The Girl Kyle bakes... Lemon Blueberry Muffins

For those of you who may not know, I have a separate baking blog that I don't update nearly enough.  Recently after attending the blogging class in Stockton I've been considering just melding that blog with this one.  Alejandro talked about how blogs are the central hub of your brand so it makes sense that two blogs are only more confusing.  I want you to be able to find me easily and in one location. What do you think? While you're all mulling it over, read on for a yummy muffin recipe that's really more like a naked cupcake.  {If I were too take an educated guess, I'd say it's because the recipe called for cake flour.}  I've never liked blueberries so this is probably my first time baking with them, but these were at the request of Mr. Goddard.  If you don't know this about me yet - I always take requests!  {Please feel free to make one anytime!}  It helps me branch out of my box.  Otherwise I'd keep baking the same snickerdoodles and the same vanilla cupcakes.  This is only my second or third time making muffins, which is such a different ball game than cupcakes.  With cupcakes I'm always trying to achieve light, fluffy and moist.  Muffins in my opinion are more hearty and therefore light and fluffy are not the goals.

Mr. G took these into his work and I received several emails of thanks and praise, but the way I really know there a hit?  If there's none left at the end of the day and I saw these on the counter at his sister's house a couple days later... What I'm trying to tell you is that these may not have hit it out of the park {why am I speaking in sports terms?}, but they were good.  I think that I make actually make them again, but use them as a cupcake base.  Maybe since I'm trying out blueberries I could attempt throwing them into a new frosting recipe?  You'll just have to wait and see!

Recipe

{adapted from}

Ingredients
  • 12 1/2 ounces cake flour {just under 2 3/4 cup}
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • heavy pinch salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
  • zest of 3 lemons
Lemon glaze
  • powdered sugar
  • lemon juice
Instructions

Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

In a food processor or mini chopper, pulse sugar and lemon zest until you get a fine blend.

In your mixer's bowl, whisk together your lemon zest sugar, oil, egg, and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients slowly, reserving one tablespoon of dry ingredients to toss with the blueberries. Mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated.  Detach your bowl and add 1 cup of blueberries, and stir 3 more times.  Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

Place muffins in the oven to bake and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for 15-18 minutes.  While muffins are in the oven squeeze the juice from your 3 zested {is that word?} lemons.  Added about a quarter cup of powdered sugar at a time to the juice until you reach a desired consistency.  Mine was probably similar to ranch dressing.  It's sticky enough though not to pour down the side of the muffins though.

Remove from heat and let stand in the pan on your cooling rack for about a minute.  Then remove muffins to cool completely. Once cool I turned the muffins upside down and gently dunked just the tops in my glaze.  Turn up right and allow glaze to dry.  {The glaze is what makes the top of the muffin look so shiny in the photo.}  Store in an airtight container until served.

Update: This post is now featured on Sweet as Sugared Cookies's 'Sweets for Saturday #20'.  For a yummy visual overload click on the link to check out Lisa's blog.