I have just had the most magical week off, my gorgeous daughter came to stay for her birthday, I missed spending her 30th birthday with her last year and so I really wanted to spoil her, we started her birthday week at Amberley Castle in Sussex having the most gorgeous afternoon tea in the most amazing setting, it was truly magical and the food was so good.

The week was spent hiking in East Sussex, spending time with family (thank you Rieanna for the lovely dinner you cooked for us all) , going to the cinema and just enjoying time with her, I was very sad to see her leave, so I thought I would fill my time with writing up the post for the delicious muffins I made her for birthday breakfast in bed, which were of course served with fresh coffee, Bucks Fizz and presents.

Above is a photo from one of our hikes, The Long Man of Wilmington, the mysterious guardian of the South Downs, towards the end of the walk we stumbled upon Litlington, where we discovered a crystal shop, outdoor tea gardens where we had a fabulous cream tea and an Aladdins Cave filled with exquisite hand forged axes and knives, the shop is a real wonder.


Above are photos from Amberley Castle and us generally misbehaving as always!!!!

These zesty apple and almond muffins were so good, I have rather large muffin cases so didn’t get the full 12, but I wanted hearty, healthy, filling muffins to keep us going on the drive down to Amberley and to tide us over until our afternoon tea.

These Apple and Almond Muffins were wholesome and zesty, kept in an airtight container they kept fresh for days. They were quick and simple to make and you can definitely play around with the recipe. As apples are just coming into season and the hedgerows are bursting with juicy blackberries and elderberries I will definitely be making a few new variations and think adding a few hazelnuts to give them that early autumnal feel.

But for now I’m heading back to my kitchen as I have a rather gorgeous apple crumble baking, thank you Rosie for your tree climbing skills and helping to gather the apples.

Love Di 💋

Makes 12

125g unsalted butter, softened 

150g wholegrain spelt flour, sifted

2 large free range eggs

1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder 

185g honey 

60g ground almonds

50ml whole meal (I used almond)

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

For the apples….

2 eating apples, halved, cored and thinly sliced 

20g butter, melted

1 1/2 tablespoons unrefined caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180c.

Grease a 12 hole muffin tray or line with muffin cases.

Start by placing the apple slices in a bowl, pour over the melted butter and sprinkle over the sugar, combine well to coat all the slices. Now lay the slices in the bottom of the cases or tray and press down firmly.

To make the muffin batter, cream the butter for about 4 minutes using an electric mixer. Add a spoonful of the flour, beat briefly, then add the eggs one at a time, beat for a further minute or until the mixture is light and fluffy, you may need to add another spoonful of flour if the mixture looks like it is starting to split.

Now gently fold in the rest of the flour, baking powder, honey, ground almond, milk and zest using a metal spoon or spatula, I did mine with the mixer and they turned out fine. Spoon the batter (it is a fairly runny batter) into the prepared tray/cases and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, they are ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes and then turn them out on to your wire rack to cool. I of course ate one while still warm and it was delicious.