Baking - FODMAPs style

Baking, and sweet treats, are my favourite things. It's no secret. There's a reason I get something new from Lakeland every birthday and Christmas. So, with an afternoon off and a fridge full of blueberries, I felt it was time for my first foray into FODMAP friendly baking. After a little rummage around the internet, and using some of my baking knowledge, I took this recipe and adapted it to be not only FODMAP friendly, but vegan and, even if I do say so myself, pretty bloody tasty.

Here they are, fresh from the oven, and looking a lot closer to scones than muffins. time to split them open and see how they taste;

Well, they look pretty good - moist, soft, and feel really spongy. There's a nice jam/compote consistency from the blueberries, cooking and seeping into the batter, and they taste better than they look (hard to believe, I know). The blueberries were a little tart, next time I might stew them slightly with some sugar, or cut them in half and dust them in icing sugar, to get that super sweet taste I've been craving, the muffins themselves had an unusual texture, closer to an american pancake than a crumbly muffin, but overall, they came out perfectly. My housemate, who has no restrictions in her diet (lucky!), had a try. She was dubious at first, telling me they looked dense and dry, but as soon as she tucked in she was won over. Her exact words? 'well, that's surprisingly delicious. Not what I was expecting at all'. I think that's a compliment! For those who want to try it out, the recipe is below.

Makes 12 large muffins. 15 minute prep time, approx 30 minute bake time. Too much washing up time (any washing up time is too much washing up time).

300g gluten-free flour (I used Doves Farm)
115g caster sugar
1.5 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
pinch of salt
250ml lactose free milk (I used Rice Dream)
2 eggs / egg replacement (I used this 4 teaspoons of baking powder mixed with  teaspoons of sunflower oil and 4 tablespoons of water to make these vegan).
90g of unsalted butter or butter replacement  (I used Flora Freedom)
1 tsp vanilla essence
150g blueberries
zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan).
Sift the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt - together with the lemon zest.
Melt the butter/butter replacement on the hob to a smooth liquid.
Mix the wet ingredients - butter, milk, egg/egg alternatives, vanilla essence - in a separate bowl/jug.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry bit by bit, whisking to ensure a smooth batter consistency.
Stir in the blueberries.
Split the mix between 12 large muffin cases, or 24 small cake cases.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a knife comes out dry.

Cool, and serve.