This recipe is a variation on our popular Strawberry-Ginger Muffins. A locally-bought package of New England-grown and -ground rye flour inspired the twist. I replaced half of the all purpose flour with the rye flour, which has a lovely nutty flavor. (If you equate rye with the bitter taste of caraway seeds in rye bread, forget that flavor!) Rye flour has less gluten in it, so I added a smidge more baking powder in this recipe, too. Lastly, I experimented with different fruit (raspberries and a strawberry-rhubarb combo) and added chocolate chips to some of the batter. The results were all delicious and these muffins are super-moist and fragrant with the spices.
Take note that the batter is sticky (be sure to hand-mix gently; don’t use an electric mixer) and can be a little tricky to get into those darn paper muffin cups, which, in my experience, don’t behave the way they are supposed to! I think I probably need a new brand, but mine splay out and refuse to sit neatly inside the cup until completely full of batter. Minor issue, though!
I think I like the raspberry-chocolate chip combo best, but I’d keep the amount of chocolate chips pretty low. Also, if you include rhubarb with either strawberries or raspberries, be sure the rhubarb is diced fairly small. Likewise the strawberries should be diced. Raspberries can be whole as they break apart when you stir them into the batter. The crystallized ginger should be used in every combo!
One more tip: I also substituted brown sugar for some of the white sugar in the original recipe. In whisking the brown sugar into the dry ingredients, I found that I wound up having to break up some lumps of brown sugar with my hands. The muffins keep at room temperature, well-wrapped, for a couple of days. Or they can be frozen.
Makes 12
- 4 1/2 ounces (1 cup) all-purpose flour (plus more for tossing with ginger if necessary)
- 4 ½ ounces (about 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) finely ground rye flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt (or ¾ teaspoon kosher salt)
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- 4 ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs (preferably at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces raspberries (or a combination of small-diced strawberries and small-diced rhubarb), or 7 ounces fruit + 1 ½ ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
For the topping
- 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper baking cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, the rye flour, the sugar, the brown sugar, the baking powder, the ground cinnamon, the ground ginger, the baking soda, and the salt. Whisk to blend, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar with your hands
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Lightly stir the sour cream mixture into the dry ingredients with a silicone spatula until the batter just comes together; do not overmix. The batter will be thick and sticky.
5. Toss the minced crystallized ginger with a teaspoon or two of flour and separate the clumps with your fingers. (You can skip this step if you’ve bought already-minced ginger.) Add the ginger and the fruit (leaving behind any juices the berries may have accumulated) to the batter. Add the chocolate chips, if using. Gently stir just until well distributed.
6. Divide the batter among the muffin cups, using the back of a spoon or a small spatula to settle the batter into the cups. The batter should mound a bit higher than the tops of the cups.
7. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Sprinkle a generous half-teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over each muffin.
8. Bake the muffins until they’re golden-brown, spring back most of the way when gently pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift the muffins out of the pan – if necessary, loosen them with the tip of a paring knife – and let them cool. You can certainly eat them while they are still warm (and they are delicious), but they will set up a bit more as they cool, so I suggest leaving them for a bit. You can also gently rewarm before serving.
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