, filling each case three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until well risen, golden and feeling springy to the touch.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then take from the muffin tray and place on a wire rack to cool down fully.
Apple and ginger (or cinnamon) muffins
Follow the recipe above, replacing the pears with the same quantity of chopped eating apples and either keeping the ginger or replacing it with 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
Ingredients grown together seem to go together. Just as apples and blackberries are a perfect match, so too are coconut and lime. The coconut flavour in this recipe comes from both desiccated coconut and coconut milk. The coconut milk is an unusual addition, but it is nonetheless an excellent baking ingredient that helps make the cake lovely and soft due to its high oil content. If at all possible, serve this cake outside on a summer’s evening, ideally accompanied by piña coladas or margaritas!
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 30–35 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour 45 minutes
Serves: 8–12
150ml (5fl oz) coconut milk (see the tip)
50g (2oz) desiccated coconut
25ml (1fl oz) milk
250g (9oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
250g (9oz) caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
Juice and finely grated zest of 2 limes
275g (10oz) self-raising flour
50g (2oz) coconut flakes, toasted (see the tip), to decorate
For the icing
15ml (½fl oz) coconut milk
250g (9oz) icing sugar, sifted
Juice of ½–1 lime
20cm (8in) square cake tin with 5cm (2in) sides
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, then butter the sides of the cake tin and line the base with a square of baking parchment. Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and place over a high heat. As soon as it boils, remove from the heat and stir in the desiccated coconut and the milk.
Cream the butter until soft in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Whisk the eggs together with the lime juice and zest in a small bowl, then gradually add the eggs to the creamed butter mixture, beating all the time. Sift in the flour and fold in gently to mix.
Tip the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula or palette knife. Place in the oven and bake for 30–35 minutes. When the cake is ready, a skewer inserted into the centre will come out very slightly sticky.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then use a small, sharp knife to loosen the edges and carefully remove the cake from the tin before leaving on a wire rack to finish cooling.
As the cake cools, make the icing. In a bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, icing sugar and the juice of half a lime, adding more if the mixture seems too stiff. Carefully pour the icing over the cake, to cover it in an even layer, then sprinkle over the toasted coconut flakes.
Tip This recipe uses a small (165ml) tin of coconut milk. If you can’t get a small tin, then use a larger one and store any leftover milk in the fridge, where it will keep (in an airtight container) for up to four days, or it can be frozen. Coconut flakes can be toasted in a dry, hot frying pan for a few minutes.
Some spices have their favourite accompaniments: cinnamon, for example, seems to prefer apple to almost anything else. The two are combined here with crunchy walnuts and muscovado
