Saturday 16 February 2013

new discovery: spelt

So looking forward to the weekend - spending the evening with friends and a retro cheese fondue tonight - very excited!
I'm trying to clear out our kitchen cupboards at the moment and found a packet of Sharpham Park organic pearled spelt. So ... leek, broadbean and cheddar risotto for lunch and it was an absolute triumph.
This inspired me to investigate spelt a bit more so I had a look at the Sharpham Park website. Very inspiring. I came across another great recipe to try tomorrow - Banana Spelt Muffins. I have a feeling that my daughter Georgia will love helping me make them - she's a great one for getting floury in the kitchen - and my husband had recently revealed a strong liking for banana bread. So everyone's a winner! Here's the recipe:

BANANA SPELT MUFFINS



INGREDIENTS
5 bananas
110g/4oz butter
225g/8oz brown sugar (Demerara or muscovado are best)
2 eggs
285g/10oz wholemeal spelt flour
5ml/1tsp bicarbonate of soda
10ml/2 tsp vanilla essence
Handful chopped walnuts
1tsp salt
Handful flax / linseeds (optional)
100g bar dark chocolate (pref 75 or 85% cocoa) broken up into fine chunks (optional)

METHOD
1) mash the bananas

2) cream together butter, sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs.

3) sift flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt and stir in.

4) add vanilla, mashed bananas, walnuts and any optional extras.

5) mix thoroughly.

6) spoon into greased 2lb loaf tin or individual muffin cases.

7) bake at 160C for 1 hour if making a loaf and 40 minutes if making muffins.


TOP TIPS
1) if you're using a fan oven reduce baking times by 10 minutes
2) if you want more sticky muffins then use over ripe bananas and make with large rather than small or medium ones.