Blueberry streusel muffins

Warm freshly baked muffins straight out of the oven are a scrumptious treat that most people won’t resist. These blueberry muffins are exactly that – a crunchy golden brown streusel crust, a soft sponge oozing with that gorgeous shade of blueberries and subtle hints of almond and orange with every bite. With only a few simple ingredients, these are definitely more fun to bake yourself rather than buying those store-bought muffins at the till. If you’re one of those people who despise decadent chocolate muffins, this might just be your new favourite!

PEPARATION TIME: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS (makes 12 muffins)

For the muffin batter:

175g plain flour
50g almond meal
175g caster sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
120ml milk
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Zest of one orange
125g fresh blueberries

For the streusel topping:

25g cold butter
50g demerera sugar
50g plain flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon*(optional)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

To make the streusel topping, sift in in the demerera sugar, cinnamon* and plain flour into a bowl. Add in the cold cubes of butter and bring together with your hands until it turns into a sandy crumble texture. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use later.

Next, whisk together the caster sugar, vegetable oil and the egg in another bowl and cream for a few minutes until it turns pale and fluffy. Add in the milk and fold through.

In a large mixing bowl, sift in the dry ingredients; plain flour, almond meal, baking powder and sea salt. Add in the orange zest and stir with the help of a fork.

Pour the creamed batter into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Toss in the fresh blueberries and gently fold through to incorporate them into the batter.

Let the batter rest while you prepare the baking tin. If you’ve made muffins before you’ll know why the next step is an important one.

Line the tin with paper liners or parchment paper, trust me, this makes it a whole lot easier to get the muffins out of the baking tin once baked.

Get the streusel topping out of the fridge and start spooning!

Spoon the batter evenly into each part of the tin. Make sure to get a few blueberries in each one so they ooze out as they rise in the oven.

Sprinkle a generous amount of streusel on top of each one.

Place in the oven for 22-24 minutes until the streusel is golden brown in colour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted through the centre of the muffin.

Leave to cool for 15-20 minutes on a wire rack before getting the muffins out of the tin.

There you have it, freshly baked blueberry muffins!

PRESSURE POINTS

DO NOT over whisk the batter, instead gently fold through such that you avoid knocking the air out of the batter. This ensures that you have a perfectly soft and moist sponge.

When incorporating fresh blueberries into the batter, toss them into the dry ingredients to coat them in flour. This prevents the berries from sinking to the bottom.

DO NOT over fill the baking tin or else your muffins will over flow as they bake, that’s definitely not what you want!

If you give this recipe a go, I’d love to see how it turned out. Leave a comment below and share your pictures on Instagram using the tag #thecookbooklife!

Enjoy your berry-licious muffins!

Nikita xx