So lately I've been a little obsessed with baking muffins. I just love them folks and have since I can remember asking my mom to make blueberry muffins for any special occasion. I am always on the hunt for tasty, whole grain, fruit-filled muffins.
I have a favorite base recipe now and every time I make it I switch something up. This week, I made raspberry ribbon muffins. Oh man! This is a winner. It's a two step process (make jam first then make muffins) but totally worth it. I actually made the raspberry "jam" about a week ago when raspberries were on sale at the store. It's been in the fridge just waiting for its true destiny.
Keep reading till the end. I'll throw in a little food science lesson and a tip on the best muffin tin to buy. Enjoy!
Easy Raspberry Jam
6 oz fresh raspberries, rinsed and drained
4 packets of Stevia sweetener of choice (I used Truvia)
1 tsp sugar (optional)
2 tbsp water
1 tsp cornstarch
In a small sauce pan, whisk cornstarch into water. Add the berries and sugar and stir to combine. Turn on heat and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Stir occasionally to break up berries. Continue to cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into glass storage dish and let cool before using in muffins.
Raspberry Ribbon Muffin
2 cups 100% whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups 1% milk (or low-fatbuttermilk)
1 large egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
6 oz fresh raspberries, roughly chopped
Raspberry jam from recipe above
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with mixer until pale in color, about 2-3 minutes. Add brown sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Then beat in egg until thoroughly combined.
3. Mix in milk and honey until thoroughly combined.
4. Mix in flour and baking soda, just until combined. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in raspberries carefully.
6. Scoop batter into muffin tin to fill only 25%. Then scoop about one tablespoon of jam over the batter. Finish by scooping small amount of batter, filling the muffin tin to about 75% of full capacity. (Bottom 6 holes are with first amount of batter and jam only. Top 6 holes are topped off with additional batter.) Doesn't the jam look like a beautiful, red ribbon?
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Cool for 4 minutes in tin then remove and full cool on wire rack.
Now, let's talk a little food science. When I made these muffins I used two different muffin pans. One was light metal and the other was a dark metal. A darker pan is going to absorb more heat and therefore cook the edges of batter more quickly. This results in an undesirable flat edge and puffy middle giving uneven texture.
This is my other, more-desirable muffin pan. Both pans went in to the oven simultaneously and cooked the same amount of time. The lighter metal allows heat to disperse and cook the muffins evenly. No flat edge and and perfect height.
If you have had trouble achieving pretty baked goods, check the color of your bakeware. I personally prefer the ligher metals and you may find that you do too. Remember that over mixing your batter can also cause muffins to have undesirable peaks. So only mix the dry ingredients until incorporated. A few lumps are ok in a muffin batter.
I hope you can enjoy these delicious muffins at your weekend brunch.We will!
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