With the recent nonsensical news of lingonberries being the answer to preventing people turning even more fat (I know, the Daily Mail isn’t exactly he place to go for health advice), I’ve decided to share a little recipe of mine that uses this tasty berry. Now I’m not a believer that lingonberries will save your stomach line, but I can fully endorse that these cakes are pretty darn yummy.

Lingonberry? What the hell?

You may ask what in earth a lingonberry is, Scandinavian readers maybe a little more familiar with this rather tasty fruit which is part of the berry family (it’s scrumptious with fried herring and mash). This recipe uses lingonberry jam which is somewhat uncommon to find here in the UK, but can be found in Scandinavian grocery stores. I picked up mine from the Scandinavian Kitchen off London’s Oxford Street for around the £4 mark.

Ingredients

• 300g self raising flour
• 200g butter (softened or at room temperature)
• 200g sugar
• 2 large eggs and 1 egg yolk
• 100ml milk (full fat)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Lingonberry jam (or any other jam if you can’t find this)

Directions

1. Prep a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases and ensure your oven is preheated to 180C/360F.
2. Pour the flour, butter, sugar, eggs, milk and baking powder in a mixing bowl and mix away until you have a smooth batter (It maybe a little viscous but this is ok as it will allow the lingonberry jam to sit on it without sinking to the base of the paper case).
3. Fill the paper cases with about a third full with the batter (roughly a tablespoon dollop).
4. Place approximately a levelled tablespoon of the lingonberry jam in the middle of each of the paper cases so it sits central (see picture). You can push the jam in ever so slightly to fit in more, just be careful not to let it touch the base of the paper case.
5. Cover each of the cases with more batter to roughly 2/3rds so that the batter is fully covering the jam.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until cooked (use a cocktail stick to test if needed). Allow to cool on a cooling rack once done. CAREFUL – the jam inside will be HOT!

Voila!

These are totally scrumptious and usually best eaten the same day. Comment below and let me know how yours turn out (and if it did help prevent you from gaining weight)!