Berry Muffins

I love muffins loaded full of fresh berries. And I mean loaded - more berries than batter!  Any berries will do in this recipe, it's really just a base recipe I came up with that works well for me and can easily be changed up to suit your tastes or what you have in your kitchen.

ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (I use half whole spelt and half whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup rolled or quick oats
• 1/4 cup dry sugar of your choice
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp xanthan gum (can omit if you don't have it)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• zest of 1 orange (optional)
• 1/2 cup soy / rice / almond milk, plain or vanilla
• 1/2 cup light oil (I use sunflower)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• juice of orange you zested (optional, if not using you may have to add a smidgen oil or milk beverage)
• 1 3/4 - 2 cups fresh or frozen whole berries, a mixture is always best (one of my favourites is cranberry-blueberry, though raspberry-blackberry is pretty amazing too)

method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a muffin tin, 6 - 10 cups depending on the size you like to make your muffins, with muffin cups.

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients including the orange zest if you are using it.

In a smaller bowl combine all the wet ingredients, but not the berries.

Gently mix the wet ingredients into dry, folding in the berries once all the dry flour has been moistened.

Fill muffin cups to your desired level.

Bake 25 minutes or until golden on top and muffin top feels firm but bouncy.  Let cool in tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Berry Bread Pudding

This is an amazingly simple, dinner-guest-worthy dessert that's actually quite healthy.  It's loaded with mixed berries, whole grain bread, and your choice of soy / rice / almond milk. The only sweetener is some maple syrup and a couple tablespoons of organic cane sugar, and for the volume of dessert this recipe makes I think the sugar is a non-issue.  And c'mon, it is dessert after all!

Prep time: 10 minutes

ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen berries (I use PC brand 4-berry mix)
• 1 cup either dried or frozen cranberries, both work equally well
• 4 cups, slightly packed, cubed whole grain bread (roughly 7 slices)
• 2 cups soy / rice / almond milk, vanilla flavour if you have it on hand
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp organic cane sugar
• 3 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot powder or corn starch 
• 1/2 - 1 cup slivered almonds and walnut pieces
• 2 - 4 Tbsp maple syrup (depending on how many nuts you use)
• vanilla or almond extract
• Optional: 1 - 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine and mix well: berries, bread, "milk", maple syrup, sugar, arrowroot powder or corn starch, and optional lemon juice.

Pour into a baking or casserole dish and pat down with a spoon.

Combine nuts, remaining maple syrup, and extract in a small bowl and sprinkle over top of the pudding, leaving 1/4" air space around the edge for steam to escape.

Bake, uncovered, 45 minutes

Allow to cool for an hour at room temperature before serving.