One of the things I love most about summer is the abundance of fresh locally available fruits. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries – they all make life sweeter and more colorful in a healthy way.
And while I prefer to eat them pure as they are, I love to incorporate them into my baking as well.
This week, I found some beautiful blueberries at the farmer’s market and decided to make some good old blueberry streusel muffins. You probably have had several blueberry muffins and will agree that not all taste the same. There is something about baking the perfect muffin that is moist but still light and airy. Full of flavor without being too sweet.
It’s not hard to bake a delicious muffin, but you do need to consider a couple of necessary steps:
- Double-sift the flour. I used to skip this step as I didn’t think it would make such a difference. But because you want to keep mixing to a minimum (see next step) sifting is crucial for an airy texture.
- Fold, don’t stir. Use a metal spoon to fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. You want the dough just to come together, but you should still see little lumps of flour.
- Don’t overbake. Take the muffins out when they are still soft or otherwise they will become dry.
With this in mind, you will have the perfect muffins to enjoy. During summer time these are great to take to a picnic in the park or for your BBQ party.
Have fun baking!
Looking for more recipes with berries, check out these raw raspberry cheesecakes or this berry chia pudding.
Love,
Marion
Blueberry Pecan Streusel Muffins
Light and airy muffins with delicious blueberries and a crunchy pecan streusel topping.
Ingredients
- For the streusel:
- 80g sugar
- 80g organic butter
- 160g all-purpose flour (or whole grain flour)
- 25g pecans
- For the muffins:
- 275g all-purpose flour (or 250g whole grain flour)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 170ml organic milk
- 60g sugar
- 2 organic free-range eggs
- 110g butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 275g blueberries + 75g for the topping
Directions
- Step 1 Pre-heat oven to 190°C/375°F and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.
- Step 2 For the streusel, in a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, and butter until a crumbly texture forms. You can use your hands or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Roughly chop the pecans and add them to the crumble mixture. Set aside.
- Step 3 For the muffins, mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt and sift it into a bowl. In another bowl whisk together the milk, sugar, eggs, and melted butter.
- Step 4 Sift the dry ingredients for the second time straight into the egg mixture. Don’t skip this. Sifting the flour twice is important! Using a large metal spoon, fold the dry ingredients quickly but carefully into the wet ones. Don’t over-mix it. You should still see small lumps of flour. Add the blueberries and quickly fold them in.
- Step 5 Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin, sprinkle with blueberries and the pecan streusel.
- Step 6 Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before removing them from the tin.
