Friday, March 15, 2013

Sunshine In A Muffin



Ever see a recipe that looks good then someone else makes it and put their twist on it and it seems so much more enticing? That's what happened to me with this recipe. This recipe comes from two fantastic and talented bakers, Jane (Jane's Sweets & Baking Journal) and Lululu (lululu at home). Between their pictures and descriptions of this beautiful muffin (and my adoration of anything with strawberries and cream cheese) these muffins were bound to be whipped up in my kitchen at some point. I made these around Valentine's Day and they were just LOVE-ly. 


These muffins were awesome. I simplified the instructions just a bit and added orange zest to brighten up my muffin batter. Strawberries and oranges are just so summery to me- I love that combo even more than strawberries and lemon. You get that same vibrant punch from the zest but it's much more aromatic and not as tart.


I think I liked these so much because they were so.....creamy. I'd describe the muffin to you, but Jane said it best when she said the cream cheese center "just barely evokes the flavor of cheesecake, and it's subtle enough so that it doesn't make the muffins too rich, nor does it make you feel like you're eating something that belongs on a dessert cart. It also doesn't firm up into a thickened streak within the muffin, but melds nicely into the batter itself, augmenting the moistness of the muffin's soft interior." Well said my friend. Well said. 

Strawberry-Orange Cream Cheese Muffins 


Cream Cheese Mixture: 
  • 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Muffins:
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 Tablespoon orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup fresh strawberries, diced into small pieces
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. 

For The Cream Cheese Mixture: In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

For The Muffins: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, orange zest, vanilla and eggs until incorporated.

Using a spatula, stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until just combined but do not overmix.

Spoon  the batter into the prepared tins, filling them no more than 1/2 full.

Scatter a few pieces of strawberry on top of each one.

Top the strawberries with a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture, a tablespoon more of muffin batter, and finally a few more pieces of strawberry.

Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until they’re light golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing them to a rack to cool. 

Makes about 15 muffins.



10 comments:

My Recent Favorite Books said...

These sound awesome! =)

Melissa

boysmum2 said...

Oh man they sound good, have to see if I can find any strwaberries at the shop, wrong season for them here

Julie said...

Ooh, those are right up my alley. I love strawberry and orange, too. My regular at Smoothie King is the Pep Upper which is strawberry and orange..yum yum! Though I'd like to try the lemon version, too.

AkasaWolfSong said...

These look scrumptious! I copied them down and am going to make them soon!

Thanks for sharing...

I'm not new to your blog but I don't think I've ever posted?

Anywho...Thank You! :)

Saku said...

I showed my daughter the recipe last night. She went out today to get the necessary ingredients.

They are amazing! Overall not to sweet, which I like, the cream cheese mixture is a hidden treat, and the hint of orange with the strawberries is great!

Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

I think I have just enough strawberries in my fridge to make these!

kubby said...

Anyone ever try making these with frozen strawberries? I've got kids in bed and that's all I have?

Heather at Kitchen Concoctions said...

Um, yeah with descriptions like that (both yours and Jane's) how can I NOT make these muffins!

Anonymous said...

These are great muffins and they do taste like spring and sunshine. I love the strawberry orange combination. The cream cheese filling takes these muffins over the top. Thanks for a great recipe.

Mrs.Rariden said...

Absolutely delicious! I made a triple batch. One strawberry, one blueberry and one peach. I love the versatility of this recipe.

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