Autumn Breakfast Muffins

As a new season and new term starts, it's time for a new recipe. I made these in the slight hope of making a dent in the enormous quantity of apples we now have stacked in the garage after a particularly autumnal wind brought them all down from some of the trees in the garden. Even after stewing and pie-ing and eating, it still looks the same! Apples, raisins and a hit of cinnamon make these muffins deliciously seasonal.

These fruit-packed muffins are ideal for when mornings get the better of us and a grab-and-go breakfast is essential. Despite the misleading title, they are also brilliant for lunches as they are a bit more robust than the usual muffin - they can be slung in the bottom of a rucksack for the day and still come out looking like a muffin! Like most muffins, these freeze well and can double up as an ice pack in a little one's lunchbox, defrosting (hopefully!) just in time for lunch. 

The addition of a crunchy seedy topping, along with some wholemeal flour and two types of fruit means these aren't your average soggy-fake-fruit coffee shop muffins, but something on a whole new level (and I like to think ever so slightly virtuous!) with a hit of vitamins as well as flavour.

Ingredients:

• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 50g wholemeal flour
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 125 ml milk
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil
• 100g sultanas
• 2 apples (I have used both cooking and eating apples for these - whatever you have to hand will work!)
• For the topping: 1 tbsp rolled oats, 1 tbsp seed mix, 1 tbsp demarera sugar

Method:

• Line a heavy-based muffin tin with 12 paper cases and preheat the oven to 180 C
• In a large bowl, sift in the flours, baking powder and cinnamon, then stir in the sugar
• In a jug, measure out the correct quantity of milk, then crack in the eggs and add the oil. Beat well with a fork until as combined as possible
• Make a well in the centre of the flour, then pour in the milk mixture. Gradually bring the batter together with a spoon, taking care to stir in any determined little pockets of flour. At this point, the batter is usually a fair bit stiffer than the average muffin mix, but stay with me on this one!
• Stir in the sultanas then, using the coarse side of a box grater, grate the apple straight into the bowl (apart from the core or your fingers!). Give the batter a good stir to evenly distribute the apple, then spoon into the prepared cases. The mix should make enough to fill the cases about 3/4 full
• In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the topping, then evenly scatter it over the muffins
• Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed. Depending on your oven, they may need to turning halfway to ensure even browning

Enjoy!