Just before half-term we went on a walk down the lane on a sunny Sunday morning and came across a bumper crop of windfall apples (and chestnuts!), which we put in our Foraging Basket to bring home for tea. They were cooking apples, so not much use raw, but DH and The Girls set to work peeling, chopping and coring and we used them to make apple crumble for our supper. The Girls love crumble, especially with custard, so we have it quite often.
We were expecting visitors that afternoon though, and we still had a bowl full of apples, so I adapted a recipe I found in my new Aga Bible, and made Apple and Date Streusel Muffins. I love Streusel topping on anything: it reminds me of my days nannying in Germany. And it adds the perfect little crunch to the top of the muffins.
300g plain flour
400g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
110ml sunflower oil
3 apples, peeled cored and finely diced
1/2 cup chopped dates
100ml milk
Measure all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix. Beat eggs in a jug then add oil and milk them pour into dry mix and mix well. Stir through apples and dates.
Mix 2 tbsp plain flour, 60g light brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon with 20g soft butter- like you would a crumble topping.
Spoon muffin mix into prepared muffin tin lined with muffin cases- fill them about 2/3 full. Sprinkle with topping.
Bake in a Regular Oven at 175C for about 35 minutes.
If using an Aga, then bake in the Roasting Oven on the Fourth set of runners for about 10 minutes, then slide the Cold Plain Shelf onto the Second Set of runners for a further 10 minutes.
Go on! You know you want to tell me what you think!