Blackberry, Lemon & Thyme Muffins

By stancec44

Elizabeth Belkind of Cake Monkey for Intelligentsia Coffee in Los Angeles, CA

The buttery crumble topping of this lemony berry muffin is balanced by a surprise vegetal element: thyme. Coffee Pairing: A single-origin coffee, like Intelligentsia's La Perla de Oaxaca from Mexico. "It leaves hints of ripe blackberry and citrus acidity and a toasty, honeyed finish." --Charlotte Druckman Bake in large decorative paper molds (found at kitchen supply stores), or simply line standard muffin tins with your favorite liners.

Ingredients

• special equipment:
• Crumble
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 large egg yolk
• Muffins
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen, thawed, drained) blackberries (about 6 ounces), halved lengthwise
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• Eight 4-ounce paper muffin molds (optional)

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Crumble

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Whisk first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add butter. Using your fingertips, rub in butter until pea-size lumps form. Add egg yolk; stir to evenly distribute and form moist clumps. (Crumble should resemble a mixture of pebbles and sand.) Chill for at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Muffins

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Preheat oven to 325°. If making standard-size muffins, line 16 1/3-cup molds with paper liners. Whisk 1 cup all-purpose flour and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and continue to beat until well incorporated, 2–3 minutes longer. Whisk eggs and vanilla in a small bowl to blend; gradually beat into butter mixture. Continue beating until light and fluffy, 3–4 minutes. Combine buttermilk and lemon zest in a small bowl; gradually beat into butter mixture. Add dry ingredients; beat just to blend (do not overmix).
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Toss blackberries and thyme with 2 Tbsp. flour in another small bowl; fold into batter, gently crushing berries slightly to release some juices. Spoon about 2/3 cup batter into large paper muffin molds, or divide between prepared muffin pans. Top each large muffin with 2 Tbsp. crumble or each small muffin with 1 rounded Tbsp. crumble.
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Bake until tops are golden brown and a tester comes out clean when inserted into center, about 50 minutes for large muffins and 40 minutes for standard-size muffins. Let cool in pan at least 20 minutes, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store cooled muffins airtight at room temperature.