Bakeapple Muffins
When I was growing up in Newfoundland, my Grandparents were avid berry pickers. They would pick hundreds of gallons and berries and sell them. My absolute favourite was Bakeapples, also known as Cloudberries. These tart little berries have a similar shape as blackberries but are a little more compressed. No matter what, my Grandfather always made sure there were extra bakeapples for me, and since he passed away, between my Dad and my Great Uncle, I’ve rarely missed a year of having a jar of these berries.
I’ve always had bakeapples preserved, making almost a jam. When I was young, I would eat them straight out of the jar, maybe with a sprinkle of sugar. Otherwise, the only recipe I’ve ever known to use bake apples for was cheesecake. I’ve had a couple of jars of bakeapples sitting in my fridge for a while now, not having any occasion to bake a cheesecake; I wasn’t sure what to do. So, in these last few days of my Christmas break, I decided to try making a muffin. I don’t consider myself a baker, so to experiment in any way is outside of my comfort zone. But, I found a recipe for a muffin that used more of a berry jam than just berries and forged ahead.
I loved making these muffins mostly because bakeapples have such a visceral memory for me. These aren’t always easy berries to get your hands on, so it feels very special when my family has always made an effort to make sure I had some.
Ingredients
• 2 cups flour
• 3 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
• 10 oz [bakeapple] jam
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325° F
Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and set aside. I kept a small amount of the sugar to mix in with my berries separately.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg, milk and oil together. Pour into the well of your dry ingredients.
Mix until combined. Do not beat, lightly stir with a spoon, batter should be lumpy.
Stir in jam. I saved a portion of the jam to add a small dollop on top of the muffins.
Pour batter into lined or oiled muffin cups.
Top with small spoonful of berry jam
Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until full cooked. Every oven is different but I found mine took closer to 28 minutes due to the consistency of my berries.
January 01, 2022