My Blueberry Boat (muffins)

Breakfast is probably my favourite meal of the day.

Morning is probably my least favourite time of day. Wake me up in the morning and I have been known to yell, throw things, tell you your mother would be disappointed in you, and later have no memory of the event. Suffice to say I am not a happy lassie before noon. So often it is with confusion and despair that I stare into the fridge of a morning, wanting something delicious but lacking the mental faculties and emotional fortitude to choose.

We once hypothesised a ‘What Should Tara Have for Breakfast’ website, where people could make these decisions for me. I still dream of it longingly.

Fresh, tasty, and easy – these are my breakfast requirements. I love eggs, but breakfast must be quick, otherwise more often than not I will choose a delicious cooked breakfast over a 9am lecture. For the weekday rush, these blueberry muffins are a real treat.

What You Will Need

1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
A little bit less than 3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
80 ml milk
80 ml vegetable oil
1 - 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

For the topping:

1 tbsp butter
3 tbs white sugar
2 tbs flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon


What You Will Need to Do

• Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C. Line muffin tin with...muffin liners? Patty tins? You know what I mean! I got ten muffins from this batch.

• Sift flour and baking powder together, mix with sugar.

• Combine egg and oil in a cup measure, top up with milk to make it one cup (roughly 80 mls).

• Before you mix wet and dry ingredients, it's time to make your topping. Rub together butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon until crumbly. You might have to tweak the proportions slightly - I always do.
  

• Mix wet and dry ingredients together - gently. Fold in blueberries. Do *not* over mix - your muffins will be tough! No one likes tough muffins! Unless it's a euphemism for sassy old ladies.
  

• Fill the muffin cups, and top with crumbly sugar mix.

• Place in oven, cook for around 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
  

• Enjoy early Monday morning with a strong cup of coffee and the following tracks on the headphones:

Blueberry Boat – The Fiery Furnaces
TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
Animal Collective - The Purple Bottle (one of my favourite songs ever, and perfect for that bus/car/bike ride to work)