Blueberry, coconut and white chocolate muffins

From a very early age my mother taught me how wonderful fruits are: apples, oranges, watermelon, strawberries, pears… We were a modest family, but there were always different fruits over the counter or in the fridge – my favorites as a kid were strawberries.

Some fruits are kind of recent in my life, such as raspberries and blueberries – these have become popular and easier to find in Brazil over the past years. I love raspberries – went picking them once with a dear friend in Surrey, England, back in 2007 – but blueberries I believe benefit from heat: after being cooked or baked, for example, they become more flavorsome: it is like they turn into little pockets of jam.

Blueberries and white chocolate are beautiful together, the flavors complement each other in a perfect way. I wanted to give these muffins a bit of a tropical flair, therefore the double addition of coconut, both desiccated and in milk form. The muffins turned out delicious, moist and tender, and I found out that coconut and blueberries can be truly great friends too.

 

Blueberry, coconut and white chocolate muffins

own recipe

 

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour

¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (25g) desiccated unsweetened coconut

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon table salt

½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature

½ cup (120ml) coconut milk

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (140g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)

2/3 cup (110g) white chocolate chips or small chunks

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12-cavity muffin pan with paper cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, coconut, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, coconut milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until ingredients are incorporated – do not overmix, or your muffins will turn out tough; muffin batter is lumpy, and not smooth like cake batter. Fork in the blueberries and the chocolate.

Divide the batter evenly among the paper cups (they will be rather full) and bake for about 20 minutes or until muffins are risen and golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12

Banana muffins with cashew nut streusel

Usually making baked goods with bananas is not easy at my house because my husband and I like the fruit so much we end up eating all the bananas before they get ripe enough for baking. However, when the weather is too hot (as it is currently) they get ripe overnight – these muffins are a great way to use them up.

I developed this recipe a long time ago, when I was still working on the book project. Lately I have been making it without the streusel (because of my lactose intolerance) and the muffins taste great anyway. However, if you can, make the muffins with the streusel because it makes them extra special.

Banana muffins with cashew nut streusel
own recipe

Streusel:
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of table salt
5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, cold and diced
2/3 cup unsalted cashew nuts, finely chopped

Muffins:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 small very ripe bananas
¾ cup (150g) demerara sugar – used for color and caramel flavor; can be replaced with granulated sugar
½ cup (120ml) canola oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12-hole muffin with paper cases.

Streusel: in a small bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and rub the ingredients together with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Using a fork, stir in the cashew nuts. Refrigerate while you make the muffin batter.

Muffins: in a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Stir in the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until incorporated – do not overmix or your muffins will be tough. Divide the batter evenly among the paper cases and sprinkle the top with the streusel, pressing lightly with your fingers to make it stick to the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted on the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold and transfer to the rack. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.

Makes 12