Soft, cake like lemon flavored blueberry muffins feature whole milk ricotta, pure vanilla bean paste, and a lemon sugar topping.
Wonderful paired with other fruits, citrus is a staple in my pantry, especially lemon. Citrus zest adds a lovely biting flavor from the oil in the skin. Citrus juice adds acidity and a punch of tartness. Our rustic cherry tart has lime zest in the pastry crust and lime juice in the filling.
Lemon with its vibrant yellow color is a welcome addition to the pastry chefs color and flavor palettes.
The skin holds an oily perfume and wonderful lemon flavor. The skin (the peel, the zest) is the perfect pairing with so many ingredients, sweet and savory. Lemon can be the main ingredient, add a fresh, clean, secondary touch, or a subtle hint or essence.
Since it’s 90 degrees here in San Diego, and there is a bowl with a half dozen lemons sitting on the kitchen table, I’m going to make fresh lemonade. Sour balanced with sweet. Ice cold. 10 minutes of time for a small pitcher of quickly consumed liquid gold.
Before I juice lemons, I use a Microplane to finely grate the exterior and collect the zest. Or I peel the yellow part of the skin in strips to make candied lemon peel. Today I’m zesting for use in these lemon ricotta blueberry muffins. Some of the zest goes directly into the muffin batter, the remaining goes into lemon sugar for the topping.
The combination of lemon and blueberries is a favorite. I make puffy lemon blueberry cookies, a lemon blueberry doughnut with blueberry glaze, a blueberry cheesecake with lemon mascarpone whipped cream topping, and soon I’ll be sharing a lemon blueberry layer cake in an upcoming post.
The muffin method is quick and easy. Gather all your ingredients, get them prepped and carefully measured. Combine your wet ingredients in one bowl, your dry ingredients in another. Bring the wet and dry ingredients together, mix until they are just becoming one, and gently fold in your add-ins. Today we’re adding in fresh blueberries.
Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Muffins
whole milk ricotta, pure vanilla bean paste and a lemon sugar topping.
Equipment
- 1 (12 cup) regular muffin tin
Ingredients
Lemon Sugar
- 1 gram fresh lemon zest (1/2 teaspoon)
- 67 grams granulated sugar (1/3 cup)
Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Muffins
- 190 grams whole milk ricotta cheese (3/4 cup), room temperature
- 100 grams egg (2 large), lightly beaten, room temperature
- 5 grams vanilla bean paste or extract (1 teaspoon)
- 113 grams unsalted butter (1/2 stick OR 4 tablespoons), melted and cooled
- 133 grams granulated sugar (2/3 cup)
- 3 grams finely grated lemon zest (1-1/2 teaspoons)
- 256 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups)
- 10 grams baking powder (2 teaspoons)
- 1 gram fine sea salt (1/4 teaspoon)
- 250 grams fresh blueberries (1-1/2 cups)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Spray a 12 cup regular muffin pan with baking spray or line with paper baking cups.
Lemon Sugar
- Add fresh lemon zest and granulated sugar to small bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside.
Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Muffins
- Add whole milk ricotta cheese, eggs, vanilla bean paste, and melted butter to small mixing bowl. Stir with small plastic spatula to combine. Set aside.
- Add all-purpose flour, baking powder, fine sea salt, granulated sugar, and fresh lemon zest to large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add ricotta cheese mixture to flour mixture and fold together with spatula. Gently fold in fresh blueberries.
- Divide muffin batter evenly between the muffin cups and sprinkle lemon sugar generously on muffin tops.
- Bake muffins in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes away clean.
- Remove muffin tin from oven and cool muffins on wire rack.
- Serve warm with melted butter. Store leftovers in airtight container for several days.
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