Mulberry Muffins

I see dried mulberries EVERYWHERE online, they are sweet, little, chewy things that are great in muesli or as a snack. But it wasn't until I was invited to my friend's family home in Strathbogie, Victoria that I finally encountered a fresh mulberry. Their tree is massive, so big i'm not sure you could even pick all the fruit if you tried. and picking them is hilarious, we ended up with mulberry 'blood' all over our arms and hands and had little spatters on our faces.

well, i definitely had that situation and so did isaac. our friends didn't look like mulberry mass-murderers however, due to their well-seasoned picking skills. mulberries squish in your fingers as you pick them because they are THAT juicy! you have to so so careful, like holding sand - not too tight not too loose. no wonder i couldn't ever find them fresh, you can barely get them off the tree intact!

anyway, after a while of 'one for me, one for the bucket...' we had a couple of kilos. i adore blueberry muffins and thought i'd try these guys instead. they are much juicier, and sweeter than blueberries so it allowed me to keep the added sugar down. always a winner. i freeze them after they have cooled to keep them fresh for the week ahead of snacks and lunchboxes.

Mulberry Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups wholemeal flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup rapadura sugar
1 chia egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup of almond milk
1 cup of frozen mulberries (or any berries)

Method
Pre-heat oven to 180oC
Place wet ingredients except the berries into a bowl and combine
Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined
Add in the berries and fold through divide batter into 9 or so muffin holes
Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

Can be made nut-free for school lunches with soy or dairy milk.