Monday, February 29, 2016

Berry Mango Swirl Muffins

Berry Mango Swirl Muffins

A multicolored muffin swirled with blueberry, mango, raspberry, and strawberry purees. This whole grain treat makes a large batch, great for bake sales and sharing.


Recipe for a multicolored muffin swirled with mango, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry purees. This whole grain treat makes a large batch, great for bake sales and sharing.

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Recipe for a multicolored muffin swirled with mango, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry purees. This whole grain treat makes a large batch, great for bake sales and sharing.


I was sitting in a Tim Hortons enjoying a blue and yellow swirled lemon blueberry muffin when I got the idea for these muffins. My folks have been visiting this month, which means I've been out and about much more than usual (and have tried a number of interesting breakfast and lunch places--stay tuned for more inspired recipes). Looking at the muffin, I tried to figure out how to simultaneously 'lightly mix together' the batter, as one does for the Muffin Method, while still getting the blueberry puree fully incorporated into the mix.


Clearly I didn't make lemon blueberry muffins for today's Leap of Faith Muffin Monday with the #MuffinMonday bakers. I didn't even master a swirl technique that I could share on the blog. I did, however, make a whole mess of muffins. Enough to give a plate to the office staff of both the junior high and the high schools, some to take to the shop, and the most photogenic ones saved for the dogs.


That's right, apparently Vincent got up to shenanigans while I was at the shop and ate the pretty muffins, not a crumb or paper left. I love that old wiener dog, and while I have no concrete proof (my daughter saw him on the dining room table though), instead of making a bazillion more muffins I've just taken photos of what's left. They were fruity and fun to make, though, so I hope you'll consider trying these when you want to make a bunch of muffins that stand out a bit.


Recipe for a multicolored muffin swirled with mango, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry purees. This whole grain treat makes a large batch, great for bake sales and sharing.


I used a combination of locally-grown and exotic fruit for these muffins, just because I was in the mood, we picked up a large container of mango slices at Costco along with the free samples, and my Mango Recipes Collection was sorely lacking. I grew the strawberries and black raspberries, though, froze them when they were ripe, and smushed them all up in their vacuum sealed pouches before measuring out a cup. Unfortunately I only measured out half a cup of black raspberries, so I grabbed a bag of blueberries from the freezer and added so that I had a full cup of fruit puree.


Recipe for a multicolored muffin swirled with mango, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry purees. This whole grain treat makes a large batch, great for bake sales and sharing.


I didn't grow the blueberries, we planted 2 bushes when we moved in, along with the raspberry canes, the peach trees, and the strawberry patch--but the blueberry bushes were finicky and died. Fair enough, the other berries are going strong in my little yard so I'm OK with one loss.

That reminds me to remind all of us--it's always a good time to layer some compost and other soil amendments to nourish anything you're growing, ornamental or functional. Before we get some rain this week I'll lay down more shredded leaves, coffee grounds, and even some wood fireplace ashes I recently crowdsourced from my neighborhood. Continual amending of the soil is my Daddy's secret to gardening success. Here's some more of his secrets.

Recipe for a multicolored muffin swirled with mango, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry purees. This whole grain treat makes a large batch, great for bake sales and sharing.


For more recipes using blueberries, please see my Blueberry Recipes Collection. For more recipes using Mango, please see the aforementioned Mango Recipes Collection. For more recipes using Raspberries, please see my Raspberry Recipes Collection. For more recipes using strawberries, please see my Strawberry Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating seasonally, putting up excess produce when it's abundant, and shopping for exotic produce when I don't feel like thawing the frozen stuff. I'm pinning all sorts of recipes to my Pinterest boards, follow me there. I'm sharing things that catch my eye on my Facebook page, follow me there. For a peek into my day, I'm sharing photos on my Instagram feed, follow me there. Forty one more muffin recipes can be found on the right side of the blog in the desktop/laptop view, under the Muffins/Breads tab because I'm just not that witty when it comes to indexing my recipes. Want to know How to Use This Blog?



Recipe for a multicolored muffin swirled with mango, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry purees. This whole grain treat makes a large batch, great for bake sales and sharing.

