Delicious Rhubarb Blueberry Muffins

Our Rhubarb Blueberry Muffins make the perfect breakfast bite, or addition to your brunch lineup. Topped with a cardamom and blueberry streusel, these muffins are decadent and fluffy with pureed rhubarb and sweet, plump blueberries.

Rhubarb is a fantastic vegetable to bake with as its bright, tart flavor profile brings balance and interest to sweet baked goods and compliments berries beautifully. In the same way tart apples, cherries and cranberries can be used to bring depth of flavor and brightness to pastries, rhubarb does the same by adding divine texture and zest.

Rhubarb blueberry muffins are one of our favorite recipes to make when we are looking for ways to use up our crop of rhubarb. It’s a simple, delicious muffin that can be dressed up with the streusel topping, or enjoyed by itself if you prefer.

Rhubarb can be an intimidating crop to bake with, and many of us don’t eat it on its own. However, rhubarb is very easy to incorporate into pies, tarts, muffins and even simple berry crisps. It is easy to prepare and holds its own when paired with other sweet fruits that we all know and love.

Rhubarb does not require cooking before you bake with it. That being said, the preparation needed does depend on the recipe you are baking, and whether the rhubarb is fresh or frozen. If you are working with frozen rhubarb, any excess liquid that is created during the the thawing process needs to be drained. The extra liquid can make your baked goods mushy and runny, so draining the liquid and even using a thickener like cornstarch is a great idea.

When you are working with fresh rhubarb the preparation for almost any recipe is minimal. Simply wash, slice and dice however many stalks you need and add them into your mix. You only want to use the pink part of the rhubarb stalk as the rest of the plan is not edible.

What is a streusel topping?

A streusel topping is made by combining butter, flour and sugar together making a slightly wet crumb that is sprinkled over crumbles, muffins and similar baked goods. We added ground cardamom to our streusel for a delicious depth of spice and warmth. It finishes these muffins perfectly.

How do I keep berries from sinking in my muffins?

When baking with fresh berries there are a few tips to follow in order to ensure the berries don’t bleed into the batter or sink to the bottom. Rolling the berries in a light dusting of flour will help keep the juices of the berries from leaking and bleeding out into the batter. Which will prevent your muffins from turning blueish purple.

Blueberries are a very dense and heavy fruit which means they are prone to sinking when added to pancakes, pound cakes and muffins. Dusting the blueberries in flour will dry them out just a tad, helping them become lighter, as well as give them more ‘texture’ to hold their place in the batter throughout the baking process.

Another trick is to add your blueberries when you are filling the muffin liners. Fill your liners about 1/2 full and then drop however many blueberries you want, covering them with a light blanket of batter at the top. This sets them up higher and helps keep them suspended while baking.

These rhubarb blueberry muffins can be stored very easily while maintaining freshness and flavor. They can also be frozen if necessary.

Once the muffins have cooled completely place them in a muffin carrier or something similar to a cake stand with a cover. They won’t do well in a plastic bag because moisture can build up and make the streusel soggy. These muffins will keep at room temperature for two days

You can freeze them in an airtight container for up to three months. To thaw, remove them from the freezer and move them to your fridge allowing them to slowly thaw with minimal moisture build up. If you would like to warm them they can be heated in the microwave for a few seconds.

Rhubarb Blueberry Muffins Recipe

Substitutions you can make for this recipe

• Although Greek yogurt is consider by most to be a dairy free product since the majority of the lactose is strained out with the whey, you can substitute using coconut yogurt.
• Sour cream is a popular addition to muffin recipes as it adds moisture and flavor. We chose to use Greek yogurt, but you can always opt for sour cream if you would like.
• You will notice we use coconut oil in our recipe, this is simply preference on our part. You can always use a good quality butter, or avocado oil if you like.
• You can swap out the flour and make a few alterations for gluten free blueberry rhubarb muffins.

Tips for using frozen fruit

Anytime you are putting fruit into a baking recipe be careful of the liquid that it introduces. When you are washing your fruits make sure you properly dry them before adding them into this recipe.

• Dry frozen blueberries and rhubarb do not need special handling.
• Measure your fruits frozen if they are dry frozen. Both blueberries and rhubarb generally are dry frozen even at home making them easy to use in this recipe.
• For measuring fruits frozen with liquids, thoroughly thaw fruits to room temperature.
• Drain the excess liquids out of the thawed fruits, then measure for your recipe.
• Add the fresh or thawed fruits in gently by hand to avoid clumping
• Roll fresh or thawed blueberries in a bit of flour and gently fold them into the dough. This will keep the blueberry color from spreading throughout your muffins and prevent them from sinking during the baking process.

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