Gluten free lemon, coconut and blueberry muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten free flour
• 3/4 cup dried coconut
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Juice and zest of half a lemon
• 1/2 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease a 12 cup muffin tray
• Place all dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk to combine and break up any sugar lumps
• In a medium sized bowl or jug, mix the yoghurt, milk, oil, egg, lemon juice and zest together until well combined
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients two to three batches, stirring only briefly after each addition. Mix gently until just combined- do not over mix or your muffins will be tough!
• Pour the muffin batter into the greased tins. Distribute the blueberries into each muffin, dropping a few blueberries into each individual muffin. I do it this way so that the batter stays nice and yellow and the blueberries stay reasonably whole (no problem with adding them in when you combine all ingredients together if you prefer your berries more blended).
• Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for ten minutes and then loosen each muffin using a knife or spatula and turn it sideways in its individual cup to continue cooling.

About this recipe

I know gluten free baking can seem like a faff but honestly, if you can bear to fork out for some gluten-free flour then you have a lot of options without much effort. Many ingredients that are simply superb in baking of any kind really come into their own when they form a substantial part of a gluten free bake. In this one, coconut and ground almonds give the muffins some heft and texture that quickly cancel out any thoughts that the texture is lacking gluten. Yoghurt and oil provide richness, and lemon juice and zest give a bit of zing. My final hint for gluten-free goodness is cornstarch – a tablespoon of cornstarch in gluten-free baking adds some fluffiness to the finished product. This recipe only takes two bowls and a muffin tray so along with all of that flavour, you get off lightly on the washing up, so very easy to whip up on work night for morning tea with gluten-free work pals the next day.