Raspberry Muffins

This muffin Monday recipe took some development!  I had high hopes for the recipe since it came from a source I had previously been quite pleased with when testing recipes.  The first bake yielded an okay result but were definitely underwhelming.  With a pretty big overhaul of both ingredients and method, we got a muffin that made hubby say, "Oh, yeah!"  That's a winner.  And I love how tender a crumb this method turned out, especially with fresh ground whole wheat pastry flour!  To be specific, soft white wheat berries, ground fresh and the bran sifted out.  *One note about working with fresh ground flour is that it acts just a little differently than pre-ground flour because of its higher enzyme activity and differing ability to absorb water, sometimes more, sometimes less though I usually find it is more with my grains.  With that in mind, for this recipe I ground and sifted the flour and then let it sit overnight to "age", hopefully getting a closer result to store bought flour.

The muffins can of course be made with purchased whole wheat pastry flour!  You would never guess they were whole wheat and they are not overly sweet, especially with the zing of the fresh raspberries.  I originally tried some with slivered almonds on top but the streusel was the hands down winner. 

 What's especially nice about these muffins is that they hold, uncovered, at room temperature for a few days!  They stay moist and tender, and the streusel top stays nice and crisp instead of getting soggy like streusel and sugar topped muffins tend to do when stored in an airtight container.

Raspberry Muffins

makes 12-14 muffins

2 cups (220g) whole wheat pastry flour (Mine was ground fresh and sifted out bran)
1 tsp (6g) sea salt
3 tsp (12g) baking powder
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 eggs (100g) lightly beaten
½ cup (120ml) milk
¼ cup + 2 tbsp (90ml) buttermilk
5 tbsp (70g) avocado oil
3 tbsp (42.5g) melted butter
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
1½ cups (180g) fresh raspberries
2 tbsp flour to coat berries

Streusel topping:

¼ flour (30g) (I did use all purpose for the streusel)
¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp butter, in small pieces

Combine the streusel ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingers or a fork until very crumbly with a mixture of fine crumbs and small, even clumps.  Set aside. 

Pre-heat oven to 425ºF.  Line TWO muffin tins with liners, dividing the cups to every other well so that there is a space between the muffins, (this will result in a prettier muffin crown).  Combine the pastry flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl.  Combine the oil and melted butter and stir into the flour mixture until fully blended into fine crumbs.  Work with fingers if necessary to break up any larger crumbs.  In small bowl or liquid measure, whisk together the eggs, milk, and extracts.  Add to the flour/butter mixture and whisk just until smooth and no lumps remain.
Sprinkle 2 tbsp flour over the raspberries and gently lift and turn with a large spoon to coat well. Fold the berries into batter to evenly disperse.  Fill muffin cups ⅔ full.  Top generously with the streusel mixture.

Bake for  about 20 minutes or until muffin tops are golden brown on the edges and fully baked through (200-210º internal).  Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!

Here are some more muffins for your Monday:

• Banana Cream Cheese Muffins: Passion Kneaded
• ABC Muffins: A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Panettone Muffins: Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Raspberry Muffins: A Messy Kitchen
• Roasted Strawberry Muffins: Food Lust People Love
• Strawberry Ricotta Muffins: Jolene's Recipe Journal

So what do you do when you have almost a dozen lackluster muffins?  Well with bread, I turn it into french toast or pan french toast.  I had never thought of doing that with muffins before but it works!  Muffin bread pudding to prevent waste: