Blueberry muffins with lime streusel

When people ask if I have a hobby I answer “baking”. Sounds like a cop out but I really don’t have the want to put my time into much else. My husband is a diver, which is a genuine hobby in my eyes, and one that requires you to have genuinely expensive equipment. Sure, the type of diving equipment you buy can make a life or death difference, but I have argued with his diver friends that baking trumps diving when it comes to cost.

Obviously they rolled on the floor laughing after I said that, but until you become a serious baker, you’ll never understand how expensive it is to trial new recipes.

Sure you can eat the products of your hobby, but all the testing I have done recently makes my freezer look like a cake morgue.

In this muffin recipe I like to lightly poke the blueberries, I find this is a nice trick so that your blueberries don’t sick to the bottom. This recipe developed from a cherry cheesecake muffin that ended up exploding in my oven (currently in the freezer). Don’t you agree baking can beat many other hobbies in the money stakes?

Blueberry muffin with lime streusel (Makes 8 muffins)

100g fresh blueberries

160g plain flour

75g butter, room temperature

125g caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

160ml buttermilk

For the streusel:

Zest and juice of 1 lime

60g flour

35g brown sugar

30g butter

1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan. Lightly mash the blueberries with a fork and set aside

2. Make the streusel by mixing all the ingredients together, mixing it with your hands until the butter is well mixed with the rest of the ingredients. Let it rest in the fridge

3. Start making the muffins by sifting together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a separate bowl and mix well

4. Beat the butter and sugar together until combined and paler in colour, for around 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix a little more

5. Fold half of the dry ingredients into the mix, then half the buttermilk. Repeat but do not overwork the dough 

6. I like to slightly crush the blueberries with a fork before carefully folding it into the mixture 

7. Assemble it by lining a muffin tray with 10 cases, fill them 3/4 of the way up with the muffin mixture

8. Sprinkle the streusel on top of the muffin and bake for 30-40 minutes