This is our go-to, tried and tested easy muffin recipe.
Ingredients
2 cups self-raising flour
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup milk
½ cup natural or Greek yoghurt
½ cup light olive oil (or rice bran oil)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups mixed frozen berries
Icing sugar, for dusting
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole regular muffin pan with paper cases and give a light spray with cooking spray.
Sift flour into a large mixing bowl. Add brown sugar and mix to combine, breaking up any lumps.
In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, yoghurt, oil, egg and vanilla.
Combine wet and dry ingredients and gently mix until almost incorporated.
Add berries, reserving ¼ cup for tops, and gently stir through to combine, taking care not to over-mix. The trick to perfect, soft muffins is not to over-mix. The general rule is no more than 15 strokes!
Spoon mixture into paper cases, then top with reserved berries. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Transfer to a cake rack to cool and serve with a dusting of icing sugar.
Makes 12.
Tips
If using fresh berries, reduce cooking time by several minutes.Replace berries with other fruits (think sliced banana, grated or diced apple or stone fruits) or add nuts or chocolate chunks to flavour.