Lemon and White Chocolate Muffins

Lemon and white chocolate muffins

 

From Jo Wheatley's book 'Home Baking'

 

 

I was having a nose through the cook books at our local supermarket (if my husband loses me he always checks where the cook books are first) for inspiration for a new blog when I came across Jo Wheatley's 'Home Baking and surreptiously slipped it into the shopping trolley hoping my husband wouldnt see it and launch into another long whinge about the amount of cook books I have. ( Its not that many honestly!!!!) Can I just say in my defence he does not whinge when he is eating the resulting food....

 

In fact I can see him in the kitchen as I type eyeing up the muffins still warm on the cooling rack! Anyway i digress... Book got spotted, whinge ensued and as many people who know us will testify usually happens a bit of a comical bickering match took place which ended in me feigning a serious strop while he collapsed with laughter at the till.... We are really very entertaining and I'm sure the cashiers dont forget us for a while!

O.K. back to the muffins, I picked up the book this morning looking for something I can make for my sons when they come home from school. I don't even get a 'hello mum' before they start asking for something to eat... 'Mummmmmmmm is there something to eat???' If the answer is no then 'Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwww you are ruining my life and starving me!!!!' (I'm shaking my head in dismay as I type this with a half grin on my face because I have the mental image) My children are obviously starved....(uh huh sureeeeeeeee)

 

My trusty old mixing bowl collection complete with measuring cups i dont use because i use my stainless steel ones (but they were so pretty i had to have them) and my flour shaker which was a charity shop find!

 

 

Anyway to combat the usual fridge raiding ruffians appetites i found the recipe for lemon and white chocolate muffins. Now one of my sons is autistic and very very fussy but if i dont tell him there is lemon in it (lemon is fruit and therefore the devil as far as he is concerned) i am hoping that he will only notice the white chocolate and eat them anyway.

Im not kidding this kid can spot a finely chopped herb or citrus fruit zest at 100 paces!

The recipe couldnt be simpler, dry ingredients into a bowl, wet ingredients into a jug whisk wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients, mix the two and voila!

 

I found this set of scales in sainsburys, a steal at £15!

 

Sooooo, here are the bits I struggled with.......90g of unsalted butter melted......yeah but do I need to cool it before I add it to the egg because surely that will start cooking it, thus rendering it incapable of doing its job in the cake (i think its enriching and binding but who the hell knows? - actually I do im just being facetious hehe)

Secondly add the lemon zest and lemon juice to a mix containing milk? Oh hell to the no! Seriously? Ummmm K....

I will give you a tip dear reader if you embark on making this recipe, get everything weighed out in advance because the only way to do the jug of wet ingredients is damned quickly and get it in with the dry ingredients as fast as your lil arms can get a mixing. Or if you are like me and have a food mixer as fast as your food mixer can mix it......which lets face it is pretty darn fast.

 

Lemon and White Chocolate Muffins

 

I cooked them on the mid to low shelf in the oven, I probably could have done with putting them a little bit higher to get a more golden brown top and maybe even a better rise but, here they are in all thier glory, my first attempt at lemon and white chocolate muffins!