Cheddar and Bacon Savoury Muffins
Lucy Hoyle cooks is back! Woo hoo! Starting her new catering business and homeschooling her three children during lockdown has not defeated her. She returns with the most delicious recipe, perfect to rustle up, stuff in a hamper and head over to the garden of your choice (preferably people you actually know)…over to the super talented Lucy Hoyle…
The last time I started getting excited about parties and Boris allowing us to have a party for 30…I posted this excitement on Instagram and by the time I’d hit ‘Post’ Boris had changed his mind. So I am absolutely not going to highlight this weeks recipe as a perfect addition to your outside rule of six get togethers, oh no that would be churlish. This is not the perfect snack to put in your children’s lunch box over the next 2 weeks as they start returning to the brilliant clubs and camps they (and we) have all missed so much over the last year. No not me, definitely not….
Pop them in a freezer bag once cooled and freeze to use when you need one!
Cheddar and Bacon Savoury Muffins
Makes 12 (Freezable)
- 1 tsp oil
- 100g streaky bacon, cut into 1cm pieces (or use pancetta if preferred)
- 1 red onion
- 250g wholemeal self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 80g unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 200ml buttermilk
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- Small bunch of spring onions
- 175g grated cheddar or gruyère
Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and line a muffin tin with 12 paper muffin cases.
Warm the oil over a medium heat and fry the bacon in it until just crisp. Lift the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. In the same fat, sauté the onion until just softened, about five minutes, then set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. In a jug, whisk the eggs, butter and buttermilk, stir them into the flour mixture with a spatula until just combined, then fold in the cooled bacon, onion, chives, and two-thirds of the cheese until just evenly distributed.
Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases, sprinkle on the rest of the cheese, and bake for 18-20 minutes, until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.
These strong flavours work really well together, but you can always play around with the combinations. Try using just spring onions instead of red onion, pancetta instead of bacon, and any strong cheese in place of the cheddar. Best served warm…and possibly cut into segments with a little butter spread over…
Fondest love, Lucy xx