Chris's wholemeal raisin muffins

Method
Prep:20min  ›  Cook:35min  ›  Ready in:55min 

1. Preheat the oven to 150 C / Gas 2. Grease muffin tray or line with 12 paper cases.
2. Add the raisins and water to a saucepan on the hob, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes while preparing other ingredients. Let cool. (Speed up the process by transferring the mixture to a bowl and immersing the bowl in cold water.)
3. Add the flour to a large bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients, except for the bicarb and sesame seeds.
4. Drain the raisins and reserve the liquid they cooled in. Measure 250ml of liquid (if not enough, add more water as needed to reach 250ml). Add the liquid and raisins to the flour mixture. Mix well. You may need to add a bit extra water or buttermilk to get the right consistency. The mixture should cling to a spoon. Finally, stir in the bicarb.
5. Spoon out the mixture into muffin trays and sprinkle with sesame seeds (or any other seeds or chopped nuts work well). I sometimes add a little squeeze of runny honey to each muffin half way through filling up the moulds.
6. Bake for about 55 minutes at 150 C / Gas 2 depending on oven. Check to ensure they are risen and cooked properly. Allow to cool on a wire rack. (This fairly low temperature gives a softer muffin than using a higher temperature for a shorter time. I used to bake at 190 C / Gas 5 but much prefer the lighter bake.)

Other ideas

These muffins have been made as healthful as possible and contain lots of fibre but no added sugar or salt, apart from the natural sugar in the raisins. They are neither rich nor cloying on the palate and much lower in calories than normal muffins. This is my style of cooking. A little honey could be added to the mix if you prefer them sweeter.

Cook's note

I use potassium rather than sodium bicarbonate (available on internet) to avoid adding any sodium or salt, but this is optional.