I know. I know that June in delhi has very few perks. Sweaty evening walks to Khan Market to get a scoop of lemon frozen yogurt at
is one. Sitting with your face in front of a box Air Conditioner is another. And there’s very few others among them. BUT somewhere between the sweltering heat and sunburn and pre-monsoon humidity, there’s a teeny tiny silver lining and it is called stone fruit! YAYY mangoes, coconut, lychees, apricots, cherry, peaches - summer is definitely the season of the fruit. For me, it’s easy to pick a favourite. There’s nothing better than gorgeous fresh cherries! And also can we take a moment to acknowledge that cherries are probably the CUTEST fruit? Think about the
or how people use the phrase ‘with a cherry on top’ to imply something extra special.
.
But don’t be deceived. They may be tiny and cute but pitting cherries is MESSY stuff. You may want to swap any summer whites and pastels for your raggedy clothes or be prepared to sport cherry stained outfits all summer. You can pit cherries using a cherry pitter or just a basic knife and I promise it’s totally worth the mess.
.
I baked cherry muffins with almond crumble a couple of times this summer and they were gone within the hour. They’re essentially vanilla muffins with a surprise cherry filling and a crunch almond-y crumble on top. They’re so good and they can make a delicious breakfast or evening snack. Cherry muffin + iced coffee , and you may have just created a june breakfast staple. Atleast for the couple of short weeks cherries are in season!
.
.
Here’s the
recipe
:
.
Ingredients:
.
Muffin:
.
1 cup flour + 2 tbsp cornflour + 2 tsp b powder + 1/2 tsp b soda + 1/4 tsp salt
100 g butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
.
Filling:
.
1 1/2 cup cherries, pits removed
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp lemon juice
.
Crumble:
.
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp almond meal
2 tbsp cold butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
.
Start with the cherry filling.
Put 1 1/2 cups of cherries (with the pits removed) in a saucepan. Add the butter, brown sugar and lemon juice and cook on low-medium heat for about 5 - 7 minutes.
Allow it to cool.
.
To make the muffin, preheat the oven to about 180˚. Prepare a cupcake pan with 6 muffin liners.
The easiest way is to simply mix all the ingredients except the cream in a large bowl using an electric mixer.
When a smooth batter is formed, gradually add the cream and continue beating.
.
For the crumble, mix the butter, brown sugar, flour, cornflour and almond meal in a bowl. Use your fingers to mix until a grainy mixture is formed.
.
Fill the muffin liners till about 1/4th with the batter. Then add a generous tablespoon of the cherry filling, then top with more muffin batter.
Lastly add the crumble topping
.
Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes of until a cake tester comes out clean.
.
Let the muffins cool for about 30 minutes.
.
Serve plain or with cream/ vanilla ice cream.
