The Clever Tip That Will Help You Get Tastier Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry muffins have the best of both worlds: sweet and sugary from the muffin base with a slight acidity from the berries. Fresh, fluffy, and fruity, they're easy to make, too — Grandma Bab's TikTok blueberry muffins have just three ingredients! Plus, a classic blueberry muffin recipe is quite versatile: you can add a banana to the batter for extra moisture and sweetness or use an unexpected spice like coriander to enhance the blueberries' flavor. Other tricks include using frozen blueberries for convenience or almond flour as an allergy-friendly substitute. Could this treat be more perfect? Indeed, there's actually a way to upgrade this comforting recipe.
Enthusiastic bakers may tend to think that using fresh blueberries will make for better blueberry muffins. But, once they're in the oven, those fresh blueberries cook down and lose their volume, per Kitchn, making your muffins less, well, blueberry-y. How do you fix this? Skip the fresh blueberries!
Add cooked blueberries to your muffins — and more of them
According to Kitchn, preparing a cooked berry mixture and adding it to your blueberry muffin batter creates a more berry-rich flavor and colorful look. To try their trick, add an extra cup of blueberries to the amount your recipe calls for to some sugar in a saucepan. After stirring for about 10 minutes over medium heat, you'll have a thick berry sauce. Pour your plain batter into a muffin pan, then top each section with the cooked berries.
This doesn't mean that using fresh blueberries is a complete mistake. Serious Eats agrees that fresh blueberries can end up sinking to the bottom of your muffins while baking, but here's a trick: Add a scoop of plain batter to the muffin tin first. After this, mix the blueberries into the batter that's left and continue with the process. Plus, The Neff Kitchen suggests that fresh berries are easier to decorate with and are visually more appealing. So, go fresh when layering your berries on top of frosting if you feel like upgrading your muffin to a blueberry cupcake.
Cooking berries may add a few more minutes to your muffin recipe, but it's totally worth it! You can also use frozen blueberries for the trick. Once you try it, you may find yourself doing the same for blueberry cake, banana bread, breakfast porridge, or anything sweet that you'd like to take to the next level.