Rhubarb, Stem Ginger and White Chocolate Muffins

Rhubarb is commonly regarded to be this piercing fluorescent stick that we implant into crumbles and pies. Wrong, nay, it can be utilized in an array of dishes. Its sharp sour tang is what unites it so agreeably with rich, fatty meats and fishes, in particular pork and mackerel.

Nevertheless, possessing a sweet tooth I decided it was only fitting to create something for the sugar department, but entailing a bit more excitement than your customary rhubarb desserts. Rhubarb is also a loving partner to stem ginger and white chocolate, and so this how these muffins came about. Feel free to add more stem ginger if you love its intensity or even use ground ginger instead if you are budgeting, and to turn into a dessert serve with custard.

Makes 12

300g rhubarb, roughly chopped into 3cm pieces

150g white chocolate, roughly chopped

100g stem ginger, chopped

2 tbsp. of syrup, from the stem ginger jar

100g plus 3 tbsp., golden caster sugar

300g self-raising flour

1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

2 eggs, beaten

200ml milk

100g butter, melted

Demerara sugar, to decorate

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas Mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases.

2. Mix the rhubarb with the 3 tbsp. of golden caster sugar in a small baking tin and cook for approximately 5 minutes, until just tender but not mushy. Leave to cool.

3. Sieve the self-raising flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl. Mix in the milk, eggs, butter, stem ginger syrup, chopped stem ginger, white chocolate and remaining sugar. Then gently fold in the rhubarb including its juices.1.

4. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases. Sprinkle the tops with the demerara sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tin and then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool.

Stem Ginger Vegan Scotch Pancakes with Blueberries and White Chocolate Sauce

This was designed for vegan magazine "Off The Hoof", but you can adjust the ingredients if you're not one such as using eggs instead of oil, and cream with the white chocolate sauce to improve the consistency. You can also foster other fruit rather than blueberries if you prefer, but these were picked due to their excellent partnering with white chocolate.

Makes approximately 9 pancakes

225g plain flour

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

250ml soya milk

A pinch of salt

25g sugar

3 tbsp vegetable oil

3-4 pieces of stem ginger, finely chopped

100g dairy free white chocolate, broken into small pieces

200g blueberries, washed

1. Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and add the baking powder and salt. Add the other ingredients and whisk together until the flour forms a smooth batter. If the mixture is too thick then keep adding a little more soya milk at a time, until it does form a batter.

2. Heat a frying pan and add approximately 2 tbsp of the batter (aim for circular shapes). Cook gently for approximately 2 minutes until firm and golden brown. Whilst the bottom side is cooking, sprinkle over some of the ginger on the facing side (make sure you do not sprinkle too much as the taste will be too overpowering otherwise).

3. Turn the pancake over and cook gently for 30-60 seconds. Place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat this process with the remaining batter.

4. Bring to the boil about a cm or so of water in a saucepan and place a bowl on top. Add the white chocolate to the bowl and allow to melt. You can melt it in the microwave, but since white chocolate burns very easily it is better to do this method where you can keep an eye on it.

5. Grab the pancakes from the oven and divide them and the blueberries between plates. Elegantly drizzle over the white chocolate sauce and relish!