Blueberry (cheesecake) muffins

They say muffins are just cupcakes without make-up on and if that's the case then my blueberry cheesecake version doesn't technically classify as a muffin... But muffins are a perfectly acceptable breakfast item which means you can safely get away with tucking into these before 11am without a guilty conscience. And the blueberries? Well, they're a superfood I'll have you know!

The muffins in question are made using a recipe by Stork Bake margarine and the fab people from their I love Baking SA page asked me to give it a test drive. I, of course, had to put my own decadent spin on it - you know, just to show how versatile it is. So of course, extra sugar and cream cheese were involved. The original recipe however is perfect for a kid-friendly lunchbox snack (considering we're still in the back-to-school swing of things). But smear the leftovers with creamy frosting and you have a moms-only version perfect for tea time!

The Lunchbox Blueberry Muffin 

(that is, if there are still some left for lunchboxes and they haven't all been eaten still hot out the oven!)

This recipe is so dead easy, you need to be seriously skilled to make a flop of it, but just incase I've added a few of my own baking notes and comments in to help.

Blueberry Muffins

Serves 8 (I got 18 regular-sized muffins from my batch)

125g fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen as they tend to have a better texture once baked. I also tossed the blueberries with a little flour to stop them all sinking to the bottom of the muffin) 
120g Stork Bake margarine (the recipe doesn't specify so I melted the Stork Bake) 
275g plain flour 
250ml skimmed milk 
100g sugar 
1 egg 
2 tsp vanilla essence 
1 tbsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 200°C and place paper cases into a muffin tin. 

In a first bowl, mix the egg with the Stork Bake margarine, sugar and vanilla essence. In another bowl, mix the flour with the milk and the baking powder. Add the egg/margarine mixture in the flour mixture and stir in well. (I used the standard method of making muffins and combined all my dry ingredients together then all my wet ingredients and added the wet to the dry, mixing until the batter was just combined.Careful not to overstir or you'll get tough muffins. Nobody likes a tough muffin.)

Finally stir in the blueberries and pour the preparation in the prepared muffin tin. Bake the muffins for around 25 minutes or until the tops are springy to the touch.

Blueberry cheesecake muffins

(ie. blueberry muffins with make-up on)

The pimped-up version of the lunchbox muffin with a gooey blueberry centre and cream cheese frosting. Yum.

Blueberry cheesecake muffins

Makes 18

1 batch blueberry muffin batter (follow recipe above to just before the blueberries are added)

125g frozen blueberries

1/4 cup blueberry jam

Cheesecake frosting

100g Stork Bake margarine, softened

400g icing sugar

250g smooth full fat cream cheese

zest and juice of 1 small lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

Extra blueberries, to garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200°C and place paper cases into a muffin tin. Pour the plain muffin batter in the prepared muffin tin, filling the cups halfway. Combine the blueberries with the blueberry jam then drop a small spoonful of blueberry mixture in the middle of each muffin before adding in the remaining batter. Only fill the cases ¾ full. Bake the muffins for around 25 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch. To make the frosting, cream the Stork and icing sugar until light and fluffy then beat in the cream cheese, zest, juice and extract. Frost the muffins with the icing and decorate with the fresh blueberries. 

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