Sandra Ina Garten Strawberry Muffins Recipe is a British-style breakfast bake featuring fresh fruit and tangy buttermilk. These fluffy cakes use diced strawberries, melted butter, and vanilla to create a light, summery treat that’s ready in half an hour.
If you do nothing else, stop stirring the moment the white streaks of flour disappear. I used to keep mixing until the batter looked smooth, but that’s the fastest way to end up with tough, rubbery muffins. The lumps are actually your friend here because they keep the crumb tender and light. I spent years overworking my batter before I realised that a few pockets of dry flour are better than a dense cake.
The strawberries are doing more work than you’d think, but they tend to sink if they’re too wet. I learned to toss them in a spoonful of flour before folding them in so they stay suspended in the middle of the batter. This is one of those recipes that looks harder than it is. I keep these in the tin for a weekend brunch and they’re always gone before they have even finished cooling.
Ina Garten Strawberry Muffins Recipe Ingredients
- 250g (9oz) plain flour, plus 1 tbsp for coating the fruit
- 100g (3 1/2oz) caster sugar
- 50g (2oz) light brown soft sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 115g (4oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 120ml (4fl oz) buttermilk
- 225g (8oz) fresh strawberries, diced
How To Make Ina Garten Strawberry Muffins Recipe
- Preheat the oven: Set the rack in the middle and heat your oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas Mark 5). Line a standard 12-hole muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease each hole with a little extra butter or oil. Make sure the oven is fully up to temperature before you start mixing the wet and dry parts together because a cold oven stops the muffins from rising.
- Mix dry ingredients: Find a large mixing bowl and whisk together the plain flour, caster sugar, light brown soft sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and sea salt. Break up any large lumps of brown sugar with your fingers to make sure the sweetness is spread evenly through the batter. Use the whisk to aerate the flour and remove any small clumps from the bicarbonate of soda that might cause a bitter taste.
- Whisk wet ingredients: Stir the melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk together in a separate jug or bowl until the mixture is completely smooth. Using room temperature eggs prevents the melted butter from cooling down too quickly and forming solid fat beads. Mix until you have a uniform liquid that pours easily into the dry mixture without any streaks of egg yolk remaining.
- Combine batter: Create a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Use a large metal spoon to gently fold the ingredients together until just combined. Do not use an electric mixer or whisk for this part as it will overwork the gluten and make the cakes heavy. Stop the second you no longer see any dry flour at the bottom of the bowl.
- Prepare strawberries: Toss the diced strawberries in a small bowl with one tablespoon of plain flour until each piece is lightly coated. Gently fold the floured fruit into the thick batter using only three or four long strokes with your spoon. This coating stops the berries from leaking juice and sinking to the bottom of the muffin liners while they are in the oven.
- Bake the muffins: Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, filling each muffin hole about three-quarters of the way to the top. Slide the tin onto the middle rack and bake for 18 to 22 minutes until the tops are golden and spring back when touched. A wooden skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin should come out clean without any wet batter sticking to it.
- Cool and serve: Take the tin out of the oven and let the muffins rest in the holes for about 5 minutes to firm up. Lift them out carefully and move them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely so the bottoms do not get damp. Serve them while they are still slightly warm or at room temperature for a lovely weekend treat.
Recipe Tips
Check the fruit. Pat the strawberries dry with kitchen roll after washing but before dicing them. Extra water on the surface of the fruit makes the batter around the berries soggy and prevents the muffins from rising into a dome shape.
Keep it lumpy. Resist the urge to stir the batter until it is perfectly smooth. A few small lumps of flour are normal and will disappear as the muffins bake, leaving you with a much lighter crumb than if you had whisked them.
Measure by weight. Use a kitchen scale for the flour and sugars to get the most accurate result. Too much flour is the most common reason for a dry, crumbly muffin that sticks to the paper liner and feels heavy in the mouth.
Use fresh leavening. Check the dates on your baking powder and bicarbonate of soda before you start. These provide the lift needed for the “bakery-style” dome, so they must be fresh to react properly with the acidic buttermilk.
Don’t skip buttermilk. The acid in the buttermilk reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to create air bubbles. If you don’t have it, make a quick version by mixing 120ml of full-fat milk with a squeeze of lemon juice and letting it sit for five minutes.
Cool on a rack. Moving the muffins out of the tin after five minutes prevents the bottoms from steaming. If they stay in the hot metal tin for too long, the liners will become damp and peel away from the cakes.
What To Serve With Strawberry Muffins
These fruit-filled bakes are excellent alongside a bowl of thick Greek yogurt or a fresh fruit salad. They also work well as part of a larger breakfast spread with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for a fancy brunch.
For a quick afternoon treat, serve them with a hot cup of Earl Grey tea or a strong coffee. I often put a small dish of salted butter or strawberry jam on the table for guests to spread over the warm centres when they break them open.
How To Store Strawberry Muffins
Fridge
Store the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Because they contain fresh fruit, they stay moist longer in a cool environment than they do on the kitchen counter where they might spoil.
Reheat
Warm them in the oven at 150°C (300°F/Gas Mark 2) for about 5 minutes to restore that “just baked” feel. You can use a microwave for 15 seconds, but the paper liners might become a bit soft and difficult to peel off.
Freeze
Wrap each muffin tightly in clingfilm and place them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Let them thaw on the counter for two hours before eating, or defrost them in the microwave on a low setting for one minute.
Ina Garten Strawberry Muffins Recipe Nutrition Facts
Per serving (1 of 12):
- Calories: 220
- Protein: 3g
- Fat: 10g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 180mg
Estimated. May vary based on ingredients and cooking methods.
FAQs
Yes, replace the plain flour with a high-quality gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum. You might need to add an extra tablespoon of buttermilk as gluten-free flour can be more absorbent than wheat flour.
The most likely cause is overmixing the batter once the wet and dry ingredients were combined. Use a large metal spoon and stop stirring as soon as you can no longer see any white flour at the bottom of the bowl.
Yes, you can swap half the strawberries for blueberries or raspberries to create a mixed berry muffin. Make sure all the fruit is diced to a similar size so it cooks through in the 20 minutes of baking time.
Ina Garten Strawberry Muffins Recipe
Description
Soft and fluffy muffins packed with fresh diced strawberries and tangy buttermilk for a tender crumb.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas Mark 5) and line a 12-hole tin.
- Whisk the flour, sugars, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Mix the melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk in a separate jug until smooth.
- Pour the liquid into the flour and stir with a metal spoon until just combined.
- Toss the diced strawberries with a tablespoon of flour and fold them into the batter.
- Fill the muffin holes three-quarters full and bake for about 20 minutes until golden.
- Let the muffins sit in the tin for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.
