Blueberry Muffins!
I don't actually like eating muffins. For one, i find them generally too dry and a mouthful to eat, sometimes after eating, it leaves an oily film in your mouth as well.
I had a sudden crazy for blueberry muffins - i have no idea why - i do not eat fresh blue berries, i actually only like blueberry jam and this is what the blueberries become in this muffin, so YUM!
Also, this muffin is good as a base because it is really fragrant, light and moist. It's also not too sweet, you do not feel like you need to drink water after this nor would it make your throat feel weird because of the sweetness. I use raw caster sugar.
This recipe was taken from: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/department-store-blueberry-muffins-recipe I followed the recipe to a T, so i'm just here to share my experience! The directions have been modified with the steps i took.
Ingredients
113g butter
198g sugar - i used raw caster sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
241g Plain Flour
113g milk
354g frozen blueberries
50g sugar, for toppings
Directions
Before starting: Place the frozen berries in a single layer on a piece of kitchen towel to let it thaw completely.
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line the tin with papers.
Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl and beating well after each addition. (If you use the attachment with a side scraper, like i did, you won't have to do it.)
Beat in the baking powder, salt, and vanilla.
Add the flour alternately with the milk, folding and beating gently just to combine. To retain the lightness and softness of the muffin, don't use the mixer - do this by hand.
Very very gently, fold the berries to the batter, stirring just to combine and distribute. *Careful not to mash the berries, i didn't but what i learnt through research is that mashing frozen berries would turn the batter a blue/green colour.
Keep a few behind - about 36 berries to top the muffins.
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Don't be shy, fill in full to the brim. Don't worry, it doesn't rise crazy high. Put about 3-4 berries on the top of each muffin.
Sprinkle about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of raw caster sugar (or any sugar you're using) on top each muffin. (This is optional, but i think it adds a nice sweet touch.)
Bake the muffins for about 25-30 minutes, until they're light golden brown on top, and a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.
Remove the muffins from the oven, and after about 5 minutes transfer them to a rack to cool.
Everyone that tried it really enjoyed it so this is definitely a recipe i'll keep and will be changing it up - such as using chocolate chips etc..
Hope you give it a go and let me know if you like it as much as i did! :)