CRUNCHY TOP TENDER BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Crunchy Top Tender Blueberry Muffins image

Start to prepare this recipe the night before you intend to serve. Warm blueberry muffins will be very welcome for breakfast. This is a long recipe, but worth the effort. Read through the entire recipe before starting to prepare. It is a very elegant presentation.

Provided by Elaine Douglas @BreadandSoupLady

Categories Muffins

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

2 cup(s) fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces)
1 1/8 cup(s) plus 1 tsp sugar (8 oz)
1 1/4 cup(s) all purpose flour (6 1/4 oz)
1 1/4 cup(s) cake flour, sifted (5 oz)
1 teaspoon(s) table salt
1 teaspoon(s) zest from 1 lemon
2 large eggs
4 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
4 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup(s) buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
LEMON SUGAR TOPPING
1/3 cup(s) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) zest from 1 lemon

Steps:

Bring 1 c. fresh blueberries and 1 tsp sugar to simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to about 1/4 c, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool, 10 to 15 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake muffins.
Whisk flours and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk 1 1/8 c sugar, zest and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick and homogenous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in 1 c. buttermilk and vanilla until combined.
Using a rubber spatula, fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened (batter will be very lumpy - do not overmix). Cover and let rest, refrigerated, overnight.
For the topping: When ready to bake, adjust the oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Process sugar and zest in food processor, until combined, about 10 sec. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Spray standard muffin tin with non-stick spray. Whisk remaining 1/4 c. buttermilk and baking powder to combine. Fold buttermilk mixture and remaining 1 c. berries into muffin batter until just combined. (There should be no streaks of buttermilk).
Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide half of batter equally among muffin cups (cups should be half full). Place teaspoon of cooked berry mixture on top of batter. Scoop remaining batter on top of berry filling.
Using a butter knife, gently swirl berry filling into muffin batter using a figure 8 motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar on top of muffins.
Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool for 5 minutes before serving.