Muffin Maestro
JANE ROBERTS talks about her love of Pembrokeshire… and her new muffin-making business…
I was brought up just north of Fishguard in Ceredigion, then moved to Bristol and lived there for 40 years. I loved the city but I got the hiraeth – the longing to be back – in Wales and near the sea. I was drawn to north Pembrokeshire for its rugged coastline, beautiful hills filled with fascinating ancient history, friendly people, and sea swimming.
Fishguard is a fantastic place to live – so much going on and everyone is so friendly. A huge plus for me is the wonderful products and ingredients I can use in my baking. My regulars are creamy Morfa milk, cheese from Pant Mawr, free-range eggs from Trebover, raspberries from a garden in Llanychaer, jams and chutneys from The Potting Shed, blackberries that I pick in my favourite spots locally, wild garlic from the Gwaun Valley, and seaweed I pick on beaches in the area.
For me, cooking is all about flavour over looks – and making people smile.
Mum was a great baker. When I was growing up, we used to make Welsh cakes together, using her planc, which I still use now. I’ve been a chef for a number of years, and also used to make birthday cakes, brownies and pies for friends and family.
Now that I swim in the sea regularly, I know that everyone loves a hot drink and a cake after a cold dip. My friends told me that they love my cakes, and encouraged me to start selling them. At first, I didn’t feel confident to start my own business, but then I approached Business Wales for advice and support. I did a business planning course and was awarded a grant to set up a website and online shop, which has just launched. I’m extremely excited and a little bit scared…
I’ve always made little cakes to give my friends and family a treat, so I decided on muffins, Who doesn’t like a muffin? People also like my cheese-and herb-scones, so I decided to play with muffin flavours and make some savoury ones as well as sweet. Now I have a Mediterranean one with feta, roasted pepper, olives and a pesto made with wild garlic picked in the Gwaun Valley in the spring. There is a mildly spicy one with a masala dosa potato curry filling and spiced cashew nuts on top. Opinion on these savoury muffins is divided between those who adore them and love them for picnics and packed lunches, and those who think it’s madness.
I would say my most popular sweet muffins are triple chocolate, made with dark chocolate, white chocolate and a gooey Nutella centre. People also love my raspberry Bakewell muffins, made with local raspberries, and with a lovely soft centre of almond frangipane and raspberry jam. My lemon blossom muffins have a soft centre of lemon jam and lemon curd, very zesty and fresh, and my blueberry muffins are juicy and moist.
I’ll be making some seasonal specials too. My latest is a blackberry and apple crumble muffin made using the blackberries I picked from Abermawr and around Treffgarn.
I also have gluten-free and vegan muffins available.
Thinking up new flavours is the best part for me. My main tip for making delicious, moist muffins is not to overmix, just gently stir the wet and dry ingredients together rather than beating them.
I’ve made plenty of mistakes too – I once made a whole batch of lemon muffins and forgot to put the sugar in. Boy, they were tart.
Online shop tymwffin.co.uk
Email tymwffin@gmail.co.uk
Ty Mwffin is on Facebook and Instagram.
