Blueberry Muffins-Humming a New Tune
My first stop at the farmers market is the blueberry stand. I love those little blue gems and find myself adding them to salads, eating them out of hand, and feeding them to Moose (Jamie’s dog, not actual moose). But my favorite thing? Baking blueberry pastries like snacking cakes, hand pies, cobblers, and of course, MUFFINS! A couple of weeks ago I made Smitten Kitchen’s Blueberry Muffins, easy and pretty darn tasty BUT I just found another recipe and it might just beat out SK’s (sorry Deb). From Michelle Lopez’s blog, Hummingbird High, her version of Levain Bakery’s Blueberry Muffins. Bursting with blueberries, tender, and a bit cakier in texture, with a fine crumb texture and a fantastic crunchy top.
If her version of Levain Bakery’s Blueberry Muffin is any indication of the scrumptiousness of Levain Bakery’s pastries-I am making a beeline there when I am in New York (which will be soon since I now have a kid living there-oh happy day). I hear they have a decent Chocolate Chip Cookie too, lol. This muffin is so good it prompted me to pull out her cookbook (of course I have it-Silly), Weeknight Baking. Her recipes are easy to follow and she provides detailed info, even a novice baker will be successful.
Pros and Cons
The Smitten Kitchen muffin gets the nod for quick and easy. Melt butter and stir all the ingredients together. How simple is that? While good right after they come out of the oven, they tend to fall off the scrumptious curve quickly. SK’s suggestion is to split, toast, and butter day-old muffins, I agree.
Her homage to Levain Bakery’s muffin is delicious. The muffins are moist, bursting with blueberries, and tender, thanks to the addition of almond flour. The top is crunchy from the generous sprinkling of sugar which is crunchier if you use raw sugar. With crispy edges and a classic pointy dome, it is an impressive muffin. But, it is a bit more work than the SK version. Butter is creamed with sugar and the batter should rest an hour before baking. So if you are looking for a freshly baked morning treat..get up early for this blueberry bad boy. The cake part of the muffin holds up well but the top loses its crunch after a day. I use paper liners because…well, I’m lazy. The original recipe does not use paper and notes that it changes the outside texture. What are ya gonna do? 🤷🏻♀️
I’m keeping both muffin recipes in my repertoire, a quick fix muffin and the out-to-impress late-morning Sunday Brunch muffin. After all, you should always be prepared! Make either of these recipes, they are guaranteed to chase away the blues-berries.
Mine did not have the super domed peak but that may be because I did not fill the muffin tin as much as Hummingbird High’s. I ended up with 11 muffins. Fill for 9 to get the domed top. But they’re still “purdy” and tasty.
Levain Bakery Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 9 ounces or 255 grams
- ½ cup almond meal or almond flour 1.75 ounces or 50 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup whole milk, at room temperature 4 ounces or 113 grams
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar 7 ounces or 198 grams
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 4 ounces or 113 grams
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 ½ cups fresh blueberries, at room temperature 13 ounces or 369 grams
- For the Garnish
- 9 teaspoons granulated sugar If you want more crunch use raw or turbinado sugar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk and the vanilla. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter. Beat on medium-high until light, fluffy, and doubled in volume, 2 to 3 minutes, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Reduce the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, adding the next egg only after the previous one is fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition.
- With the mixer still on low, add the dry ingredients in three equal parts, alternating with the wet ingredients in two parts. Start & end with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined, then scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more then beat on low for an additional 30 seconds.
- Take ½ cup of the blueberries and crush them with your hands so they are juicy; add to the batter and increase the mixer speed to high for 5 to 10 seconds to break up the berries to release their juices a bit more.
- Reduce the mixer to low and add the rest of the berries, mixing until incorporated evenly throughout the batter, another 30 seconds.
- Rest the batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the batter rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- While the batter is resting, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400℉ using the convect setting (if possible).
- Prepare two muffin tins by spraying the inside and border of every other cavity in the muffin tin generously with cooking spray. I have USA pans that are non-stick, so I didn't to spray and the muffins were easy t remove.
- Use a 1-Tablespoon or 3-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop to fill each sprayed cavity with 6 tablespoons of the batter. It will be a ot of batter in each. The first muffin tin will have six cavities filled, whereas the second muffin will have three cavities filled.
- For the second muffin tin, pour water into every other cavity to mimic the placement of the batter in the first muffin tin. Sprinkle the top of each cavity, aiming for the batter and avoiding the pan, with 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar each. Don't skimp! It helps the top form.
- Bake each muffin tin for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the muffins are domed and golden brown around the edges. A skewer inserted into the center of a muffin should come out with a few crumbs attached.
- Cool the muffins in their muffin tin on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then use an offset spatula to run underneath the edges of the blueberry muffin tops to prevent them from sticking in the pan. Be careful to just run the offset spatula under the edges—you don't want to accidentally cut into the muffin bottom and decapitate the muffin from its top!
- After unsticking the muffin tops, keep cooling the muffins in the tins completely to room temperature. DO NOT TRY AND TURN THE MUFFINS OUT WHILE THEY ARE STILL WARM. Because these muffins are so top-heavy, you'll run the risk of accidentally pulling the tops and bottoms apart if the cake is still warm! Wait until they are cooled completely before turning them out of the pan. Run the offset spatula underneath each muffin top once more and gently tilt the muffin upwards to turn it out of the pan.
- Serve and store. Serve at room temperature. The muffins are best on the day that they're made, but can be individually wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.