Spring is here, and the Koel cuckoos are making enough noise to drive us crazy. Other animals are less noisy and more fun to watch. Flying foxes are feasting on bottlebrush blossom and loquats in my local streets each night. In my parents’ backyard they’re feasting on mulberries. So are we.
We eat mulberries on our cereal, Alloronan makes mulberry smoothies, and my mum serves them with berry liqueurs (like creme de cassis) and icecream for dessert. Recently I made mulberry muffins.
These mulberry muffins are very moist and super-crumbly – you’ll need a plate. The LSA and almond meal give them a pleasant nutty flavour. Of course the big moist mulberries hidden inside are the highlight. I can see why the flying foxes are so enthusiastic about them.
Ingredients
250g brown sugar
80ml oil
1 egg
vanilla
250 g mulberries (stems cut off)
100g almond meal
100g quinoa flour and 100g rice flour (or 200g gluten free flour blend)
50g LSA (linseed, sunflower and almond meal)
2 tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius.
Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl.
Sift in the dry ingredients and combine.
Gently stir in the mulberries.
Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cases.
Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until risen and springy on top.
i adore fresh mulberries – they are so delicious without being too sweet
Comment by maria — 5 November 2009 @ 11:30 pm |
I’ve never seen or tasted a mulberry before- and now you’ve made me very curious and very hungry!
Comment by Manggy — 5 November 2009 @ 11:53 pm |
oh yum, I cant help but want to see an inside shot of the muffin with a big fat juicy mulberry hiding inside. I’m strange like that!
Comment by Maria@TheGourmetChallenge — 6 November 2009 @ 12:11 pm |
haha! When I asked James to take a photo of the inside of a crumbly muffin in my hands he said that he thought it wasn’t photogenic!
Comment by Arwen — 13 November 2009 @ 4:46 pm |
Lovely recipe Arwen. My sister-in-law’s parents have a huge, huge, huge mulberry tree that is absolutely groaning under the weight of the fruit. I’ll have to see if I can blag some off them. Otherwise . . . I’m assuming other berries could also be used? I’m thinking strawberries would go really beautifully with the vanilla in your recipe.
Comment by kathryn — 6 November 2009 @ 2:34 pm |
I’ve never had mullberries, but they look really interesting. What do they taste like?
The muffins look great- and they look really healthy too!
Comment by Von — 6 November 2009 @ 10:19 pm |
I’m sad to say that I’ve never even seen a mulberry in real life- But they look amazing! Do they taste like blackberries? Worst comes to worst, I think that might be a decent substitution.
Comment by BitterSweet — 7 November 2009 @ 3:36 am |
Great work Arwen. We know someone who has a mulberry tree, maybe I should get some and make these muffins. We now have a raspberry bush, I’m hoping we get heaps of good raspberries from it. Koel cuckoos – they are so annoying!! Especially early on the weekend.
Comment by Anita — 7 November 2009 @ 7:57 pm |
they looks absolutely delicious!! thanks for the recipe
Comment by 3hungrytummies — 8 November 2009 @ 1:30 pm |
Ahh I don’t think I’ve eaten many mulberries in ym life-certainly not as many as I’d like to! What is it about berries that is so moreish?
Comment by Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella — 8 November 2009 @ 7:09 pm |
I dont think i have tried these mulberries in muffins before.. my goodness, how i wish i can just bite one now… especially when they just come out from the oven.. :p
regards from my food blog http://www.letswallop.blogspot.com
Comment by claire — 8 November 2009 @ 11:53 pm |
Sounds delicious – your mulberries are gigantic compared to the wild ones that grow here! How lucky you are!
One of the best things we made last year with our berries was a simple jelly.
Comment by chelsea — 9 November 2009 @ 5:40 am |
Oh lucky you with fresh mulberries are your disposal. Fond memories of feasting on those as a kid from a local tree. A friend had a tree but the birds would always get to the fruit before we had a chance to!
Comment by Helen — 9 November 2009 @ 7:30 am |
I’ve only had mulberries once and they weren’t the freshest. I look forward to the time when I get to taste them in their just-picked state. How fortunate of your parents to have these pretty berries in their backyard. How do you like baking with quinoa flour, Arwen? I’ve never used it, but it sounds very interesting. Bet the protein count is pretty high.
Comment by Leela@SheSimmers — 9 November 2009 @ 9:50 am |
I’ve never had a mulberry before…they don’t have them here
Looks delish!
Comment by Alexandra@Chefspiration — 9 November 2009 @ 12:39 pm |
I grew up picking mulberries from my Nana’s back garden and eating them stewed served with vanilla ice cream – they are so divine! I’ve never thought to put them in a muffin, mmm…
Comment by Yasmin (Almond & The Hazelnut) — 11 November 2009 @ 5:07 pm |
I have great memories of standing underneath a mulberry tree, eating berries until our hands and mouths are stained purple. Putting these berries into a muffin is probably the more civilised way to enjoy them
Comment by Y — 11 November 2009 @ 10:02 pm |
We don’t grow mulberries, so I am curious how they taste like. There are a number of ways to use fruits in baking, aren’t there?
Comment by Arfi — 12 November 2009 @ 5:31 pm |
I’m with Maria – I want to see mr mulberry hiding away
Sounds like a great recipe, I’m curious about the different flours you used.
Comment by Conor @ HoldtheBeef — 13 November 2009 @ 4:12 pm |
I (and all the Lebanese folks) adore mulberries! I wish I could find them in the US markets. This recipe looks great! I will remember it next time I have mulberries in my hands
Comment by Tasteofbeirut — 15 November 2009 @ 1:24 am |
I love mulberries! We had one growing up and it provide so many summers filled with tree climbing, sticky fingers and purple stained mouths. I wish we still had one! These look great!
And I hate, no HATE koels. Gosh they have an annoying song. Drove me insane when I was studying.
Comment by Forager — 19 November 2009 @ 3:35 pm |