Better Than Flour Blueberry Bran Muffin

June 7, 2016

I have always thought of or rather tried not think of bran muffins, associating them with the dry tasteless cardboard muffin "healthy" people eat. Well.... what can I say, I am now one of those people trying to be healthy. I made the Blueberry Bran Muffins from the Baking with Less Sugar. Much to my delight, I would eat them any day. I have to confess being very partial to blueberries so the Blueberry Bran Muffins were an absolute treat. So full of blueberries, it provided a fresh sweetness and moistness to the muffins and a certain childlike enjoyment when one had to lick the purple juices when finishing the last bits of the muffin.

Adapted from Better Than Flour Blueberry Bran Muffin

Ingredients:

245g/1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 

60g/ 1 cup what brand ( I used Bob's Red Mill brand)

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp.baking powder

1/2 tsp.baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

2 large eggs

70g/ 1/3 cup sugar 

115g/ 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and at room temperature

120 g/ 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
180g/ 3/4 cup creme fraiche, at room temperature

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

375g/ 2 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (I used fresh)

Place a rack i the center of the oven and preheat to 350F. Butter and flour a standard 12 cup muffin tin, coat with cooking spray or line with paper liners. I used paper liners in 3 trays of 12 muffins.

In a large bowl stir together the dry ingredients; the flour, wheat bran, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, butter, milk, creme fraiche, and vanilla until well combined. Pour the butter-sugar mixture into the dry ingredients and fold gently, using a rubber spatula, just until the ingredients are combined. Gently fold in the blueberries and mix well distributed. The batter may seem lumpy, but don't try to smooth it out.

Using a small ice cream scoop or a spoon, scoop a heaping 2/3 cup (150ml) batter into each prepared cup of the muffin tin, filling the cups to the brim ( almost to overflowing) and making sure than the cups are evenly filled. You can fill these to overflowing and then you will get the nice tops on the muffins. If you prefer smaller muffin or use smaller muffin wells, spoon 1/2 cup (125ml) batter into each each cup and decrease the baking time to 25 to 35 minutes. You will get up to 18 smaller muffins.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the muffins are entirely golden brown on top and spring back lightly when you press them in the center. There's a lot of fruits in these muffins, so make sure you bake them enough so that the insides of the muffins don't get soggy. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove them from the pan.

Store them in airtight container for up to 2 days. They may be refresh in 300F oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Or store in freezer, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 1 week; reheat from frozen in 300F oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Unbaked muffin batter can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 day.