Muffin of the Week: Strawberry and Cream

So here it is people (sorry, it’s a couple hours late.), the muffin you asked for! I had a poll up last week asking which muffin of the week I should do next. Out of strawberry and cream, peach cobbler, almond poppy seed, orange, and ham and egg , this one was the winner. After researching a couple different recipes to try, I chose this one and I am glad I did. It is really good! Possibly my favorite muffin so far. There is a yummy cream cheese layer in there that really makes it amazing.

 Ingredients:

• 1 C. whole milk (or 2/3 C. 2 percent milk and 1/3 C. half-and-half mixed together)
• 1/2 C. unsalted butter
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. almond extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 C. AP flour
• 3/4 C. granulated sugar
• 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 C. fresh ripe strawberries chopped into small pieces
• 4 oz. full-fat cream cheese, very soft
• 1 and 1/2 TBSP. of liquid from one whole egg, beaten lightly
• 1/3 C. granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cut up your berries and set them aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese, 1/3 C. sugar,   1and 1/2 TBSP. beaten egg, and 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract. Mix until almost all the lumps are gone. Set this aside, but don’t chill it.
3. Melt the butter slowly in a sauce pan on low heat. Add the vanilla extract,almond extract, and milk into the butter, stirring to combine. Cool until the mixture is just warm, then whisk in the eggs.
4. Thoroughly combine with a whisk, in a large mixing bowl, the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. I think it is better to mix it by hand, rather than using a mixer or a kitchen-aid, because it is easier to make sure that you don’t over mix it. Using a whisk just until the flour is all moistened really helps decrease the amount of mixing involved. Over mixing causes tough muffins.
5. Make a well (like a crater) in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour all of the butter and milk mixture into the dry ingredients, blending just until combined. It will be lumpy. That is ok.
6. Fill each muffin cup BARELY half full. Scatter a few pieces of strawberry on top of each one. Then using a small spoon dab a generous teaspoonful or so of the cream cheese mixture on top of the berries. On top of that, add on another table spoon or two of the muffin batter. On top of that, add a few more pieces of strawberry. Push them in just slightly. If they-re well visible at this point, they’ll still be visible after baking. Sprinkle the tops of the unbaked muffins very generously with course sugar, which adds a nice sparkle.
7. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes at 400 F. Check the muffins early, and if they’re browning too fast, lightly cover the pan with a sheet of foil. Let them cool, but eat them fresh.

Recipe by Jane from Jane’s Sweets.