Noho Blueberry Muffins

If you stop by our shop you're be able to sample our own Noho Blueberry muffins.  But why not try to make them yourself.  Here's our simple, easy to follow recipe. It makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour (300 grams)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar (225 grams)
2 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1/2 cup milk
2-1/4 cups fresh blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and  sugar for about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla essence.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beating on low speed to combine.  Add the berries to the batter and fold gently with a spatula until evenly distributed.  Do not overmix.
5. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. 
6. Bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely

Note: Our shop muffins use Tulip muffin cases.  If using tulip cases it will make 9 shop size muffins.

---

Clinton Street Bakery Blueberry Pancakes

When we were in New York one of our favourite spots for brunch was the Clinton Street Bakery in the Lower East Side.  If you make it to New York, we highly recommend you visit them, but you will need to turn up early and queue to get in.  We also highly recommend their scrummy blueberry pancakes.  Here's the recipe from their cookbook. 

Ingredients​
2 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
4 tablespoon salted butter, melted and cooled (or use unsalted butter + ½ teaspoon salt)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1¼ cups plain flour
2¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup blueberries
vegetable oil, for the frying pan

For the compote:
1 cup blueberries 
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoon water
​
For the butter:
​⅓ cup maple syrup
½ cup salted butter (or use unsalted butter + a generous pinch of salt)

Instructions

1. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks into a jug and the whites into a large, clean bowl.
2. Whisk the egg whites using electric beaters until foamy then add the sugar and continue to whisk until you get soft peaks.
3. Add the buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla essence to the jug with the egg yolks. Stir together.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Pour the yolk mixture into this bowl along with a third of the whisked egg whites and mix together until just combined. Add the rest of the egg whites to this bowl and gently fold in until no streaks of egg white remain.
5. Pour a bit of vegetable oil into a frying pan, enough to just coat the bottom of the pan. Set over a medium-low heat and spoon in about ¼ cup of batter to form one pancake. Sprinkle with some of the blueberries. Repeat with more batter and blueberries so you have 3 to 4 pancakes in the pan. Leave to cook until the edges of the surface look set/dull and the underside is golden. Flip the pancakes and cook until the other side is golden. Repeat this until you've used up all of the batter.
6. Make the compote:

Place the blueberries, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Set over a medium-low heat and leave to cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the berries burst. Remove from the heat and serve warm with the pancakes
    7.   Make the maple butter:
Heat the maple syrup in the now-empty frying pan (the one you were using for the pancakes) over a medium heat. Add the cold butter to the pan and heat whilst stirring until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and serve warm with the pancakes.

---

Blueberry Strawberry Smoothie

Nothing beats a smoothie particularly in the summer.  They provide a wonderful combination of indulgence with an energy boost.  They work well with frozen blueberries.

Ingredients
1/4 cup of Blueberries
5-6 large/8-9 medium Stawberries (green crown on top removed)
1 large Banana
1/4 cup Water/Lemon-infused Water/Coconut Water
5-6 Mint leaves
1/2 cup Chia Seeds
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
5-6 Ice cubes

Instructions
Wash the blueberries and strawberries beforehand. Pour the water into the blender, followed by the banana (broken into a few pieces), and the berries, turn blender on. When all the fruits are broken down, add the chia seeds and apple cider vinegar, blend further. Lastly, throw in the ice cubes one at a time and whizz for a while longer. Before serving, steep the mint leaves in the smoothie for at least 5 minutes in the fridge.

---

Classic American Blueberry Pie

We lived in Summit a small town in New Jersey commuting into the city each day.  New Jersey is the garden State that provides a nice contrast to the hustle and bustle of Manhattan.  It is a far cry from a setting of The Sopranos and is in fact known as the Blueberry State of America.  Here's a recipe for a classic American Blueberry pie you might want to try.

Ingredients
2 store bought frozen pastry crusts
1 cup of sugar
4 ½ cups blueberries
1 lemon
5 tablespoons flour
Salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees. 
   
2. Unfold first pie crust and press into pie dish. 
   
3. Place  blueberries in strainer and rinse.  Drain berries and add to large bowl. 
   
4. Add flour and toss to coat. 
   
5. Add sugar, a squeeze of lemon and a dash of salt. 
   
6. Pour berries into pie shell.  Cut other pie crust into 2 cm strips.  Place strips on top of crust in criss-cross pattern to form a lattice.
   
7. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until bubbly. 

---

Leone's Blueberry Jam

Our niece Leone is such a wonderful creative person and a genius in the kitchen.  By the way she also owns a PYO berry farm in Greytown.  She concocted this blueberry lime jam recipe and so we just wanted to share it with you all.

Ingredients
​320 grams blueberries
​320 grams honey (use liquid blue borage honey)
​6 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 2 lemons)

Instructions

1. Add blueberries and lemon juice to pot and on a medium heat, occasionally stirring to avoid sticking to the bottom and burning.
2. Bring to simmer, where the berries are defrosted and some are breaking apart releasing juices.  You want some of the berries to be left whole, so there's plump chunks of fruit in the jam
   
3. Add honey and constantly stir till the sugar is dissolved, then allow to come to a rolling boil till reaches setting point, approx. 5-10 minutes

NB. Setting point will be different as batch sizes increases.
​NB. If using glass jars, sterilise appropriately