Mary Berry's savoury muffins, which take just 20 minutes to make, have been praised as "lovely" and "oozy", thanks to one unexpected ingredient: sun-dried tomato paste. The recipe, from her Mary Berry's Quick Cooking programme, is touted as a speedy breakfast, light lunch, or afternoon snack.
BBC Food's Praise for the Muffins
BBC Food commented on the recipe, saying: "Mary Berry's quick savoury muffins are superb with soup, salads or for eating on the go. The cheese is lovely and oozy if you serve them warm. Eaten cold, they are still fragrant, with a nice saltiness from the cheese and olives."
Ingredients and Method
The recipe serves 12 people and requires a 12-hole muffin tin and muffin cases, though cupcake cases are a good alternative. Cupcake cases are larger than fairy cake cases but not as deep as muffin cases, so you may have enough mixture to make a few extra muffins.
You will need 275g of self-raising flour, one teaspoon of baking powder, half a teaspoon of salt, 50g of butter, one large free-range egg, 250ml of milk, 75g of Gruyère cheese, a bunch of basil, 75g of pitted black olives, and two tablespoons of sun-dried tomato paste.
How to Make the Muffins
To begin, preheat the oven to 200°C or 180°C Fan and Gas 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases. Pour the self-raising flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Grate the Gruyère, chop the basil leaves and pitted black olives, then add them to the bowl and mix well.
Melt the butter and beat the egg, then mix them together with the milk in a jug. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl and gently stir everything together using a fork. Add the sun-dried tomato paste and loosely swirl it through the batter to create a rippled effect. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases and bake for 18–20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. Serve warm or cold on its own or alongside a soup or salad of your choosing.
