Bakery style blueberry muffin recipe
This blueberry muffin recipe packed with juicy blueberries and a touch of lemon zest are just like your favorite blueberry muffins from the bakery.
I absolutely love making muffins. They come together so quickly, they are fun to make with my daughter and they are pretty much fool-proof. This blueberry muffin recipe is based on my basic muffin recipe which produces huge fluffy bakery-style muffins that can be customized to any flavor.
I'm not a big breakfast eater but I love a fresh blueberry muffin and a banana for breakfast when I have the chance. I don't know what it is about blueberry muffins that I love so much but they have been a favorite ever since I was a kid. I used to buy those little boxes of krusteez blueberry muffin mixes from the grocery store for twenty-five cents. OMG that makes me sound so old.
As an adult, my love for blueberry muffins has stuck around. Every time we go out for breakfast or stop for some coffee on a trip, I grab myself a big old blueberry muffin. There's just nothing better than that huge fluffy muffin top and juicy bites of blueberries inside.
I've been determined to re-create my favorite bakery-style blueberry muffins at home and I think I've finally succeeded.
What makes these blueberry muffins so good?
- Cake Flour – Makes these muffins super tender and fluffy. If you can’t find cake flour you can use all-purpose flour instead. For every 1 cup (5 ounces) of flour, take out two Tablespoons of flour and replace with cornstarch. Then sift. (only for this recipe, not for my vanilla cake recipe).
- Milk and Lemon Juice – Adds a slightly tangy flavor and the acidity of the buttermilk breaks down the gluten in the flour, resulting in a more tender muffin. No buttermilk? Just add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of regular milk and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Butter – Gives the muffins a delicious flavor and adds moisture. Use high-quality butter like plugra or kerrigold for the best flavor!
- Baking Powder – Muffins take a lot of rising agent to get those big fluffy muffin tops. If you’re at a high-altitude, make sure you make some adjustments.
- Bake At A High Temperature – Baking at a higher heat gives these muffins a nice lift and makes them super fluffy.
I like to top my muffins with sparkling sugar. This gives the muffins that bakery-style look at the sugar actual helps keep the muffins moist. Sugar is hygroscopic and attacts moisture from the air which is why baked goods with more sugar in them (like high-fructose corn syrup) stay moister for longer. Not that I’m suggesting you put high-fructose corn syrup in your muffins (yuk).
Can I use frozen blueberries for this muffin recipe?
Yes! You can use frozen or fresh blueberries. It doesn't matter. I use fresh when they are in season because what better way to use up those blueberries right? But for the rest of the year, I use frozen. Don't worry about defrosting your blueberries, they actually work better if they are still frozen. If you defrost them, all that juice will color your batter and make it look grey.
How do I keep my blueberries from sinking in my muffin recipe?
If your blueberries are sinking then chances are your muffin batter is too thin. When the batter goes into the oven and starts warming up, all those big blueberries sink to the bottom. No amount of dusting in flour will keep them from sinking.
Luckily my muffin batter is quite thick so the blueberries don't sink to the bottom and you can see those beautiful berries throughout the muffin when you take a bite.
I absolutely love these lemon blueberry muffins! If you like these, check out these other recipes!
Lemon Cake With Lemon Frosting
Basic Muffin Recipe
Berry Chantilly Cake
Recipe
Equipment
- Mixer (stand or handheld)
Ingredients
- 10 ounces unsalted butter
- 13 ounces granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 20 ounces cake flour
- 2 Tablespoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 10 ounces buttermilk
- 2 Tablespoon lemon zest about 2 lemons
- 2 ounces lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons sanding sugar (optional for sprinkling on top)
- 8 ounces fresh blueberries
Instructions
- IMPORTANT: Make sure all your ingredients are at room temp (see notes at the bottom of the recipe)
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF - Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- Sift together your flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Add the lemon juice and set it aside.
- Cream together your butter and sugar in a medium bowl with your mixer until light and fluffy
- Add in your egg, and lemon extract. Continue creaming until pale in color
- While mixing on low, add in ⅓ of your flour mixture, then ⅓ of your milk mixture. Repeat two more times until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in your blueberries and lemon zest
- Fill your liners all the way to the top with muffin batter. Top with more blueberries and sparkling sugar.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to slightly brown and a wooden skewer comes out cleanly when inserted into the center of the muffin.
- Let your muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes then move them to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.
Richa Keswani says
I’m really sad I wish I could try it but I can’t eat eggs. Is there anything which can substitute eggs?
Please tell me
The Sugar Geek Show says
You can use an egg substitute. Whichever one you prefer
Taylor Prestidge says
Do you feel like the batter could be made in bulk and then frozen in a tub for scooping and baking as needed?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I don't think that would work. Rising agents such as baking powder and baking soda start working as soon as the liquid is added so you only have a short amount of time to bake the batter before it stops working.
Silvia says
I just made them, exactly like the recipe and the results were great!!!! i am not a fan of muffins but i ended up eating 2. and the family is happy, happy social distancing and thank you!
Maren says
These taste amazing! I didn’t love the texture for a muffin. That said, my family had zero complaints and I will definitely be making these again.
Leslie says
OMG are these GOOD! I had fresh blueberries and nobody was eating them so I decided to make muffins. So I came here because we have yet to find a recipe we didn’t like. I made them but with couple of differences. I didn’t have a fresh lemon for the zest, so I had to leave it out. I didn’t have lemon extract so I used the same quantity of bottled lemon juice, but it unfortunately didn’t add much if any lemon flavor. I didn’t have buttermilk, but made my own. Last, didn’t want to use muffin wrappers so I used your cake goop and they couldn’t have come out easier. They are so light and fluffy and so delicious! Will definitely make them again!