 Miss Windsor's Blackberry & Elderberry Breakfast Muffins! Hello, darlings! I excitedly present Miss Windsor’s Blackberry & Elderberry Breakfast Muffins – based on an original Fannie Merritt Farmer recipe. Therefore, these simple, subtlety sweet, and rather healthful bundles of fruitiness – are created with very little sugar; and naturally sweetened by British foraged fruits. Oh, and funnily enough, one mustn’t forget to add that these rather toothsome darlings feel remarkably soft – just like a stroke of an alpaca’s furry mane – Ok, I admit that’s a slight exaggeration, but I’m sure you catch my drift!  Mrs Simkins (my culinary collaborator) enjoys a jolly old 'chin wag' with Mr Alpaca! Darlings, I must say that the bountiful hedgerows of South-East and West London have been very generous this year – aren’t I such a lucky girl!  Blackberries & elderberries picked from the hedgerows of South-East & West London! You see, in order to pick the ‘crème of the crop’, my delicate mitts spent every conceivable moment buried deep within the brambles, whilst I tried to avoid a nip or two by those cheeky little thorns. But of course, that didn’t deter Miss Windsor from doing her best – thus, three huge bags of blackberries were assigned a new home in her prickly cold freezer!  Frozen blackberries - ready to be bagged, then back into the prickly cold freezer! Now, moving swiftly on, this year I felt compelled to recreate an American recipe from yesteryear using the very best of British fayre. So, I called upon America’s very own culinary goddess from days gone by – the illustrious Fannie Merritt Farmer! I say, within ‘two shakes of a lamb’s tail’, and whilst scouring the pages of my 1909 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, I discovered an ideal recipe for my foraged fruits – Fannie’s Berry Muffins! I dare say, I always get quite a thrill when mentioning her name – now, why the ‘muff’ could that be?  Fannie Merritt Farmer's recipe for Berry Muffins - 1909 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book! First off, I was staggered to read that Fannie’s recipe only requires approx. 68 grams (1/3 cup) of sugar – How spiffing! Darlings, yet interestingly, I came across this recipe under the category of Biscuits, Breakfast Cakes, & Shortcakes – of course, one naturally presumes that breakfast – the most important meal of the day - should not be a sugar-laden affair.  Blackberries coated in flour. I say they looked rather wintery! But more commonly, nowadays, recipes for muffins, whether made for breakfast or a sweet treat, contain 200 grams (1 cup) of sugar or more – How astounding! I say it’s extremely evident that the good folk of America were more health-conscious back in the day and would've rather avoided that terrifying beast of obesity – hear, hear!  Miss Windsor's Blackberry & Elderberry Breakfast Muffins - ready for the oven! Also, another noteworthy snippet of information, is that Fannie’s recipe contains very little butter (although they say butter is good for, albeit in moderation) nevertheless, in this case, it’s outweighed by the addition of whole milk, which makes Fannie’s muffins extremely light and creamy – How splendid! Oh, and I must admit, in addition to Fannie’s recommended measurement of milk, I added 1/2 cup more, as I found Fannie’s recipe a little too dry for my liking!  Miss Windsor's freshly baked Blackberry & Elderberry Breakfast Muffins! Okey dokey, I must pop off now for a well-deserved cup of tea! So, until our next meeting I bid you farewell, but in the mean-time, I do hope you enjoy Fannie’s, well Miss Windsor’s glorious muffins – Oh, I say!  Fancy one of Miss Windsor's Blackberry & Elderberry Breakfast Muffins - How scrumptious! These little darlings are best scoffed at breakfast time – just cut in half and spread with slightly salted butter or blackcurrant jam. Or actually, one may enjoy a muffin or two any time of the day!
 ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY MISS WINDSOR - EXCEPT FOR PHOTO OF MRS SIMKINS. Miss Windsor’s Blackberry &
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