Jammy Blueberry Cupcakes

1. Spoon the flour and sugar into a bowl and mix. I ran out of caster sugar so I used demerera, which I think actually makes it more breakfast muffin-y and golden!
2. Add the butter (softened/room temp) and the egg (beaten) and beat well. Add in the milk and keep beating the mixture until it is a smooth, creamy consistency. Then add in 2 generous teaspoons of blueberry preserve and stir it in until the mixture is a grey-blue-lilac colour! Put your preserve back in the fridge to cool down.
3. If you're using greaseproof paper instead of cupcake cases, cut 6 squares that fit your cupcake tray and grease the non-shiny side of each with oil. Put the squares, shiny side down, into the cupcake tray by pressing them down and folding any bits that need to be folded for them to fit the tray. Remember it doesn't have to look perfect because we're being rustic!
4. Put a dessert spoon of cake mixture into each case and poke it a bit to make sure it reaches the edges of the case. 
5. Drop about half a teaspoon of (fridge temperature) blueberry preserve into the centre of each case. This will create the jammy middle! 
6. Top each jammy centre with about half a dessert spoon of cake mix until you've used it all up and make sure the preserve is completely covered. Do not stir the mix inside the cases because then the jammy centre won't work!
7. Put your lovely cupcakes in the oven. Mine took about 30 mins but all ovens are different, so cook them for 15-20 mins and then check every 5 mins until they're golden on top.
8. Leave them to cool a little on a wire rack or a plate and then enjoy! They're very tasty when they're still warm.

Chocolate and Blueberry Pancake Stack

1. Crack your eggs into a mixing bowl or glass jug. I would strongly recommend using a jug to save on washing up! Whisk them until the whites and yolks are combined. 
2. Add the flour bit by bit, whisking as you go, until you have a thick cake-batter consistency that's quite difficult to whisk.
3. Now add your milk bit by bit until the mixture is runny but still reasonably thick. It should be a pale colour like normal pancake batter. Make sure it's mixed really well and stop when little air bubbles appear in the mixture when you let it rest for a few seconds. Add in a pinch of salt and the sugar and mix.
4. Heat up a frying pan on the stove on a medium-low heat. I don't use oil because it's a non-stick pan and it would just make the batter spread out more which is not what we want for this type of pancake!
5. Pour a small puddle of batter into the middle of the pan. Don't be tempted to swirl it around like you would with a crepe. It will spread out a little by itself as it cooks.
6. When bubbles have appeared, flip it with a spatula. You should see this...
   
7. It won't take long for the other side to cook, so keep checking it. Once it looks like this, it's ready...
   
8. Slide your pancake onto your serving plate and pour in your next one. While you're waiting for the bubbles, spread your first pancake with a thin layer of nutella. It should spread really easily while the pancake is still hot. Then add the next one when it's ready and repeat until you have a yummy stack! Try not to eat them as you go along...
   
9. Once you've done your last pancake, don't put nutella on the top, but instead heat up the blueberry preserve in a small pan over a low heat. I used Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserve, which I found is far, far too sweet to go on toast but I plan to use it for baking and it goes amazingly with pancakes. Keep stirring it over a low heat until it starts to go runny and hot. Just before it starts to bubble, pour it over the top of your pancakes and encourage it to dribble down the sides. Now they're ready to gobble! 
   
   

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