Friday, June 08, 2007

Blueberry Goodness



I was to bake something pretty, something photogenic yesterday. Due to a lack of time, I decided to go with my nutella cupcakes and blueberry muffins.

Actually, the blueberry muffins were kind of a last minute thing. That's because a punnet was going at $2.95! I bought 2 punnets and went home feeling excited. Excited because it's been quite a while since I've baked blueberry muffins. Blueberries don't go cheap here in Singapore so I always wait till the prices drop - like now :)

The muffins were filled with so much blueberry goodness that I couldn't help eating them once they came out of the oven. There's nothing like warm blueberry muffins on a hot Thursday afternoon I tell ya.



Check out the moist juices and violet hue! Lovely...

I used a different recipe this time, one which called for a crumble topping. That's why there are so many brown bits on my muffin crowns.

Some of the berries burst, resulting in a volcanic looking muffin:



But I still think they are pretty nonetheless!

I didn't bother taking photos of my nutella cupcakes because I think they've gotten enough limelight :p

Here's my muffins and the cupcakes all in a box, waiting to be photographed with me...




I won't say much about the reason for the photos. Haha, all will be revealed in due time! Sooner than expected, trust me.

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Blueberry Muffins
From Williams-Sonoma Muffins

For the topping:
¼ cup (1½ oz/ 45g) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tablespoons each granulated sugar and firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

For the muffins:
7 tablespoons (3½ oz/ 105g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (6oz/185g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2¼ cups (11½ oz/ 360g) all-purpose (plain)flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 fl oz/ 250ml) milk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract (essence)
1½ cups (6 oz/ 185g) fresh blueberries or frozen unsweetened blueberries, unthawed.


Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit (190 degree celcius) . Grease 12 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavoured nonstick cooking spray

To make the topping, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut or rub the butter into the dry ingredients just until coarse crumbs form. Alternatively, combine the dry ingredients and the butter in a food processor and pulse just until coarse crumbs form.

To make the muffins, in a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each edition until blended into the butter mixture.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 2 increments, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Stir just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold in the blueberries just until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. Take care not to break up the fruit. Do not overmix.
Spoon the batter into each muffin cup, filling it level with the rim of the cup. Sprinkle each muffin with some topping.

Bake until golden, dry, and springy to the touch, 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 muffins.

17 comments:

  1. yummy!! i love blueberries..The photos are great as usual! :)

    hols now? i also having one week break. :) i love yr new blogskin. Nice revamp. Have fun in your hols.

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  2. man the blueberry muffins just look so good! seeing the blueberries bursting and erupting in the muffin just makes me feel so...blueberry!=D

    anyway had been a reader of your blog for quite sometime and felt that your blog is really cool! do visit my blog @ www.thecookiemedley.blogspot.com. rock on and update again soon! =)

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  3. Blueberry is my favourite! Not only because of its colour, but also the sourish and sweet natural juice that oozes out of that teeny round fruit.

    The muffins look so good! I'm gonna try baking them after my exam. Speaking of exam...I should be studying now -_- Ok, enough with the blog-reading. Until next time! Ciao :) Happy Holiday!

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  4. What a coincidence! My friend just told me about the blueberries offer in the supermarkets. So I thought I can get some to make blueberry muffins. And when I visit your blog, i see your blueberry muffins saying hello to me. LOL. Will definitely try this recipe, kinda unique with toppings.

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  5. pretty picture of you and your cupcakes in Life! (: cheers!

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  6. Hi Cheryl,

    Secret's out - you're in the Sunday Times. Congrats!

    Cheers
    Stella
    (Ex-YPMer)

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  7. Congrats! Look good on Sunday Times!

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  8. I SAW YOU ON NEWSPAPER, in my favourite section of the whole lifestyle:)

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  9. Cheryl,
    Great pictures and delicious recipes. Why don't you compile your recipes into an ebook like in
    http://5bucksonly.com/recipes.html

    I'm sure your readers don't mind paying a few bucks for the convenience of having your recipes in one ebook or printed book.

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  10. I was reading 'Lifestyle' and I just HAD TO check out ur blog! And just when I was looking for a blueberry muffin recipe too!!!

    Cheers!

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  11. hi can i have recipe for the nutella cupcakes. they look so yummylicious... and my bf loves nutella.

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  12. I baked the blueberry muffins today and it sure was a hit! I LOVED IT! :)

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  13. I've also baked the muffins yesterday. The blueberries all bursted into a rich purple puree. It's not too sweet and I like it.

    But the toppings, the butter seems to be melting fast when i am rubbing them into the sugar and flour. But they tasted really good, an extra crunch for the muffins.

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  14. I especially like the volcanic-ones! Like edible art.

    This blog is fascinating. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it from now on. :)

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  15. hi
    cheryl
    great recipe which i would love to try but have a problem , blueberries are not available in india in either form , berries are not very easily available so can i use something else in place of that

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  16. Hi Cheryl,

    Would you be willing to share your Nutella recipe? :) I use a very small convection oven though, hope it'll be up to the task of baking muffins.

    Cheers,
    W

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