Muffins With Prune Plums and Lemon Zest

-And a few sugar cookies to add some colour.

These were easily the best muffins I've ever made, and that really is owed to the quality of the plums. I'm going to be very sad to see the season go as they have been delicious this year.

This recipe is a bit fussy for muffins, though I think the effort is worth it. I follow this basic method for all my muffins and I do find that creaming the sugar and butter together first works better than cutting the butter into the flour.

Don't forget to butter the top of the muffin tin, so that the beautiful mushroom top won't stick.

You Will Need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup caster sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

zest of one lemon, grated

2 cups chopped prune plums

1/4 teaspoon allspice or cardamom (I used allspice this time)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Cream together the shortening, sugar and salt for three minutes or until very light and fluffy. Add baking powder and eggs-mix well. Add flour, milk, vanilla, zest and allspice. Mix well. Fold in the plums. Fill the muffin tins to the top. Sprinkle a bit of coarse sugar on top of each muffin. Bake at 450 for five minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees F. and bake another 3-35 minutes or until golden. Cool, then remove from pans. Makes one dozen.