Pear, Apple & Blueberry Muffins

Pear, Apple & Blueberry Muffins

Pear, Apple & Blueberry Muffins Recipe

These Pear, Apple & Blueberry Muffins were one of my first big successes in my bakery. I’ve sold literally thousands of them to local coffee shops and deli’s. They are just incredibly delicious!

I know you guys have really enjoyed my muffin recipes, so I thought it’s about time that I share another one with you.

Plus, the last few posts have been so laden with chocolate, it’s like I can hear my blog whispering to me, asking for something more wholesome…

So here you go! Now we can all feel better about ourselves again!

Now if you’ve been following my blog for a while you will know that I have a very sentimental attachment to muffins.

My mother used to bake fresh muffins for my sister and I on very special holidays like youth day! I have such grand memories of the beautifully laid breakfast tray, complete with a flower from our garden and fruit juice in a wine glass. We felt like queens!

These Pear, Apple & Blueberry muffins are so light, tender and moist! A perfect fall muffin recipe to put on your fall home baking list. Great muffins for an on-the-go healthy breakfast. The crunchy cinnamon sugar crust on top pairs perfectly with the muffin's soft crumb underneath. And the bursts of fresh, dark blue-purple blueberries throughout the muffins is oh so delicious! #blueberrymuffins #fallrecipes #fallbaking #muffins #muffinrecipes

 

Recipe Introduction

I am a huge fan of putting a lot of fruit in muffins because it adds much needed fiber to your breakfast.

The added moisture and flavour is also fantastic. I LOVE the idea of eating a muffin on the run that doesn’t need any butter or jam.

These Pear, Apple & Blueberry muffins are one of those. You can eat it just as it is, no add-ons, and still be completely satisfied and yummy-fied!

Try to use fresh fruit if you can. The texture and flavour of fresh fruit is always WAY better!

If you have concerns about the sugar crust on top of the muffins, do not be alarmed. I used sugar that would have gone inside the muffins anyway and just gave it a promotion to form a crust on top. The muffin itself is not very sweet at all, so the crust really goes with it super duper well.

When it comes to muffins, you really want to mix the batter as little as possible. Once the wet ingredients hit the dry ingredients, STIR gently with a metal spoon, don’t beat it.

These Pear, Apple & Blueberry muffins are so light, tender and moist!

The crunchy cinnamon sugar crust on top pairs perfectly with the muffin’s soft crumb underneath. And the bursts of fresh, dark blue-purple blueberries throughout the muffins just makes you swoon!

These Pear, Apple & Blueberry muffins are so light, tender and moist! A perfect fall muffin recipe to put on your fall home baking list. Great muffins for an on-the-go healthy breakfast. The crunchy cinnamon sugar crust on top pairs perfectly with the muffin's soft crumb underneath. And the bursts of fresh, dark blue-purple blueberries throughout the muffins is oh so delicious! #blueberrymuffins #fallrecipes #fallbaking #muffins #muffinrecipes

