Beets & Berries Muffins
Ingredients:
1¾ cup organic unbleached white flour
⅓ cup organic cane sugar
2 rounded teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon finely ground sea salt
1 organic free-range medium-sized egg
½ cup organic whole milk
1 can unsalted sliced beets, 15-ounce*
¼ cup organic strawberry jam
¼ cup sunflower oil (approximately)
2 tablespoons organic wildflower honey
1 cup freshly picked blueberries
1 fresh strawberry
*Shortcut: use canned beets, rinsed well to remove BPA residue.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Grease a six-muffin pan, including the top of the pan where muffin tops bake. Set it aside.
Sift all dry ingredients together into a bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg.
Add the milk to the egg and beat them until they’re creamy.
Drain the sliced beets and purée them in a food processor.
Add the strawberry jam to the puréed beets in the food processor and purée them until they’re the consistency of smooth applesauce.
Put ⅔ cup of the beet/jam purée into the egg/milk mixture.
Spoon honey into a measuring cup. Add oil until it’s ¼ of a cup.
Add oil and honey to the liquid mixture.
Mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The batter should be stiff. Don’t over stir.
Stir in blueberries gently.
Don’t let batter stand. Put it into the muffin pan immediately after ready. Fill muffin pan holes until brimming with batter.
Bake on the center rack on top of a cookie sheet for 18-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t over bake.
When they are done, cool on a wire rack.
When they are cool, but still warm, core, fill and top the muffins with Mascarpone & Berry Topping (see recipe below).
Cut the fresh strawberry and sprinkle it on top of the Mascarpone & Berry Topping. Serve immediately.
Mascarpone & Berry Topping
Ingredients:
1 tub of Mascarpone Cheese, 8-ounce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 fresh organic strawberries, minced
Instructions:
1. Scrape the Mascarpone Cheese into a mixing bowl with a spoon.
2. Stir in the vanilla, cream, jam and powdered sugar until it’s creamy.
3. Mince the fresh strawberries and add to the creamy mixture.
4. Refrigerate until thick.
Tips
For a thicker topping, reduce the liquid to 1 tablespoon of cream and one tablespoon of jam (or no jam) and reduce the powdered sugar to 2 tablespoons.
For a fluffier frosting, whip ½ cup of whipping cream with an electric beater until it almost forms soft peaks, then add ¼ cup of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam and one 8-ounce container of mascarpone cheese. Whip until it’s the desired consistency. Fold in two fresh, minced strawberries.
When making whipped cream or whipping cream for another frosting, make sure the mixing bowl and beaters are ice cold.
Try omitting the cream altogether – just add jam to the mascarpone with a little powdered sugar and see how that tastes – or even just the mascarpone with the jam and the fresh strawberries.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
Tag @muffinswithasecret on Instagram and hashtag it #muffinswithasecret