These substantial muffins are a superb grab-and-go breakfast. They are also a delicious addition to any lunchbox and a great energy booster for children before after-school activities. They’ll keep well for up to two days.
100g/4oz butter, softened
100g/4oz soft light brown sugar
3 nice and ripe bananas, mashed
60ml/2fl oz milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
300g/10½oz plain flour
100g/4oz bran flakes
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
200g/7oz finely chopped pecans
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/GM5.
2 Mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the mashed bananas, milk, vanilla and eggs and stir together well. Stir in the remaining ingredients, mixing all through.
3 Spoon the mixture into 12 paper muffin cases, dividing it equally between them.
4 Place in a muffin tin and bake for 25–30 minutes. Remove and place on a cooling rack.
Makes: 12 muffins
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25–30 minutes
These breakfast muffins are a meal in themselves. Filling but extremely moreish!
340g/12oz self-raising flour
100g/4oz butter, chopped
2 tsp mustard powder
pinch of Maldon sea salt
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
250ml/9fl oz milk
10 rashers unsmoked streaky bacon
10 quail eggs
10 × 1cm/½ inch cubes of butter
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/GM4.
2 Sieve the flour and rub together with the chopped butter, leaving the mixture a little rough. Stir in the mustard powder, salt, chopped onion, beaten egg and milk and mix thoroughly.
3 Grill the bacon and cut into small pieces (approximately 1cm/½ inch). Combine with the muffin mixture.
4 Divide the mixture equally between 10 paper muffin cases.
5 Make a deep well in the centre of the muffin mixture within each paper case and crack in one of the quail eggs. Then pull the muffin mixture so that it almost covers the egg and place a butter cube on top to stop the egg going hard. Repeat with the other muffins and eggs.
6 Bake in a muffin tin for 15–20 minutes, checking regularly.
7 When golden, remove the muffins immediately and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Makes: 10 muffins
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15–20 minutes
High in protein, vitamins and omega-3 fats, mackerel is a real superfood. A bonus is that it is both cheap and delicious, and children really seem to enjoy the smoky taste of the fish. This recipe is quick and easy to prepare, making it an ideal alternative to toast and honey on a school morning!
2 smoked mackerel fillets, weighing approximately 250g/9oz, skinned
4 pieces good quality wholemeal bread
1 tbsp crème fraîche
2 tsp horseradish sauce
25g/1oz chives, finely chopped
pepper
1 Put the mackerel fillets on a baking sheet and place under a hot grill.
2 Meanwhile, toast the bread and mix together the crème fraîche, horseradish and chopped chives, seasoning well with pepper.
3 After about 5 minutes the mackerel will be bubbling and beginning to colour. Remove from the grill and roughly flake.
4 Cut each piece of toast into 4 triangles. Top each triangle with smoked mackerel and a dollop of the crème fraîche mixture and serve immediately.
Serves: 4 children
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
avocado, bacon and roasted tomato sandwich
This is definitely one of my favourite brunch options – particularly for the lunchtime end of brunch.
1 large plum tomato, sliced
½ tsp dried oregano
pinch of Maldon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 rashers of bacon (I like maple best, but any good quality unsmoked bacon will do)
2 thick slices of wholemeal bread
scraping of butter for each slice
½ avocado, nice and ripe, thinly sliced lengthways
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/GM5.
2 Lightly grease an oven tray. Place the tomato slices on the tray, sprinkling over the dried oregano, salt and a twist of black pepper. Place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, turning once.
3 While the