5.0 from 1 reviews
Pear, Apple & Blueberry Muffins
 
Author:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 220 g Cake Flour
  • 16 g Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 100 g Canola Oil
  • 110 g Milk
  • 110 g Yogurt, plain and low fat
  • 120 g Sugar
  • 1 Egg + 1 Yolk (80 g)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 90 g fresh apple, granny smith preferably
  • 100 g fresh pear
  • 80 g blueberries, thawed if frozen
Instructions
  1. Start by preparing the fruit. Chop the fresh apple and pear into approximately a 1,5cm dice (you may toss the fruit in 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, diluted with 1 tablespoon of water, to stop it from browning.) Keep 20 of the blueberries aside for later use. If they were frozen, place them on a piece of paper towel so that most of the excess liquid is absorbed.
  2. Preheat oven to 180ᵒC (355ᵒF).
  3. Grease and line muffin tins with individual baking paper liners (remember the recipe makes 10 large muffins). You can make your own muffin liners just like mine! Click here to see how.
  4. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, milk, yogurt, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Set aside the wet mixture for a minute or 2 so that the sugar can dissolve.
  5. In the meantime, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Mix all dry ingredients together thoroughly and make a well in the center.
  6. Return to your small bowl of wet ingredients. Beat for another 30 seconds till well combined. Pour the wet mix into the well you created in the dry ingredients. Don’t mix just yet!
  7. Add apple and pear into the well too and mix slowly with a metal spoon until just combined (over-mixing toughens the texture!). Scape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and lightly stir to combine.
  8. Divide the batter evenly between the 10 lined muffin holes in the muffin tin. Top each muffin with 2 of the reserved blueberries. Sprinkle each muffin with a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar just before they go in the oven.
  9. Bake on the lower rack of your oven for 15 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. Then bake on the higher rack for a further 15-20mins or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

These Pear, Apple & Blueberry muffins are best eaten FRESH, on the day you make them. The cinnamon sugar crust will go soggy if you try to refrigerate them or keep them in a Tupperware. You can do it, but I don’t recommend it.

Do you like these rustic muffin liners? You can make them yourself! Check out this post for the full step-by-step tutorial >> DIY Cupcake/Muffin Liners.

 

Want More Delicious Muffin Recipes?

Ultimate Bran Muffins
Apple, Date & Pecan Muffins
Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Muffins with Pecan Crumble

If you give this recipe a go, tag me on facebook, twitter or instagram @philosophyofyum. I would LOVE to see!

Chat soon!

Aurelia 🙂

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

Ultimate Bran Muffins

Ultimate Bran Muffins

Ultimate Bran Muffins Recipe

You want to eat more fiber, but why do high fiber bakes have to be so dry… and bland?

You want to eat something that’s good for you AND tastes great! I totally get that. And these ultimate bran muffins are the answer!

They’re super moist, flavourful and tender. And best of all, they’re LOADED with fiber!

My husband frequently struggles with… ehem… constipation. So I always make sure I have a stash of these Ultimate Bran muffins in our freezer.

 

Recipe Introduction

All photos by Alice Swan Photography

These ultimate bran muffins are SO MOIST AND FLUFFY!

You can serve them warm with some preserves and cheese, or eat them just as they are. Either way, they are sensational – even at room temperature. They make great lunchbox fillers as well.

What I love about these ultimate bran muffins is that they freeze incredibly well! I keep a batch in my freezer and just whip one out whenever I need a healthy, fiber filled breakfast or snack. It takes just 2 minutes to defrost them in the microwave.

I like adding raisins to my ultimate bran muffins, but you are welcome to sub cranberries, or add some nuts if you wish. If you place the nuts right on top of the batter before baking, they will toast in the oven and add a whole new depth of flavour 🙂

There is mashed banana in this recipe, but you really don’t taste it at all (if you are worried about that). It just adds a beautiful moistness and tenderness to the crumb. It also provides some natural sweetness which enables us to use less refined sugar.

The most important note I have for my ultimate bran muffins is to really just stir the mixture until combined.

A few lumps are TOTALLY okay! They will work themselves out during baking.

As soon as you add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, focus and be gentle. Stay away from that hand mixer!

If you would like to know how I make my pretty Muffin cases/liners, click here for a step by step tutorial post.

