Thursday, May 28, 2009

Blueberry and Lemon Cake-Style Muffins



I've made these muffins for more years than I care to admit. My favorite way to entertain is with a Sunday brunch and these muffins fall right into place with that easy, no stress, style of entertaining. Unlike their bread-type cousins that quickly stale, these cake-type muffins can be made ahead and sit for 24 hours or so and still be moist and tender. They can also be frozen. The recipe on which these muffins are based came from the old New McCall's Cookbook - sorry for that unintended oxymoron. The cookbook was a bible of sorts in the early 70's and I suspect that anyone even near my age has made at least one dish from its pages. McCall's crepe manicotti with tomato sauce was legend and I probably had it a thousand time before it died a natural death. I digress. The blueberry muffins are inexpensive and really easy to make. This is definitely a "what's not to like" kind of recipe. It's worth a try.


Blueberry and Lemon Cake-Style Muffins


Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/8 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, unbeaten
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fresh or frozen, unthawed blueberries
Confectioners' sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 drgrees F. Spray 2 six-cup muffin tins with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2) Place flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
3) Place butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl as required.
4) Turn speed to low. Beat in flour mixture (in fourths) alternately with milk (in thirds), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until smooth.
5) Fold in blueberries, just until combined.
6) Use an ice cream scoop to fill each cup two-thirds full.
7) Bake until golden brown and cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks; let cool for ten minutes. Remove muffins from pans. Serve warm or cold. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving. Yield: 12 large muffins.

40 comments :

Lyndas recipe box said...

Your pictures are just perfect Mary! The bite out of the muffin makes these fine textured muffins irresitible and oh so tempting!
This is one to try!

noble pig said...

Yeah, what's not to like. Very lovely use of the blueberry. McCall's...now there is a blast from the past.

Ning said...

I noticed you make a lot of goodies with blueberries - which is good. Blueberries are one of the anti-oxidant rich food. :)

jeanne said...

Hi Mary, thank you for your visit to my post today. I appreciate it so much.

I can see you are on a blueberry baking spree. I read yesterdays post too. Mmmmmm. they look beyond good. Just delicious.

Since we are on vacation cooking is not happening but when we come home the job will resume rapidly. BIG smile.

Tomorrow I am posting some Rocky Mountain pics. We are loving these mountains.

Keep the baking love going your family will adore you. LOL.

Hugs...Jeanne

Esi said...

Oh yum! I love lemon and blueberry. I love having dessert type items for breakfast.

theUngourmet said...

3/8 tsp of salt. That is not one I have seen before.

These look yummy! I love the old red and white checked Betty Crocker cookbook. I have had it so long that it fell apart and I had to punch holes in all of the pages and put it in a binder. :0)

Katy ~ said...

These look perfect! The texture of your muffin looks so tender and fine that I know I NEED to make these. Maybe this weekend, when I have baking time. Looking forward to the weekend....

Anonymous said...

Ohhh...these do look delicious! I'd love one right now with a cup of tea.

Bits said...

Hi Mary, this is so lovely and my son loves muffin to bits, I guess I must give it a try!

Donna-FFW said...

Once blueberries go on sale here, how in the world am I going to decide which blueberry treat to make from here? They all look terrific!

Martha said...

These look good. You're on a blueberry roll. Too many good blueberry recipes lately.

Debbie said...

The cake style muffins look great. I would love to try them. Hey, my favorite cookbook is an oldie too...Doubleday Cook book first published in 1975!!!

Mariana said...

How did you achieve such perfect rounded peaks with the muffins. Mine usually end up with big cracks in them or they do not peak at all. Does the shelf level in the oven have anything to do with it? I'd appreciate any tips thanks Mary. I love blueberry muffins.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Mariana, these are cake-type muffins and they won't crater the way the other type does.

Heather S-G said...

They are so tall and perfect!! (new, ha ha)...gorgeous as usual :D

Christina Kim said...

My favorite flavor combo - lemon and blueberry! You must have a really fancy muffin tin to make these tall muffins.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Hi Christina. Welcome to One Perfect Bite. I hope you'll come often. If you like tall muffins try baking them in popover pans.

Pam said...

I love the combination of blueberry and lemon so I know I would really LOVE these. Excellent photo.

Sandra said...

Oh gosh, these look yummy!! I love blueberries!
Blessings,
Sandra

La Bella Cooks said...

I love the fact that these can be made ahead and will still be fresh. It takes the stress off making yet another recipe for brunch the next morning. So delicious!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Sandra, I'm so glad you found us. I hope you'll be a regular visitor.

Cathy said...

Wonderful photos, Mary. I love every one of your blueberry recipes.

Delightfully Wed said...

I would love one of these muffins with my cup of coffee! I'm printing out the recipe to try. Thanks for posting it! They look sooo yummy!

Marta said...

I like "cake-style" muffins as well, they are so much richer and tender. These looks lovely, blueberries and lemon are heavenly :)

Karen said...

These with a cup of good coffee... YUM!

Allie said...

I'm really enjoying this blueberry kick you're on. They're probably my favourite berry (though I have great affection for cloudberries too), and the array of methods of presenting them is just wonderful.

Ginger said...

Mary are you a professional photographer at night? Seriously, your photos get more amazing with each post! Oh, and the muffins look and sound incredible. What more can I say?

Deb in Hawaii said...

What gorgeous muffins--so tall and pretty and blueberries and lemon are such a great combo!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Ginger, thank you for the kind words. I'm not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. I have very limited vision so Bob takes the picture. I, of course, do the recipes, cooking and set up. I also do any photo shop that needs to be done once the pictures are taken. Bob, my guy, does the camera work.

Gaby said...

oh my goodness... this looks delicious! fabulous job! i can't wait to try making there myself!!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

I am so happy I can finally get caught up on your blog!!! Blueberries are on sale here and I have to try these muffins, they look beautiful!!

Screamin' Mama said...

These muffins look delicious! I will definitely try them. I just bought a huge bag of frozen blueberries last week and was looking for some recipes. Thanks!

Pam said...

I wonder if you could substitute raspberries for blueberries? My family likes those better.
They look delicious, regardless!

Meseidy said...

This is a delicious combination and they look so cute.

I made something similar but I did them with a blueberry filling.

http://thenoshery.com/2009/04/02/lemon-cornmeal-cupcakes-with-lemon-icing-and-blueberry-filling/

Anonymous said...

I just made this recipe. A couple of things...I used about a tablespoon of lemon zest because I like that nice lemony flavor. I probably could have used even a little bit more! I made full sized muffins and baked for 25 minutes and they came out very tender and exactly the right consistency.I also had some left over batter so I made some mini muffins. The crust on the mini muffins were hard and crunchy so next time I think they should probably be baked for only 20 minutes to be soft and tender. Otherwise, these came out beautifully and I am sure they'll be crowd pleasers!

Mary Bergfeld said...

alexieb, welcome. I'm so glad you tried the muffins. Thanks for letting me know that you made them. I love feedback.

The Food Librarian said...

These look so perfect! I have some blueberries in the fridge right now that need to become these!

Laura said...

These are simply gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

These muffins look perfect! I have never made popovers and do not have a popover tin. Is there a specific type that you would recommend? It looks like there's a cast iron one that is solid, and then there are individual ones linked together by wire . . . I'm wondering which might provide a better surface for this to bake in. Any preferences?

Thank you for the recipe. I will probably make these for breakfast at the office.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Anonymous.... I'm sorry but I can't recommend a pan for you. Mine is not labeled. It's the kind you see in the among the pans in all stores. It's a coated metal not cast iron.

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