blueberries – Page 2 – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Blueberry Crumb Muffins

While berries can pretty much be found year-round at most supermarkets, there’s nothing like getting them during the summer when they are at their peak. I have definitely made the most of them this summer incorporating them into quite a few desserts – as the pièce de résistance on a lemon & pastry cream cake, as a topping to 4th of July themed cupcakes and most recently in raspberry cupcakes. And when I saw that I had a pint of blueberries sitting in my refrigerator a little longer than I would have liked, I decided it was time to use them before losing them. I opted on making a recipe that I love using for blueberries – and one that I have blogged about before – a Blueberry Crumb Cake. Although, this time around I made two tweaks to the recipe….

I dredged the blueberries in flour before folding them into the batter so they wouldn’t all sink to the bottom…

And I used the batter to make muffins instead of a cake,

Which I still topped with streusel before baking.

Hence, Blueberry Crumb Muffins.

And if you are wondering if the flour covered blueberries worked, just take a look. You can see hints of blueberries at the top of the muffin near the crumb topping as opposed to seeing all of the blueberries at the bottom.

Blueberry Crumb Muffins – adapted from here

Makes 8 Muffins

Streusel:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Muffins:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2/3 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup fresh blueberries, dredged in enough flour to coat them

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 8 muffins cups with paper liners.

For the streusel:

Combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the muffins:

In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the vanilla, lemon zest and sour cream.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completed mixed.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups – I used an ice cream scoop – and crumble the streusel over the batter.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the tins and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th on Friday and that the rest of your holiday weekend was good. As for me, the 4th was a bit of a washout due to rain but the rest of the weekend was beautiful which meant I was able to do some yard work. The rain wasn’t all that bad though, it gave me the perfect excuse to stay in and bake some patriotic themed cupcakes. I settled on making Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. I should note that the recipe for the Lemon Buttermilk was originally for a loaf cake, but, I decided to turn it into cupcakes and add some frosting.

I began by whisking together the dry ingredients -flour, baking powder and salt – in one bowl and the wet ingredients – oil, sugar, buttermilk, eggs, lemon zest and juice – in another.

After whisking those ingredients together by hand I opted to use my hand mixer to whisk all of the ingredients together.

I then used an ice cream scoop – I find it’s always the perfect size for scooping cupcake batter – to fill patriotic themed cupcake liners.

I then baked them in a 350 F preheated oven for 20 minutes – rotating the tins halfway through. After letting the cupcakes cool for a few minutes in the pan I removed them and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

I then whipped up a batch of Cream Cheese Frosting and used a large open star tip to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

And since these were patriotic themed cupcakes I added some red and blue with stars and stripes sprinkles, blueberries and strawberries and blueberries and raspberries.

Final verdict… Lemon & Cream Cheese are a winning combination!

Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes – adapted from here

Makes 14 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup canola oil

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, buttermilk, eggs, lemon zest and juice. Add to the dry ingredients.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the lined cups and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes, rotating the tins halfway through.

5. Cool the cupcakes in the tins on a wire rack for a few minutes and then remove them and let them cool completely on the wire rack.

6. Frost and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups Confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer

2. With the mixer on low speed add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth and creamy

3. Beat in the vanilla extract

Bluberry Crumb Cake

I’ve always enjoyed baking, but, it wasn’t until a few years ago that it really became a hobby where I would challenge myself to actually make things from scratch… frostings, pie crusts, pie fillings, cakes and so forth. One of the first things I attempted back then was Barefoot Contessa’s Blueberry Crumb Cake and it instantly became a favorite amongst my friends. It had been a while since I made one but during a recent trip to the supermarket I decided to bake one when I came across some perfectly ripe blueberries in the produce aisle.

To start, I began by making the crumb topping for the cake. First I combined granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together and then added in melted butter and lastly flour. Once it was mixed well I set it aside and began working on the cake.

I gathered all of my ingredients together so they would be within arm’s reach.

As with most cakes I started by creaming the butter and sugar together.

I then added in 2 eggs one at a time.

Following that I added in vanilla extract, lemon zest and sour cream.

I set the wet mixture aside and sifted together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt.

I then added the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mixed it until it was just combined.

And finally I folded in about a cup of fresh blueberries.

I then spread the batter into my prepared – I sprayed it with baking spray – 9-inch round pan.

And then it was time to add the crumb topping.

After baking for 45 minutes the cake was ready to come out of the oven. You definitely don’t want to over bake this cake because then the crumb topping will burn and become dry and a bit crunchy.

Once the cake was completely cooled I sprinkled it with confectioners’ sugar. You may be tempted not to add the sugar, but believe me, that little touch of sweetness makes such a difference.

The cake was delicious, so much so that I ended up making another one a few days later.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Ingredients

For the streusel:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2/3 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: