I enjoy having berry muffins, especially on a winter afternoon with a warm cup of coffee or tea! Even if in winter the berry season is over, I can still have my favourite berry muffins by using frozen berries. Frozen berries can be found nowadays almost at every grocery shop, but you can froze your own berries, when the berry season is still on. Wash the berries with water, make sure that they have completely dried and store them within a plastic zip bag in the freezer. Your berries can be stored in the freezer till the next berry season, i.e. for up to 6 months (do not forget to write down on the bag the date of adding them in the freezer). However, if you use frozen berries, instead of fresh, in this recipe do not defrost them as this will cause them to soften and dissolve into the batter.

This buttermilk berry muffin recipe is one of my favourites because the muffins resulted are perfectly moist and tender! The reason is the use of buttermilk and oil instead of the usual milk and butter. Feel free to use any kind of oil you prefer, such as canola, sunflower, corn, vegetable, as well as a mild olive oil. I prefer to use sunflower oil. What regards buttermilk, if it doesn't sound familiar, it has a thick, creamy texture with a rich tangy, buttery taste, which makes baked products tender. You can use instead kefir or ayran (ariani) or you can even make your own buttermilk at home. For your homemade buttermilk just add 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar, cider vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup (240ml) of milk. Stir the vinegar into the milk, let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before using, and here you have your homemade buttermilk for your muffins.

For a finish touch and extra aroma I use zest of one lemon, which is the outer yellow part of the lemon, Make sure to use the zest of organic unwaxed lemon and wash the lemon throughly before grating the zest. Depending on your taste, feel free to use orange zest instead.

These muffins are very easy to make. It is just a 2-bowl recipe. One bowl for the wet ingredients and one for the dry ones and of course the berries! Start by adding In a large measuring cup or bowl the egg and giving it a whisk. Add the buttermilk, the oil and the vanilla extract and whisk well. Set the wet ingredients mix aside.

In another large mixing bowl add the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, the salt and the lemon zest and mix well using a rubber spatula. Add the berries into the dry ingredients and gently fold them in using a rubber spatula.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and gently incorporate them using a rubber spatula. Make circular motions and pay attention not to break or smash the berries. Mix just until incorporated, otherwise you will end up with tough muffins. But still make sure that there are no flour-mixture lumps left in the batter.

Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners, butter it or spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full with batter, using an ice cream scoop or two table spoons. Make sure that all muffin cups have almost the same amount of batter for evenly cooking.

Place the muffin pan in preheated oven, at 170°C (340°F) fan forced, on a rack placed in the middle of the oven. Bake for 20'-25' or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Once baked, place the muffin pan on a wire rack and let cool for about 5'-10' before removing the muffins from the pan. Then transfer the muffins on a wire rack.

Serve the buttermilk mixed berry muffins warm from the oven or at room temperature. Once completely cooled, store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. Enjoy!