Vagabond Baker
Blackcurrant Choc Chip Muffins
I loved picking blackcurrants when I was little, our family garden gave us a freezer full every summer. We’d pick them and mum would freeze them for endless pies over the winter.
Imagine my joy when I was graced with the opportunity to gather as many as I liked in a beautiful garden in Sweden earlier in the month.
I turned most of the currants into a loose jam – which we ate with everything over the preceding days, damn it was good! I couldn’t store the currants fresh for long in the camper so I used what was left in these delicious muffins.
The muffin batter is given a Scandinavian twist with ground cardamom and the chocolate chips add a bit of bite and, well, chocolatey-chocolateness.
The dark currants burst into the muffins and their juicy tartness is heaven with the chocolate. These muffins did not last long at all!
If you end up with a glut of blackcurrants this summer, do give this recipe a try: it’s very simple and quick to make. Frozen blackcurrants would work well too.
I baked them in my stove-top Omnia oven, but the recipe is for a regular oven. We had left Sweden by this point and I baked these blackcurrant muffins while we were on a campsite in the Netherlands, on our way back to the UK.
We are back in Blighty now, but only for a few months. At the end of the autumn, we are heading back to Scandinavia again.
It will be one heck of a winter adventure and I can’t wait to tell you more about it soon!
Blackcurrant Choc Chip Muffins
Oven 180C / gas 4
12 hole muffin pan lined with paper muffin cases
- 75g caster sugar
- 150ml milk (I actually made the batch photographed with fresh orange juice instead)
- 100ml sunflower oil
- 2 free-range eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250g plain flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp ground cardamom (optional)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 100g blackcurrants
- 75g chocolate chips
Put the caster sugar, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract into a large bowl and whisk with a balloon whisk until smooth.
Add the baking powder, cardamom and cinnamon to the flour and mix well. Sift into the batter.
Fold in with a metal spoon but try not to over mix it, the batter should still appear lumpy. Gently stir in the blackcurrants and the chocolate chips, reserving a few to dot on top of the muffins before they go into the oven.
Divide the mixture into the twelve paper cases and then dot a few of the reserved chocolate chips onto the top of each so they look ridiculously delicious when they are baked!
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack.
If you are baking them in an Omnia Oven:
Place the rack into the Omnia and rest the paper (or silicon) cake cases onto it. As the recipe makes 12 you can either half the recipe or bake two batches.
Place the Omnia heating plate onto the hob over a high heat for 2-3 minutes.
Spoon the batter into the paper cases, put the lid on and place the oven onto the now hot heating plate.
Leave on a high heat for one minute (to get the raising agents in the batter to activate) then turn the heat down to around a medium flame.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until risen and hopefully golden.
Print the recipe
- 75g caster sugar
- 150ml milk
- 100ml sunflower oil
- 2 free-range eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250g plain flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 100g blackcurrants
- 75g chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 180c and line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
- Put the caster sugar, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract into a large bowl and whisk with a balloon whisk until smooth.
- Add the baking powder, cardamom and cinnamon to the flour and mix well. Sift into the batter.
- Fold in with a metal spoon but try not to over mix it, the batter should still appear lumpy. Gently stir in the blackcurrants and the chocolate chips, reserving a few to dot on top of the muffins before they go into the oven.
- Divide the mixture into the twelve paper cases and then dot a few of the reserved chocolate chips onto the top of each.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack.
- Place the rack into the Omnia and rest the paper (or silicon) cake cases onto it. As the recipe makes 12 you can either half the recipe or bake two batches.
- Place the Omnia heating plate onto the hob over a high heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Spoon the batter into the paper cases, put the lid on and place the oven onto the now hot heating plate.
- Leave on a high heat for one minute (to get the raising agents in the batter to activate) then turn the heat down to around a medium flame.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until risen and hopefully golden.
Pin it for later:![Blackcurrant Choc Chip Muffins, with a hint of cardamom to make them Scandinavian. The blackcurrants were picked in a Swedish garden!]()
Try these posts:
Silvia’s Norwegian Waffles. Grab your waffle maker out of the cupboard and whip these up!
Exploring Norway’s South Coast A beautiful coastal drive with some quirky stops.
Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls Inspired by a visit to Copenhagen, I make these so often – they’re so good!
Apricot Quick Buns (hastbullar) These Swedish-inspired buns make a perfect little treat to go with your cuppa or coffee.
By Rachel A Davis 
Do you have nostalgic memories of garden produce?
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