Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

I went strawberry picking yesterday. It’s probably the earliest strawberries have been ready for picking in Muskoka in a long, long time. And they were beautiful berries! So worth waiting through a long winter for. We enjoyed the fresh aroma from the basket on the counter for a while and then today, I had to deal with them. All of them!

First up, some Strawberry Balsamic Black Pepper Jam and some Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream (recipes soon!). Finally, a new recipe to try, these pretty little Strawberry Shortcake Muffins. Even after reading the ingredients, I didn’t really have a clear idea of how they would taste but they really do taste like strawberry shortcake. The “cake” part of the muffins is much like a light pound cake while the large chunks of strawberry provide the fruity finish.

The original recipe called for a cup of heavy (whipping) cream and even though I actually had whipping cream in the fridge, I just couldn’t bring myself to use it in a muffin. So I substituted Half and Half (10%) cream. I think you could even use milk but obviously, the muffin would be less rich and probably, less strawberry-shortcake-like. The Half and Half worked perfectly though, with just a nice amount of richness.

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Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

Summary: These muffins are best with fresh strawberries and even better with fresh, in-season strawberries, for the best flavour. For the richest muffin, use heavy cream but you can use lighter cream, if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1 egg
• 1 cup heavy cream (35%), Half and Half (10%) or Whole Milk (3.5%)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups diced strawberries (they don’t have to be too small)
• Icing (Confectioners) sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender (or two knives) until it is in small pea-size pieces.
3. In small bowl mix the egg, vanilla and cream. Add all at once to flour mixture. Stir with spoon until just blended. Gently mix in the diced strawberries.
4. Spoon into muffin cups, making sure each muffin has some strawberries and bake for about 25 minutes. Cool completely in pan before removing. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar once cooled.

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min

Number of servings (yield): 12 muffins

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