Bran muffin recipe | Bran muffins with molasses | Bran muffins healthy

5.0 from 1 reviews
Ultimate Bran Muffins
 
Author:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 125 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 60 g Granulated White Sugar
  • 60 g egg, beaten lightly
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 t Vanilla Extract
  • 90 g sweet molasses
  • 1 ripe banana (90 g flesh), mashed
  • 45 g raisins
  • 205 g all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp Cocoa Powder
  • ½ Tbsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup bran (47 g)
  • Oats, to sprinkle on top
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 180˚C/350˚F.
  2. Lightly spray the top surface of a muffin tin. Line 10 holes of the muffin tin with muffin liners/wrappers.
  3. In a medium sized bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat in the egg, buttermilk, vanilla, mashed banana and molasses. At this point the mixture might look a bit curdled and messy, it’s completely normal. Stir in the raisins.
  5. Get a separate, large bowl. Sift together flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder, spices and salt. Stir in the bran.
  6. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the well. Stir the batter with a metal spoon until it is just combined (the batter will be slightly lumpy.)
  7. Divide the batter evenly into the 10 lined muffin holes. Sprinkle with regular, rolled oats.
  8. Bake the muffins in the middle of the oven for 20 - 25 minutes, or until a skewer tests clean. Leave to cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes.
  9. Place the muffins on a rack and let them cool further, or eat them 🙂

 

Looking for more muffin recipes? Here you go!

Cranberry & Coconut Muffins,
Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Muffins
Apple, Date & Pecan Muffins.

Thank you so much for reading! If you give this recipe a go, tag me on Facebook, twitter or Instagram #philosophyofyum because I would LOVE to see!

See you in 2 weeks AFTER the Good Food & Wine Show!

Aurelia 🙂

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Muffins

Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Muffins

Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins are really my all-time favourite muffins – BY FAR! They are absolutely sensational.

No really, you don’t understand… they are sensational!

Since you guys have been enjoying all my muffin recipes (Pear, Apple & Blueberry, Ultimate Bran, Cranberry & Coconut) so much, I thought I should share this one as well 🙂

The Story:

If you’ve read my About page, you will know that I have a thing for Butternut Squash. I would live on it alone if I could. Apparently our bodies need protein as well. Bummer. One of my favourite flavour combos with butternut, is cheese! Feta, cream cheese, mozzarella, you name it.

I guess it’s the salty combined with the sweet, but it’s also so much more than that… They are just made for each other.

Back when I first started out baking for Coffee Shops, I baked for a place called Field Office. The manager and I were constantly strategizing and bouncing flavour ideas back and forth for different muffins and cupcakes. I started searching online for more ideas and found a post on “Top 20 muffin flavours” or something like that.

Most of them looked quite nice, but nothing grabbed me… Until the words “Pumpkin” and “Cream Cheese” graced my screen. I made my own version of this recipe using butternut squash (obviously) and changing the cream cheese filling, so that it resembles cheesecake.

The crunchy, salted butter pecan crumble is the ultimate crown, providing a buttery, nutty crunch to the whole experience!

pumpkin muffins | fall muffin recipe | crumble muffins | pumpkin cream cheese muffins

These Pumpkin & Cream Cheese muffins were flying off the shelves at Field Office. Everyone loved them! The manager & I were so elated that we had found the Nemo of the muffin world!

Recipe Introduction:

How you cook the butternut will completely determine the quality of your muffins. You don’t want to boil it to death. Make sure you keep it on a medium heat and once it is soft, remove it from the heat.

The butternut also shouldn’t be submerged in water. Simply pour about 5 mm of water in the bottom of the pot so that you are essentially steaming it. If you prefer steaming it altogether, that is also fine. I don’t have a steamer, so I prefer using a small pot on a stove. Also add 1/2 tsp salt when cooking the butternut.

The Cream Cheese filling does need to be made in advance and frozen for at least 4 hours. Using it straight away encourages the batter to mix with it which leaves the amazing cream cheese center a bit sparse and not so amazing.

Most bakers insist on using unsalted butter in their cakes and I totally get that. This is a muffin though and salted butter makes the crumble topping ridiculously good!

A moist, tender, warmly spiced pumpkin muffin with a slightly caramelized cream cheese center and a crown of pecan crumble on top – it is the PERFECT incentive to wake up in the morning!

5.0 from 1 reviews
Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Muffins
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING:
  • 60 g Whipping Cream
  • 140 g Cream Cheese
  • 30 g Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
FOR THE CRUMBLE:
  • 55 g Cake Flour
  • 35 g Granulated Sugar
  • 15 g Pecans, roughly chopped
  • ⅓ tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 30 g Salted Butter
FOR THE MUFFINS:
  • 205 g Cake Flour
  • 6 g Baking Powder
  • ⅓ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
  • ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • ½ Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves)
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 80 g Eggs
  • 130 g Granulated Sugar
  • 230 g Cooked/Steamed Butternut (250 g raw), mashed up. Cook the butternut as described in the Recipe Introduction.
  • ¼ cup Water, room temperature
  • ½ cup Canola Oil
  • ½ Tbsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
FOR THE FILLING:
  1. Make the Cream Cheese Filling at least 4 hours before you plan on making the actual muffins. It will need time to freeze solid. This can be done up to 2 weeks in advance if desired.
  2. Whip cream to stiff peaks. Beat in the cream cheese till smooth. Beat in the sugar and vanilla. Allow to stand for 5 minutes so that the sugar can melt. Beat again till smooth. Place in freezer for at least 4 hours.
FOR THE CRUMBLE:
  1. To make the pecan crumble, melt the butter in a heat proof bowl.
  2. Add in the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Stir with a fork to combine thoroughly. There will be some clumps - this is exactly what you want. Stir in the pecans.
  3. Preheat oven to 180˚C/350˚F. Line a standard muffin tin with 10 paper liners; set aside.
  4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. At this point also remove your frozen cream cheese mixture from the freezer – this will make it easier to scoop out when the time comes.
FOR THE MUFFINS:
  1. Beat together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl for 1 minute, till pale and fluffy. Add in the vanilla, water, butternut and oil. Whisk to combine. From here on work with a handheld balloon whisk.
  2. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk to combine well.
  3. Fill your liners about halfway full and keep the rest of the batter for later.
  4. Using a sturdy spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop 23 g of the cream cheese mixture into each case. 23 g is really the ideal amount. More will make it spill over into the oven and less is too sad.
  5. Divide the rest of your batter between the 10 muffins. Be sure to cover all the cream cheese poking out.
  6. Spoon the pecan crumble on top of each muffin. Use all of it. Be sure to spread it out so that all the batter is covered.
  7. Bake at 180˚C/350˚F in the center of your oven for 40 minutes on the regular bake setting. Do not use the convection or thermo-fan setting. TURN THE TIN EVERY 10 MINUTES for a perfectly even bake. Place a large roasting tray underneath the muffins just in case any drippings of cream cheese cook out.
  8. Allow these boys (because they are definitely not girls) to cool for at least 40 minutes before eating. The cream cheese filling gets piping hot in the cooking process.
  9. Eat and enjoy!

These sublime Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins age exceptionally well… They actually get better, believe it or not. I prefer not to eat them straight out of the oven.

It’s like the spices need time to develop or something? Like a curry. Now this is totally up to you, but I make my muffins the day before and then just pop them in the oven for 5-10 minutes to warm through again before serving.

Funky Fact: These muffins pair SUPER well with beer!!

Thanks for reading! If you give this recipe a go, tag me on facebook, twitter or instagram #philosophyofyum because I would LOVE to see!

Chat soon!

Aurelia 🙂

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

Apple, Date & Pecan Muffins

Apple, Date & Pecan Muffins

Photos by Alice Swan

Grand Memories:

Freshly baked muffins always bring back nostalgic memories of my childhood. My mother has always loved baking for special occasions. She went through a lot of trouble to bake us a special birthday cake year after year! I’ll never forget the epic train she made me for my 5th birthday back in 1993…

There was one other day on which she would bake, muffins in particular, for us and that day was Youth Day. She always made us her famous (and super healthy, low GI) bran muffins. Probably because muffins are her favourite food – seriously!

