I make muffins mainly for my daughter’s lunch box but also for an afternoon treat that I occasionally treat myself to with a lovely cup of tea. I am a huge fan of ginger and cinnamon, plums are in season and crumble needs no explanation.  An added bonus is that they are quick and easy to make.

Spiced Plum Crumble Muffins

INGREDIENTS

For the Muffins

115g unsalted butter

300g self-raising flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

120g soft brown sugar

120g Caster sugar

250g plain yoghurt

2 large eggs

2 stem ginger balls, finely chopped

300g plums, stoned and chopped

For the Crumble

50g plain flour

25g oatmeal

40g butter, cubed

50g soft brown sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

METHOD

To make the crumble place the flour, oatmeal, cubed butter, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and rub together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan.

Melt the butter in either the microwave or in a small saucepan and set aside to cool.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter and eggs then stir in the chopped stem ginger.

Tip the wet ingredients into the dry and gently stir together until just combined then stir in the plums. Do not over mix or the muffins will be dense and heavy. Don’t worry about any lumps, they will help to keep the muffins light.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cases, sprinkle the crumble over the muffins and bake in the preheated oven for 20 -25 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.