How to turn overripe berries into a shiny cupcake - recipe | don't waste

Save the squishy berries from the trash by making today's streusel muffins. I based the recipe on the classic German blueberry kuchen, which features a cake base moistened with fresh berries, all topped with a crunchy crumble-style topping. I kicked up the flavor and fortified the mix by using whole spelled and rye flours with rapadura sugar, although plain wheat flour and brown sugar work just as well, so use flour, sugar, nuts and spices you have on hand. As far as fruit content goes, even a small handful of overripe berries will do.

Berry Streusel Muffins

These muffins make excellent use of the most berries. ancient, turning squishy fruit into a cake everyone will love. They also work well with frozen berries and other ripe fruits, including diced pear, kiwi, banana, pineapple and peach. Unlike the traditional blueberry kuchen, I've simplified the recipe so that it works with a small amount of fruit. Rather than making just one cupcake, I also thought it would be nice to try the idea with muffins, and they worked wonders: a moist and crunchy streusel.

Makes 6 large muffins or 8-12 cupcakes

For the filling 20g wholemeal flour – I used rye 25g unrefined brown sugar – j I used rapadura 10g rolled oats 30g chopped walnuts – I used slivered almonds (optional) 1 pinch sea salt 1 pinch nutmeg, or ¼ tsp cardamom and/or cinnamon (optional) 30g butter, cut into pea-sized cubes

For the base of the cake 180g wholemeal flour – I used spelled (rye is too heavy) 1½ tsp baking powder 90g unrefined brown sugar – I used rapadura ¼ tsp sea salt Finely grated zest of ½ untreated organic lemon 100ml whole milk 40g butter 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla extract About 100-125g overripe berries

Prepare the filling first: in a medium bowl, mix in the wholemeal flour, sugar, rolled oats, chopped nuts, if using, and a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of grated nutmeg, if using, then stir in the cold diced butter and set aside.

Now for the base: combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then stir in the lemon zest. Pour in the milk, stir in the butter, egg and vanilla, then beat until smooth.

Grease and line a muffin tin six-hole deep (or an 8- or 12-hole cupcake pan), then divide the cake batter between the pans. Top each with a few berries, then top with a dollop of the streusel mixture. Bake at 200C (180C fan)/390F/Gas 6 for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.