Recipe: Lake District Co. Quark, Oat & Apricot Breakfast Muffins

When the team at Lake District Co. sent me a hamper of ingredients and recipes so I could have a play around with their new Quark product and I made their Strawberry Mousse Cake, they also sent me the fixings for their Quark, Oat & Apricot Breakfast Muffins, which, because the recipes on my blog are supposed to be simple and the Mousse Cake was more of an intermediate recipe, I thought I’d also share with you.
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One or two of these are great for breakfast warm (either straight out of the oven, they only take about 40 minutes to make for a weekend project or heated up in the microwave) served with either a big mug of tea or coffee, lots of fresh natural yogurt and as many red berries you can cram on your plate. Alternatively, eaten cold on the tube on the way to work alongside your morning Starbucks; better for you than their muffins!

cooking

My Aunt was keeping me company during my Sunday afternoon baking session so there is actually a rare Instagram shot of me baking in my Mothers beautiful kitchen. I’m actually using my new mixing bowl the guys at OXO sent over for me to try out. You can’t totally see it from where the bowl is sitting on the scales because I am measuring out my sunflower oil, but the reason I love this bowl so much is the bottom is made of black rubber grip material, meaning it does not slide around when I’m mixing things in it on the granite work surface. The stainless steel also means it will be great for marinating meat, chicken and fish; perfect for the two whole chickens I will be joining and marinating to make a recipe out of the original Ottolenghi book for my annual Summer dinner party this weekend I’m starting to cook ahead for.
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I pretty much followed the recipe The Lake District Dairy Co. sent over for me, except I found that while the recipe was supposed to make 12 muffins, it was more like 14 and I use the biggest cupcake cases you can find, so therefore if you use smaller cases you might get even more. Also, I used chopped dried apricots in my muffins, but you can use whatever dried fruit happens to be your favourite, or a mixture. 
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  • 120g Rolled Oats, plus a little extra for the topping
  • 1 250g tub The Lake District Dairy Co. Quark
  • 65ml Milk
  • 100ml Sunflower Oil
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 100g Soft Brown Sugar
  • 150g Plain Flour
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
  • 150g Chopped Dried Apricots
  • 1 tsp Salt (Optional)

Sorry I have not changed the measurements in this recipe into American measures like normal, but I don’t think you can easily get a hold of Quark in the USA, so this is one mainly for my British and European readers – sorry! Anyway, pre heat your oven to 180C. Stir together the milk, oats and Quark, then set aside for about 5 mins to soak. Add the egg, oil and sugar to the mix and beat well until it is all combined. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and the apricots. Also add the salt at this stage if you wish. These make the muffins slightly salty (pleasantly so) and savoury  leaving it out keeps them sweet. Personally, I’d add the salt. Fold the flour into the mixture until it is combines, but it does not matter if there are still a few flour pockets. If you don’t know what folding is, I’ve explained the technique in my Victoria Sponge Cake recipe. Spoon equal amounts of the mixture into cupcake cases, almost but not quite to the top and sprinkle with a few more dried oats. Bake for 20 minutes until they have risen, are golden brown and you can insert either a toothpick or a cake tester into one of them, pull it out and the toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Serve warm or allow to cool before sealing in an airtight container. 

What is your favourite type of quick yet still indulgent breakfast cake, muffin or pastry?

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