i’ve had a bit of a shopping spree recently and am the proud owner of a couple of silicon baking trays – one for madeleines and the other for mini muffins. i decided to give the mini muffin case an outing this weekend, reasoning that muffins would be more forgiving if the tray misbehaved.

as instructed i lightly greased them before use (this should now be unnecessary unless the muffin mix is fat-free) and apart from having to manoeuvre a floppy tray in and out of the oven, it was a great success.

the resulting muffins, which were baked naked (no paper cases), had a gorgeous slight crispy texture on the outside – a perfect contrast to the meltingly soft centres. these would be perfect for nibbles at a festive drinks party.

goats cheese and rosemary mini muffins (makes 20-24)

100g goats cheese

100g red onion, finely chopped

3 teaspoons rosemary leaves, finely chopped

25g butter, cut into small pieces

275g plain flour

1 heaped tablespoon baking powder

1 egg, beaten

225ml milk

a large pinch of salt

sprigs of rosemary for garnish

preheat the oven to 200c.

place the goats cheese, onion, chopped rosemary and butter in a bowl so it is ready when it needs to be added to the muffin mixture.

sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. add the egg and milk and lightly mix using as few folding movements as possible. the flour shouldn’t all be mixed in with the liquid. add the flavourings and mix lightly again – you should still have small amounts of flour not integrated – this rough and ready half-mixing approach ensures your muffins will be light and rise.

place the mix into your muffin tray and top each with a sprig of rosemary then bake for 20 minutes, when they will be well-risen and golden.

if you have only got enough muffins trays to bake half the mixture at a time, you will have to halve the recipe or make it in two batches as the mixture doesn’t like to be kept waiting.