Streusel-topped Blueberry Muffins for our Virtual Tea Party

I love how recipes get shared and reshaped, and of course, the stories that come with it. This one is a family favourite, and it comes with a funny story.

Loving Husband regularly sends me recipes he finds on his daily scour of news and social media. He sent me this Jordan Marsh’s Blueberry Muffins from the NYTimes Cooking several years ago. I was very taken by this recipe because it calls for butter instead of oil, which was my experience with muffins up to that point. I loved the texture. So over the year following, we experimented with decreasing the sugar, adding white wholemeal to the mix, streusel on the top (fairy dust for baked goods!), until we got to where we thought we were finished. 

A few months ago, returning to this recipe after some time, I reread the original recipe. I realised that in all the excitement of experimentation, I had omitted a very key step: the recipe calls for 1/2 cup (of the total 2 cups) blueberries to be mashed before adding to the mix – “this produces a very moist muffin, one that will stay fresh longer”. I have since tried this step and found this claim to be true.

Muffin

• 115g softened butter
• 150g  sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 240g flour ( I sometimes substitute half the amount with white wholemeal)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 Tbsp poppyseed (optional)
• ½ cup milk
• 300g blueberries, washed, drained 

Streusel Topping

• 100g brown sugar
• 45g flour
• 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 65g butter (chilled)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade
2. Line muffin tin with cases.
3. Cream the butter & sugar.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Fold the flour, salt & baking powder into the mixture, alternately with the milk.
7. Crush 100g (1/3 of the total amount) blueberries with your mixing spoon or fork. Mix into the batter.
8. Fold in the remaining blueberries.
9. To make streusel topping: mix together brown sugar, flour & cinnamon powder. Rub in the chilled butter until like bread crumbs.
10. Sprinkle the topping onto the muffins.
11. Bake for 25-35 min.

Bringing some to Our Virtual Tea Party with BlogFriends, hosted by Su at zimmerbitch & Del at CurlsnSkirls