Blueberry Muffins

The company my mother works in had a “Happy Fruit Day” recently where all the employees were given a fruit to encourage them to eat healthily! They just started this monthly event and the star for this month is… Blueberries! Everyone who bakes muffins seems to bake blueberry muffins so how can I not join the bandwagon especially when I have free blueberries now? =D Hence, I searched for a blueberry muffin recipe and this one appeals to me the most. Without further ado, let’s start baking!

Recipe with Pictures

Makes about 15 muffins (The author yielded 12 though)

Ingredient list:

• 350g of cake flour
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• ¼ tsp of salt
• 115g of melted butter
• 120g of caster sugar (I reduced it from 150g)
• 1 egg (my egg weighs about 65g)
• 250g of Mixed Berries yogurt (I substituted it from greek yogurt as I wanted the muffins to have more blueberry taste)
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract (I omitted this)
• 250g of fresh blueberries! (rinse before use)

My Oven Settings:

200°C; top and bottom heat; about 20 minutes
(Settings would differ from oven to oven. Please experiment with yours!)

Steps:

1. Line a muffin tray with muffin cases.

2. Sift cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.

3. Toss 1 tbsp of the flour mixture in 150g of blueberries and set aside. (This would be mixed into the muffin batter while the remaining 100g of blueberries would be used to decorate the top of the muffins later).

4. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk to combine melted butter, sugar, egg and yogurt together.

5. Stir in the flour mixture in two parts until almost combined. Do not over-mix as gluten would form resulting in hard muffins.

6. Lightly mix 150g of the tossed blueberries into the batter. Do not over-mix as well.

7. Scoop the mixture into the cases, filling them ¾ full.

8. Bake them in a preheated oven at the settings mentioned above or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the muffins comes out clean.

9. Cool them in the muffin tray for around three to five minutes before completely cooling them on a cooling rack.

Recipe Only

Comments: 

Initially, when I saw the “blossoming” muffins in the oven, I was so shocked! I finally understood what the author meant when she said the blueberries were “bleeding”! Haha. I thought her blueberry muffins look seductive with their juices flowing downwards and I was wondering how she got that look. Now I know! The blueberries were so juicy that they just “bled” in the hot hot oven. Wow. Tempting. *lick lips* Haha.

Furthermore, my muffins were expanding so big that they looked like they would explode any minute! The “bleeding” blueberries did not help to allay my fears. I was still thinking that I should fill them lesser next time. However, when I finally took them out of the oven, i think they look gorgeous! The size was just right! The muffins were not underfilled such that they were below their cases, nor were they overfilled that they became too big sized. This size is just nice!

When these muffins were almost done, they smelt heavenly! The smell reminded me of the prepacked blueberry waffles that we used to bake for tea break after school. It was nostalgic. Aahhh~ those good times. Anyway, my sister and I hurriedly took a muffin each when it was fresh out of the oven! It is really like what the author claims it to be: moist! As the exterior was browned, it was slightly hard/crunchy. I think this combines well with the soft and moist interior. You get different textures when you eat it and I like it! However, my sister feels that the blueberry taste is not very strong and could be better. Perhaps, blueberry flavouring could be used instead of vanilla extract? Oh well! You can try it and let me know! 

Recipe Source: Adapted from Delishar