Cake

Cherry and Almond Muffins

July 25, 2011

I can’t get enough of fresh cherries this summer. And ever since I got my new cherry pitter, there really is no stopping me. This cherry and almond muffin recipe is so simple to make. In fact they were ready to come out of the oven by the time I had washed up all the dirty dishes. Then, I got to sit down and enjoy these warm nutty buttery cherry muffins with dollop of crème fraiche and a nice cup of tea. Sometimes the simplest things in life really are the best. Cherries in season are so sweet and go so well with almonds. I am a crazy about nuts so I kind of went a bit mad with the flaked almonds on top:)

Here’s how:

  -150g caster sugar
 – 1 tsp vanilla extract
 – 1 egg , beaten
 – 125g butter , melted
 – 175ml Greek yogurt
 – 200g self raising flour
 – 1 tsp baking powder
 – 100g ground almonds
 – 250g cherries, pitted and halved
 – 25g of flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. I usually melt the butter in a pyrex dish as the oven is heating up. Take out the butter as soon as it’s melted and leave aside. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, vanilla extract, beaten egg, melted butter and yoghurt together. In a large bowl sift the flour and baking and add the almonds to the flour. Next, add the liquid ingredients to the flour and mix quickly. It will look a bit lumpy but don’t worry this is normal. Finally add the cherries and mix with a wooden spoon.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cases and sprinkle the flaked almonds on top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until risen and golden. I adapted this recipe from one I found on the BBC Good Food website.