Masa harina has a way of making familiar recipes feel a little more fun. Here, it brings a subtle sweetness, a tender crumb, and just enough corn flavor to make these blueberry muffins stand apart from the classic version.
What better way to start off a summer morning than with the marriage of sweet corn and blueberries?
Special thanks to friend of Masienda and the absolute pan dulce queen Teresa Finney, who helped us perfect the crunchy masa crumble that tops each muffin.
Allegra Ben-Amotz
12 muffins
Tender muffins packed with blueberries and made with masa harina for a hint of corn flavor, topped with a crunchy masa crumble.
¼ cup cane sugar
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp loosely packed brown sugar
½ cup packed AP flour
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ cup grapeseed oil
¼ cup masa harina
½ tbsp vanilla extract
½ tsp cinnamon, optional
Zest from ½ lemon, optional
1 1/2 cups AP flour
½ cup masa harina
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
¾ cup cane or white sugar
2 large eggs
¾ cup plus one tablespoon buttermilk or thin yogurt
½ cup (1 stick) melted unsalted butter or olive oil
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon OR ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, all optional
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen, do not defrost)
Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well-combined, making sure to leave some pieces rather large for extra-crunchiness. The crumble can be made the day before baking and stored in the freezer. The freeze helps to maintain its shape when baked.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 12 standard muffin tins with liners, parchment or simply spray with nonstick spray; set aside.
Whisk flour, masa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
Whisk light brown sugar, cane/white sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in buttermilk and butter, along with lemon zest/cinnamon/vanilla (if using). Using a spatula, stir the flour mixture into the buttermilk mixture until well combined– a few bits of visible flour are okay (be gentle and don’t overmix).
Fold in blueberries until well distributed. Divide among prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle each muffin with a generous amount of crumble topping and bake until nicely golden brown, significantly puffed up and baked through, 17–20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack or just on the counter at room temperature.
5 comments
Hi Michael! We haven’t had a chance to test this recipe using gram measurements yet, but we’ll add it to our list and test it the next time we make it. If you end up giving it a try in the meantime, we’d love to hear how it turns out!
Awesome recipe muffins came out moist and delicious. Nice flavor with the masa. This will easily be a repeat recipe! I used 1/2 cup less sugar in the muffin.
Did you test this with measuring by weight too? It’d be helpful to know how many grams of flour you used since that ingredient in particular can vary so much. TIA!
Hi Gerry! You can use any of our three heirloom masa harinas for this recipe.
Should I use white, blue or yellow Masa?