Rhubarb Crumble Muffins and a Buttery Giveaway!

Anchor butter are bringing back Elevenses! Of course, as a person who identifies readily with hobbits Merry and Pippin in The Lord of the Rings, Elevenses never really left:
Aragorn: Gentlemen, we do not stop ’til nightfall.
Pippin: What about breakfast?
Aragorn: You’ve already had it.
Pippin: We’ve had one, yes. What about second breakfast?
[Aragorn turns and walks off in disgust]
Merry: I don’t think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn’t he?
Merry: I wouldn’t count on it.

However, Anchor’s campaign has made me stop and think. Elevenses for me since Bonus Boy started school has been a cup of tea and a biscuit from the bottom of the tin sitting at  my desk. The tea goes cold more often than not and it is hardly a satisfying moment in my day, I am refuelling but not recharging.

So, yesterday, I reinstated proper Elevenses, an Elevenses which Merry and Pip would have been proud of. Bonus Boy and I sat at the table with our cups of tea and a rhubarb crumble muffin each and caught up with each other. Next week I am going to schedule Elevenses into my working day and I am going to move away from the desk for a full fifteen minutes. I have a feeling my productivity levels will rise and that I will feel a lot better for it.

Here is my recipe for Rhubarb Crumble Muffins, making the most of the early UK forced rhubarb. Go on, treat yourself!

Makes 12

Ingredients

375g Self Raising Flour

125g Soft Light Brown Sugar

100g Anchor butter, melted and cooled

250ml milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

200g rhubarb, sliced lengthways and then chopped

50g caster sugar

2tbsps water

For the crumble topping

50g plain flour

25g porridge oats

50g cold Anchor butter, diced

50g Demerara sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200°C
• Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases
• Sift the flour into a bowl
• Add the soft brown sugar
• Whisk the egg, milk and butter together
• In a small bowl, mix the rhubarb, caster sugar and water together
• Make the crumble topping by putting all the ingredients, except the Demerara sugar, into a bowl and rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs. Add the sugar.
• Add the egg mixture and the rhubarb mixture to the flour and fold it all together. Don’t over mix, it is supposed to be lumpy
• Divide the muffin mixture equally between the paper cases
• Top each muffin with a generous amount of crumble topping and press it on very gently
• Bake for about 20 minutes, leave the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

To encourage me to take a bit of time out and recharge (I have been on the go at full speed for four hours by the time Elevenses comes around after all) Anchor have sent me a full set of their memorabilia and I have two more sets to give away!

It includes a butter dish, a pair of egg cups, a cake stand, a cake tin, a tea towel, an apron and a toy van! Perfect!

To be in with a chance to win one of these sets, leave me a comment below telling me your favourite Elevenses snack.

For an extra entry tweet ‘I am entering @christinemosler’ s #AnchorElevenses giveaway with @Anchor_dairy http://wp.me/pPrLb-1d2′

Closing date is Elevenses on Thursday 26th January 2012. Winner will be chosen by an online random number generator. My decision is final. Hurry up, it’s not long!

Pop over to Facebook and Twitter for Elevenses chat with Anchor.

I am running this giveaway concurrently with my foodie blog so if you want to enter over there too pop along to FabFood!

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