Family, Friends, Farms and Food

Reposted from a previous post on my old blog.

Most of my friends know I don’t eat a lot of sweets. Unless it’s a perfect cake, I prefer more savory foods to sweet foods. But, once in a while you just have to have some sweetness and light on a Sunday morning.  Last weekend, I had the pleasure of tasting a streusel-topped rhubarb muffin at The Inn by The River in The Forks, Maine. Erin Crowley-Tuefferd, the innkeeper, made these muffins from a recipe in Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Southampton’s Favorite Bakery for Homestyle Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Muffins, and Breads. They were delicious, light, sweet, with just a touch of tart.  Since I had a large bunch of rhubarb from my CSA share, I decided to play with the recipe. I changed it a bit by using less sugar and cinnamon, adding lemon zest, and clarifying the directions. Next time I make these muffins I think I’ll add strawberries and turn them into strawberry-rhubarb streusel muffins. It is June, you know. Fresh berries are here! As with all baking, make sure that all ingredients are room temperature. Take out your eggs, milk, and butter at least a half hour before making this recipe.

adapted from Tat’s Bake Shop Cookbook

Makes 12 muffins

Streusel Topping Ingredients:

• ¾C pastry flour
• ⅓C firmly packed light brown sugar
• 5T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• ¼t cinnamon

Muffin Batter Ingredients:

• 2C chopped rhubarb (about 5 stalks)
• ⅛C powdered sugar
• zest from 1 lemon
• 8T unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½C sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2t vanilla
• 1¼C pastry flour
• 1t baking powder
• ½t sea salt
• ½C whole milk

Directions: Preheat oven to 375°.  Use paper muffin cups or, as I prefer, re-usable silicone muffin cups. If you do not have liners, grease the muffin cups with butter.

To make the streusel topping: Mix the flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon by using your fingers or a pastry knife to cut in the butter until it forms small crumbs. Put it in the fridge while you prepare the batter.

In a small bowl, toss the chopped rhubarb with the powdered sugar and lemon zest, and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the pastry flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat them until it’s all fluffy. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla mixture, and stir to combine. Add ¼C of the milk, stir, add the rest of the flour mixture, stir, then the rest of the milk. Mix it all together and scrape down the sides as you go. Fold in the rhubarb.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. I use an ice-cream scoop for measure. Bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Serve alone as a breakfast treat or with Häagen-Dazs Honey Vanilla ice cream as dessert.