Chocolate and prune wholemeal muffins:

Each muffin contains approx. 6½ grams of fat (1½ grams saturates), and 6½ grams of ‘added’ sugar. If you are concerned about your consumption of fat and sugar, please read the general information about wholemeal muffins.

These ingredients should make enough mixture for 12 muffins - using a deep bun tin with 'holes' measuring about 7cm wide at the top, and about 3cm deep, which is about the right size for Dr. Oetker (formerly Supercook) muffin cases, which are widely available.

'Ready to eat' prunes

150 grams

Molasses sugar

75 grams

Margarine

50 grams

Wholemeal flour (self-raising)

200 grams

Baking powder

4 level teaspoons

Organic cocoa powder

50 grams

Vanilla extract

3 teaspoons

Large, free-range, eggs

Unsweetened Soya Milk

(or you can use skimmed milk)

250 ml

Sainsbury's Ready to Eat Vanilla prunes are recommended for this recipe - they are shelved with the 'Snacking fruits', not the dried fruits for baking. If you get your prunes from a different supermarket, make sure that the label states that they do not need to be soaked.

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to gas mark 7, 220°c.

2. The molasses sugar may have formed a solid mass, but cut-off enough to weigh 100 grams, and then, with clean and dry hands, crumble into a mixing bowl. It’s easier to wash your sugary hands, than to wash a sieve, or to follow the instructions on the sugar packet for softening the sugar.

3. Add the margarine to the sugar, and cream together. Mix-in the vanilla extract.

4. Roughly chop the prunes - they will become a bit of a gooey mess - then mix into the margarine and sugar mixture.

5. Weigh the flour, and whilst it’s in the pan on the scales, add the cocoa so that the overall weight increases to 250 grams, and then stir-in the baking powder. Make sure that these ingredients are thoroughly blended together.

6. Lightly whisk the eggs together in a small bowl, then whisk-in about half of the soya or skimmed milk.

7. Pour about a ¼ of the egg mixture into the mixing bowl, with the creamed margarine and sugar, and add about ¼ of the flour mixture. Mix together.

8. Repeat until the egg and flour mixtures are combined, and then gently stir-in the remaining soya or skimmed milk. the mixture will be like a thick batter.

9. It’s recommended that you hold a paper case in your left hand (if you’re right-handed), and spoon in enough of the cake batter to half-fill the case. When you put the case into the bun-tin, the batter will rise a bit more in the paper case.

10. Bake at gas mark 7, 220°c, for 10 minutes, and then reduce heat to gas mark 5, 190°, and bake for a further 12-15 minutes.

11. Leave the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the bun tray, then place them on a cooling tray.

The Stress-free diet - recipe:

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· Wholemeal muffins - about

· Spiced choc-chip wholemeal muffins

· Double choc-chip wholemeal muffins

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