Blueberry Muffins with Cornflake Topping
Now that fresh blueberries are in season, it's time for blueberry muffins of course! And these aren't just any old blueberry muffins--these are topped with a delightful cornflake crumb topping. It's like the best of two breakfast worlds meeting--your favorite cold cereal with an amazingly moist and flavorful muffin sitting beneath!
Blueberries always make me think of one of my kids' (and mine) favorite books, Blueberries for Sal--you know, where little Sal goes blueberry picking with her mother, eats almost all the berries she's picked and then has an adventure with a bear? Oh, how many nights we read that classic! It became the inspiration for many blueberry picking jaunts where we'd come home laden with baskets of incredibly juicy berries and stained fingers!! Ok, enough of a trip down memory lane, back to these yummy muffins!
The muffins are on the small side, but velvety moist, filled with juicy berries and subtly enhanced with a light lemon flavor. What really sets them apart is the addictively crunchy cornflake topping though. It's an interesting and slightly savory twist on the classic streusel muffin topper!
These come together easily and make those around you very happy! I made these for a special Saturday morning treat recently and everyone woke up so cheerfully--hmmn...maybe I should be baking these every morning!
Blueberry Muffins with Cornflake Topping
Makes 12 muffins
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Bake Time: 25-28 minutes
Ingredients
For the Cornflake Topping
1 cup cornflakes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
For the Muffins
12 muffin cup baking liners
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries (I didn't but I'm sure you could use frozen too-don't defrost)
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
The Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. To make the cornflake topping, cut the butter into small cubes and place into a small bowl with the cornflakes and turbinado sugar. Using your hands or a wooden spoon (I used my hands) mix together the ingredients until everything is well combined. There should be no chunks of butter left and the cornflakes should be somewhat crushed. Set aside.
2. To make the muffins, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Remove 1/4 cup of the mixture and place into a small bowl. Add the blueberries and toss gently with the flour mixture, just to coat the berries. Set both bowls aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, cream the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth and light yellow for about 2 minutes. Add in the sour cream, the egg, the vanilla and the zest. Beat on medium-low for about 30 seconds, until the mixture looks smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix for another 5-10 seconds.
4. Add in the flour mixture and mix on the lowest speed possible for about 15 seconds, until barely combined. Gently fold in the blueberries with a spatula and fill muffin cups evenly with the batter. Top each muffin with some of the cornflake topping, trying to distribute it evenly among all the muffins.
5. Bake for about 25-28 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and the tops are domed and golden brown.
6. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove muffins and allow to cool fully on the wire rack. Don't try to eat these when boiling hot--they don't taste half as good as at room temperature and chances are you will burn your tongue on an exploding blueberry--I speak from experience.
7. Muffins last several days, stored well at room temperature.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Ovenly by Erin Patinkin and Agatha Kulaga.
