Mary Berry Rhubarb Muffins

Mary Berry’s rhubarb muffins use self-raising flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, full-fat yoghurt and melted butter. Raw rhubarb goes in at the last moment, in 1cm pieces. They bake at 200°C (fan 180°C/Gas 6) for about 25 minutes and make 12.

Berry has no rhubarb muffin in her books, so this is built from two of hers. The method, timing and tin come from her Raspberry and Apple Muffins, Cooks the Perfect (2014). The rhubarb preparation is from her Rhubarb Eve’s Pudding in Foolproof Cooking (2016).

One instruction decides whether these work. Berry says to stir the wet into the dry quickly, gently and briefly, because over-mixing makes tough muffins. Then tip in the fruit and stir three or four times only.

Mary Berry Rhubarb Muffins

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calories

225

kcal

Her raspberry and apple muffin method from Cooks the Perfect (2014), with rhubarb in place of the two fruits. The batter, glaze and timings are hers unchanged. The rhubarb weight and the trimming step are ours, the second borrowed from her Eve’s pudding.

Ingredients

• For the muffins:
  

• 85 g (3 oz) butter
  

• 250 g (9 oz) self-raising flour
  

• 1 tsp baking powder
  

• 45 g (1½ oz) ground almonds
  

• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
  

• 115 g (4 oz) caster sugar
  

• 2 large eggs
  

• 250 g (9 oz) plain, full-fat yogurt
  

• 1 tbsp full-fat or semi-skimmed milk
  

• 250 g (9 oz) rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1cm (½ in) pieces

• For the glaze:
  

• 2 tbsp caster sugar
  

• 1 tbsp orange juice

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Directions

• Preheat:Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C/400°F/Gas 6). Line each hollow of the muffin tin with a paper muffin case. Warm the butter in a small pan over a low heat until it melts, then set aside to cool.
  
• Prepare the rhubarb:Remove any outer leaves or dry parts of the rhubarb stems, then cut into 1cm (½ in) pieces. (This step is Berry’s instruction from her Rhubarb Eve’s Pudding, not from the muffin recipe.)
  
• Mix:Tip the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, cinnamon, and sugar into a large bowl and stir to combine. In a medium bowl beat the eggs and stir in the yogurt, milk, and cooled melted butter. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture, then add the rhubarb and stir briefly.
  
• Bake:Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases. Bake for about 25 minutes or until well risen and firm to the touch.
  
• Glaze:Meanwhile, make the glaze: warm the sugar and orange juice in a small pan over a low heat, just until the sugar has dissolved, then increase the heat and let the mixture bubble for about 30 seconds so it turns a bit syrupy, not too long, or it will get too sticky.
  
• Finish:Remove the muffins from the oven. Leave them in their tin for 1-2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack. While they are still warm, brush the top of each muffin with the glaze. Leave to cool.

FAQs

Why only 250g of rhubarb when Berry uses 425g of fruit?

Because rhubarb isn’t apple, and this is the one number in the recipe that isn’t hers. Her version takes 175g raspberries and a chopped eating apple of about 150g. Rhubarb carries far more water than either, and her own warning is that fruit breaking down makes the mixture too wet.

So 250g is our figure, reasoned from that warning rather than tested at the time of writing. She does bake raw fruit into sponge elsewhere, and generously: her spiced Dorset apple traybake carries a large weight of Bramleys. Those go in as layers on top of the batter though, not stirred through it, which is a very different demand on the mixture.

Do I need to cook the rhubarb first?

No, and Berry’s own rhubarb bakes are the evidence. Her Rhubarb Eve’s Pudding puts raw rhubarb straight into the dish under a sponge batter. Her rhubarb and orange cobbler does the same under a scone topping, with no pre-cooking on the hob.

Her preparation instruction is the useful part. Remove any outer leaves or dry parts of the stems, then cut the fruit into pieces. I’ve specified 1cm to match the size she cuts her apple to, so the rhubarb softens in the same 25 minutes the muffin needs.

How do I know when I’ve mixed it enough?

Look at the batter, don’t count the strokes. Berry’s clearest test is in her Ultimate Cake Book (2003) blueberry muffins, where she says the mixture should have a lumpy consistency. If it looks smooth and glossy like a cake mix, you’ve gone too far.

Her word for what happens next is tough, and she uses it in two more books. Mary Berry Everyday (2017) repeats the warning for her ginger and mango muffins. The Keys to perfection panel in Cooks the Perfect adds the detail that the mixture should feel light and soft.

How full should I fill the cases?

Berry gives two different answers, and the tin is what separates them. In Foolproof Cooking she says cases should be no more than two-thirds full, because filling to the top makes them overflow. Her blueberry muffins say the opposite, filling almost to the top.

Reading the two together, the deep muffin tin is what allows the higher fill. She warns there that the mixture will rise well above ordinary fairy cake cases, so those tins need greasing. That’s my reading rather than a rule she states, so if you’re unsure which tin you have, two-thirds is the safe choice.

Should I use ginger instead of cinnamon?

You can make a good case for it. Berry pairs rhubarb with ginger over and over: ice cream in Mary Berry Everyday (2017), a chilled cheesecake in Classic (2018), and a rhubarb and ginger crumble in three books. She clearly thinks the two belong together.

The cinnamon here is hers too, though, just from the raspberry and apple version. I’ve kept it because changing two things at once makes it impossible to tell which one worked. One thing from her Eve’s pudding headnote is worth acting on: look for young rhubarb if you can, which gives a lovely pink colour.

How long do they keep?

Berry is specific about her muffins, and it’s not long. They’re best eaten fresh, she says, but will keep for up to two days. That’s for the raspberry and apple original, and I’d expect rhubarb to shorten it rather than extend it, given the extra moisture.

The freezer is the better answer. She notes that her Everyday muffins freeze well, so bake the full 12 and freeze what you won’t eat. If you want the same fruit-and-spice idea in something that keeps longer, her apple and cinnamon loaf cake holds up for several days.