blueberries

Chocolate Blueberry Pie

- Michael 2 Comments

Chocolate Blueberry Pie

Last year I was given the Mast Brother’s recipe book and I’ve not made enough from it. I decided to right that and bake one of the more unusual recipes from the book. This came in the form of a Chocolate Blueberry Pie. I love blueberry pies and I’ve put one up on the blog before. Adding chocolate, both to the filling and the pastry, makes this a much heavier and richer pie, but it’s something ideal for a cold winters evenings. Cover it with cream, or have it with some ice cream and you’re on to a winner.
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Blueberry Pie

- Michael 6 Comments

Blueberry PieI moved house, again. I am now a resident of Bow Road. Pretty much opposite the tube station, so pretty handy. Now you know where I live. No stalking please. But because of this move, I’ve been a bit slow on the baking lately. I’ve not had a chance to try out the new oven yet (don’t worry, that’ll be soon). On top of moving, I’ve been to my first press event and been quite social in the weeks. Baking takes time, as does editing photos and writing up the posts. But here’s a Blueberry Pie I baked about 2 weeks ago. Read more

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies with Lemon Drizzle

- Michael 1 Comment

More fruit in things. Carrying on from the Strawberry Drizzle cake I made last week I wanted to keep with the berry and summery bake theme going. I also didn’t want to do anything overly complex. I’ve been really busy on the nights so wanted something I could bake quickly one night, hence the Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies with a Lemon Drizzled Glaze.

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

I also wanted to make something relatively light that gave a bit of energy. At work we’ve set up a couple of exercise bikes on the balcony and as a company are aiming to cycle the length of the Tour De France in 10 days. We managed it in 6 but we’ve been continuing to cycle anyway. I personally put in a couple of short half hour shifts. The second being 18km in the 30 minutes. Which is a personal best and I’d like to think a signal of my continued improved fitness.

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Anyway, back to the cookies. I found them here. And completely agree that, while they are great on their own, the drizzle really does make them.

I’m also moving in the very near future. This may mean that my posts become slightly more sporadic, so apologies in advance.

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Cookie endorsement:

Scott Malthouse, Senior PR Exec said: “These cookies are A-MAH-ZING.”
Puneet Mitra, Digital Marketing Exec said: “Best cookies you’ve ever made.”

 

5.0 from 1 reviews
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 12-16
Ingredients
  • 192g cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 225g unsalted butter, softened
  • 200glight brown sugar
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 255g old-fashioned oats
  • 100g blueberries
  • 128g powdered sugar
  • juice of one lemon
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C(160°C fan assisted) and line a cookie tray (I only have a standard baking tray).
  2. Quickly whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
  3. Cream together both sugars and the butter. Do this on a medium speed for about 3 minutes until it’s light and fluffy.
  4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add in the vanilla.
  5. Stir in the flour mix, then the oats. Finally mix in the blueberries with a spatula, carefully so that they don’t burst.
  6. Using two heaped tablespoons per cookie, roll them into a ball and space evenly on the prepared tray. Spaced about 2 inches apart.
  7. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until they are golden brown.
  8. Allow them to cool for a few minutes on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.
  9. Once they have cooled. Combine the lemon and icing sugar until it’s a paste.
  10. Drizzle over the top and set aside until it hardens.
 

 

Blueberry Muffins

- Michael 3 Comments

With summer well and truly here I felt that continuing the summer baking just made sense. Blueberry muffins are simple, and taste delicious. They are a staple of almost any coffee shop, be it a Starbucks or one of the better quality independent places (we’ve a few great ones kicking about in Leeds, like Mrs Athas and Laynes Espresso). Filling a muffin with fruit, especially berries, adds that extra burst of flavour. It gives me the chance to say “it’s got fruit in it, it’s healthy”.

The key with this recipe is to leave it to rest for as long as you can allow yourself. (As  I often bake on a weeknight I usually don’t wait as long as I usually should). If you can allow it, leave it overnight and the cakes will taste just that bit better. This is a recipe for a relatively small batch, I didn’t want too many as I was making biscuits later in the night for my trip up to Scotland.

 blueberrymuffins

This is also the first time that I’ve managed to get my DSLR involved with the photos. The charger simply disappeared a while ago and I had to order a new one. Part of this blog is going to be me teaching myself what I’m actually doing with it, so I’m hoping the pictures get better as I go along.

Blueberry Muffins
 
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Ingredients
  • 110g plain flour
  • 110g butter
  • 65g caster sugar
  • 2 free-range eggs
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 125g blueberries, or equivalent in frozen blueberries
  • pinch nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
  1. Mix together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
  2. Cream together the butter and the sugar until creamy, this can take several minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  3. Mix in the flour, beating until smooth.
  4. Leave the batter covered in the fridge overnight, or at least one hour.
  5. Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Line a muffin tray.
  6. Spoon the batter into each case, it should fill to around half way in each. Dot the top of the muffins with blueberries, 8-10 in each depending on how you want them to taste.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

blueberrymuffins