Buttermilk Raspberry Muffins
Spring is here, so that means these Buttermilk Raspberry Muffins are on the menu! These muffins are incredibly soft and fluffy, with beautifully tall bakery-style muffin tops! They are speckled with little bursts of fresh raspberries, and topped with crunchy, buttery streusel topping.
How to Get Tall Muffin Tops
Do not overmix
As most bakers know, mixing any batter that contains flour leads to the development of gluten. Gluten in flour is activated by the presence of water, and strengthened by physical agitation. Overmixing a batter basically causes these gluten strands to strengthen, which can lead to a tough, gummy batter. But it can also lead to it’s rise being inhibited. Strong gluten development will essentially hold down the muffin batter and not allow it to freely rise up in the oven.
Allow the batter to rest in the fridge
While recipe testing these buttermilk raspberry muffins, resting the batter was the biggest difference between beautifully tall muffin tops and flat muffin tops.
While it is important to not overmix and cause excess gluten development, the process of mixing the batter will always cause some degree of gluten formation. However, gluten is at it’s strongest immediately after mixing, and sort of loses it’s strength the longer that it sits and relaxes. This is where resting the batter comes in! Allowing the raspberry muffin batter to rest basically allows those gluten strands to relax, allowing the batter to rise up in the oven uninhibited!
I allowed my batter to rest in the fridge for 4 hours and received great results! You can, however, allow them to rest overnight as well! I simply made the batter in a bowl, covered it and placed it into the fridge for a few hours. Then when I as ready to bake, I used a cookie scoop to scoop the batter into the muffin pan. I was also careful about not deflating the batter as I scooped, as some of the leavening process has already begun to happen. Lastly, I filled each muffin line about 7/8 of the way full.
Bake at a higher temperature
By placing the raspberry muffins in a super hot oven, the muffins rapidly rise up, creating a taller muffin top! However, they only bake at this high temperature for a few minutes, because if we baked the raspberry muffins at this temperature the entire time, the bottoms and tops would likely burn before the insides were properly cooked – therefore the oven temperature is reduced to prevent burning and uneven baking.
How to make the Buttermilk Raspberry Muffins
1.Whisk together the dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Whisk together the wet ingredients: In a separate large bowl, add the melted butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together until they are well-combined and smooth.
3. Add wet to dry: Pour the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, mix the batter together until it smooth and well-combined, but be careful not to overmix!
4. Fold in raspberries: Add the raspberries to the muffin batter, then lightly fold them in.
5. Rest the batter: Cover the bowl and place into the fridge to rest for about 4 hours.
6. Top with streusel and bake: Evenly distribute the rested batter into the cupcake pans, then sprinkle each muffin with the prepared streusel, then place into the oven to bake. Be sure to turn your oven down after 6 minutes!
How to make the streusel topping for the raspberry muffins
Making the Streusel for these muffins is a piece of cake! Simply throw the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl and whisk together to combine. Then pour the melted butter over top and mix well with a fork until the mixture resembles wet-sand. This mixture then gets sprinkled over the muffins right before it’s time to bake!
Get the Recipe: Buttermilk Raspberry Muffins
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup (60g) All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly †
- 6 tbsp (75g) White Sugar
- Pinch of Salt
- 3 tbsp (43g) Unsalted Butter,, melted
Buttermilk Raspberry Muffins
- 1/2 cup (114g) Unsalted Butter,, melted
- 1 cup (200g) White Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Full-Fat Buttermilk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Full-Fat Sour Cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 cups (240g) All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly †
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 cups Fresh Raspberries
Instructions
Streusel Topping
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar and salt. Whisk to combine well.
- Pour the melted butter into the dry mixture and mix with a fork until well combined, and the mixture resembles sand. Set aside.
Buttermilk Raspberry Muffins
- Add the melted butter, white sugar, eggs, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla to a large mixing bowl, and beat with a whisk until it has formed a smooth consistency.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined, then add this dry mixture to the wet mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon, until just combined, ensuring not to over mix. Fold in the raspberries.
- For tall muffin tops (see above): Cover the muffin batter and place into the fridge to rest for 4 hours to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare a cupcake tin with liners.
- Evenly disperse the batter into the cupcake liners with a medium cookie scoop while being careful not to deflate the batter.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping on top of each muffin. Place into the 425°F oven, bake for 6 minutes, and then turn the oven temperature down to 350°F, and bake for an additional 12 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
I am wondering if I could use powdered buttermilk instead and if you have any suggestions for that?
Hi! I haven’t tested with powdered buttermilk so I can’t be sure! You can also make buttermilk by adding 1 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk!
The muffins rose quite well without the 4 hour wait. The taste of the muffins was not sweet and light; more like a “rasberry bread” than a muffin. I have been baking alot of mufins lately and trying vaerious recipes. This one is ok, but I won’t save it. It doesn’t come close to the other ones that are out there. The notes were helpful though. They baked nicely with a high crown. I mixed and folded carefully, as the instructions noted.
Can I use frozen raspberries?
Yes! I would just thaw them first!