She goes to Mugg & Bean every Wednesday morning for her giant Date & Nut muffin with a huge cappuccino. She never misses a week. To her it is just such a satisfying treat 🙂

apple-date-pecan-1

So before Youth Day she always mixed the batter for her special bran muffins and then left it in the fridge overnight. This helped the batter thicken up and gave time for flavours to meld together and deepen.

We would wake up to the smell of freshly baked muffins every year on 16 June. Bliss!

My mother would set beautiful, individual trays for both my sister and myself, complete with a fresh flower from our garden and a wineglass of fruit juice. She is just so adorable and loving! With memories as grand as these it’s no wonder that I love muffins! To me, muffins they are the epitome of home, care and my mother.

Recipe Introduction:

I love this particular recipe so much because I have a thing for toasted pecans. They are one of my top 5 yum high inducing ingredients. Fact. The pecans toast throughout the baking process, so there is no need to toast them beforehand.

muffins recipes | healthy muffins | apple muffins

Dried dates are recommended. Feel free to use Medjool dates if you wish – they are amazing! I mostly use standard pitted dates for this recipe as Medjool dates are not as consistently available in South Africa.

Do try to find Granny Smith Apples for this recipe. They maintain their structure superbly during baking/cooking, have a distinct tartness and a strong apple flavour. It’s my go to apple for cooking and baking.

These Apple, Date & Pecan Muffins are packed with apple goodness and carry notes of spice and caramel. Absolutely delicious!

Apple, Date & Pecan Muffins
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 230 g Cake Flour
  • 16 g Baking Powder
  • ¼ tsp Ground Ginger
  • ½ Tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1t Salt
  • 100 ml oil
  • ¾ cup (220 g) Buttermilk
  • 120 g Sugar
  • 1 Egg + 1 Yolk
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 200 g Fresh Granny Smith Apple, skin and core removed
  • 70 g Pecan Nuts
  • 70 g Pitted Dates
  • 1 Tbsp Smooth Apricot Jam
  • 1 Tbsp Water
Instructions
  1. Start by preparing the fruit. Chop the apples into approximately a 1,5cm dice (you may toss the apple in 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, diluted with 1 tablespoon of water, to stop it from browning.) Chop the pitted dates into approximately a ½ cm dice.
  2. Preheat oven to 180ᵒC (355ᵒF).
  3. Grease and line muffin tins with individual baking paper liners (remember the recipe makes 10 large muffins).
  4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Mix all dry ingredients together thoroughly and make a well in the center.
  5. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Leave the wet mixture to stand for 30 seconds so that the sugar can dissolve. Beat wet mixture again till smooth. Pour the wet mix into the well you created in the dry ingredients. Don’t mix just yet!
  6. Add apple and dates into the well too and mix slowly with a metal spoon until just combined (over-mixing toughens the texture!). Scape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and lightly stir to combine.
  7. Divide the batter evenly between the 10 lined muffin holes in the muffin tin. Top with the pecan pieces.
  8. Bake on the lower rack of your oven for 15 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. Then bake on the higher rack for a further 15-20mins or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.
  9. Place apricot jam and water in a cup and microwave for 30 seconds. Brush the glaze all over the top of the muffins. Enjoy!
Notes
These muffins keep about 2-3 days in a sealed container in the fridge. Alternatively they also freeze exceptionally well! Just leave them to thaw at room temperature for 2 hours and then pop them in the oven for 5-10 minutes to warm through and crisp up a bit.

If you make these muffins, use #philosophyofyum because I would love to see!

Also check out my other muffin recipes that I have sold in thousands to Coffee Shops and Restaurants. Seriously AMAZING muffin recipes:

Ultimate Bran Muffins
Pear, Apple & Blueberry Muffins
Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Muffins
Cranberry & Coconut Muffins

I’m curious… what is YOUR favourite Muffin Recipe?

Chat soon!

Aurelia 🙂