Berry Mango Swirl Muffins (makes about 3 dozen regular muffins or 80-100 mini muffins)

Ingredients 

  • 3 cups (24 ounces) buttermilk, divided
  • 3 cups rolled oats (I use the old fashioned kind), divided
  • 3 cups fruit puree (I used 1 cup each mango, strawberry, and a blueberry/raspberry blend)
  • 3 eggs, divided
  • ¾ cup brown sugar, divided
  • ¾ cup (6 ounces) vegetable oil, divided
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
  • 3 cups (12 ¾ ounces by weight) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder, divided
  • 1+½ teaspoons baking soda, divided
  • 1+½ teaspoons salt, divided

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a regular 12 week muffin pan or a 24 well mini muffin pan with paper liners. It's too tricky to try with just oil spray in my opinion.
  2. Using 3 medium bowls, measure into each bowl 1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup oats, 1 cup fruit puree, 1 egg, ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Use an immersion blender to fully combine and break down any fruit chunks into a smooth batter.
  3. Dump into each bowl 1 cup (4+¼ ounces by weight) flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon each baking powder and salt. Stir until just mixed and set aside.
  4. Add all 3 batters to each muffin well. This is easier typed than done. First, I tried using a mini cookie scoop, 3 scoops (Amazon affiliate link) in a regular sized muffin pan, but since I only have 1 of these scoops I added a scoop of one batter to each well, then washed the scoop and repeated until I'd added each of the batters to each well. No swirling happened as the first batter had plenty of time to spread out across the bottom of the paper liner. I had good success using the mini muffin pan with 3 small spoons, adding about ½ teaspoon of batter nearly simultaneously to each well. It takes hand eye coordination, but when you're making multiple pans you tend to get the hang of it pretty quickly.
  5. Bake regular sized muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, and let rest in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Bake mini muffins for 15 minutes, let rest in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
  6. Serve warm or at room temperature.




#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

Here's the list of muffin bakers taking a Leap of Faith and making something new:


10 comments:

  1. Ha, ha, Kirsten! I know I shouldn't be laughing but the thought of the hound being caught red-handed, so to speak, on the table cracked me up. Never mind, though, the muffins he left behind are still special! What a great combination of flavors and colors!
    P.S. Here's a blog post you will relate to, I think, from one of my favorite non-food bloggers. Well, the dog part anyway: http://kirstyriceonline.com/2012/03/just-call-me-beagle.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stacy,
      Oh, that post is a HOOT! So true, so true. Vincent is wiener dog and beagle mixed together, I suspect (adopted at ~8 years old, who knows what all is in him) so the food + the love of a good blanket to burrow under and his world is set.
      Thanks for hosting!

      Delete
  2. Sure. Blame the dog LOL. These muffins look lovely so those the dog ate must have been gorgeous

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wendy,
      Hey, at least I didn't blame the Basset hound! That breed gets blamed for so many things, or at least they are used in ads for so many negative things--products to help dog odor and help overweight dogs. Robert Barker could be a poster child for dog toys, or treats, since he is so handsome and has a trim waist.
      But back to Vincent--he means well, is from a broken home, whatever his excuse--he's a lovely dog anyway.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  3. Ha!! Based on your story and the breed of dog, I'd say "guilty!! I love the combo of flavors you picked, and it's a great blogger story too =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen,
      This sneaky pup has just had a PAWdicure and is rocking his silent paws. I'm very worried what he gets into next. Good thing I have an Enforcer dog who will tattletail to me!
      Thanks!

      Delete
  4. Sorry, I too laughed at the dog stealing your best muffins! Love the fruit combination. I need to try to get a swirl

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kelly,
      I'm glad to give someone a laugh. Mine was more of a groan or a cringe.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  5. You know I love me some muffins, especially when you toss a bunch of fruit puree into the mix. If I had any energy to cook, I would totally make these. Yes all three dozen and eat them post haste.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      You're spending your energy growing a baby. Your own creative energies will come back in about a dozen years.
      Thanks!

      Delete