16 Nebraskaland • July 2022
Homemade muffins made with wild mulberries and lemon. JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY, NEBRASKALAND
By Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
MULBERRY MUFFINS
Mulberries should be peaking right
now, and one of my favorite ways to
eat them is in a muffin — or two.
A couple hints on using mulberries:
One, collect a combination of ripe and
unripe berries for better flavor; ripe
mulberries are sweet, but flat-tasting,
and the acidity of unripe berries will
improve the end result. Two, mulberries
are so delicate that they can be a pain
to handle. Forget about trying to
remove the stems while they're fresh,
because you'll crush half of them. A
tip that I learned from a friend is to
scatter fresh berries in one layer on
a cookie sheet and freeze. When the
mulberries harden, the stems will be
easier to remove.
Servings: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
•
2½ cups of fresh mulberries,
stems removed
•
1 tbs. lemon juice
•
1¼ cups of sugar, plus 1 tsp.
•
2½ cups all-purpose flour
•
2½ tsp. baking powder
•
1 tsp. salt
•
2 large eggs
•
4 tbs. of butter, melted and cooled
slightly
•
¼ cup vegetable oil
•
1 cup buttermilk
•
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
Lemon-Sugar Topping:
•
1/3 cup sugar
•
Finely grated zest from 1 lemon
1. Move oven rack to the middle
position and preheat oven to 425
degrees Fahrenheit.
In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of
mulberries, 1 tbs. of lemon juice and 1
tsp. of sugar to a simmer over medium
heat. Mash the mulberries a few times
to release juices, and simmer until
the mixture becomes thick and less
watery, about 10-15 minutes, stirring
frequently. Then transfer cooked
mulberries to a bowl and allow to cool
at room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, stir flour, baking
powder and salt. In a medium bowl,
whisk together 1¼ cup of sugar
and eggs until thick and completely
smooth; then slowly whisk in cooled
melted butter, oil, buttermilk and
vanilla extract into the egg-sugar
mixture. Next, fold in egg mixture and
remaining fresh mulberries into the
flour mixture until just moistened, but
still lumpy — do not over mix.
3. Spray a standard muffin tin with
nonstick cooking spray. Divide the
batter equally among the muffin cups.
Then spoon cooked mulberry mixture
into the center of each muffin well,
and then use a chopstick or skewer to
swirl berry filling through the batter.
4. Combine lemon zest and 1/3 cup
of sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle on
top of the muffin batter. Bake muffins
for 17-19 minutes, or until just firm,
rotating the muffin tin halfway
through baking. Remove from oven
and allow muffins to sit in the tin for
5 minutes, before taking them out to
cool on a cooling rack before s erving.
IN THE FIELD
