Mary Berry's recipe for Blueberry Muffins is my personal favourite. Quick & easy to make they are not overly sweet and perfect for lazy weekend breakfast, as a snack or just because! They are the best slightly warm with cup of milky coffee. Heaven!
The smell of freshly baked blueberry muffins on a weekend morning - it doesn't get any better than that and let's be honest, we all need a little bit of a treat every once in a while!
I have been making these lovely muffins using Mary Berry's recipe for a long time now. The recipe itself comes from Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book* but has since been published by the queen of cakes in her other books, if in slightly amended forms.
If you are after vegan recipe this one is not it. You can, however, check out my delicious Vegan Blueberry Muffins recipe instead.
Ingredients
This simple recipe is so easy to throw together even when you are still half asleep. Once in the oven, the smell of freshly baked muffins will soon wake you up!
As most muffin recipes this one relies on few simple ingredients you are likely to have at home and of course some fresh (or frozen) blueberries.
Self-raising flour - If all you have at home is plain (all-purpose) flour then you can make your own self-raising one by mixing it with baking powder. Simply sieve or whisk together 3 teaspoon of baking powder with 250g of plain flour required in this recipe. That is all!
Baking powder - Don't skip baking powder, even if you've made your own self-raising flour. Add it as per recipe.
Milk - Semi-skimmed or whole will be fine.
Caster Sugar - If you don't have caster sugar, regular granulated one will do just fine. These muffins are not very sweet at all which is how we like them but feel free to increase the amount of sugar if you want. I would encourage you to try them as they are first though, you never know!
Eggs - Use large eggs in this recipe.
Blueberries - I like to use fresh blueberries when I can but out of season I tend to bake with frozen ones. See tips below.
Unsalted butter or margarine - I've made this recipe numerous times swapping in between margarine and butter and both work really well. Simply use what you've got to hand.
Lemon zest - Lemon and blueberries is a classic combination!
Vanilla extract* (optional) - Most of the time I use it when I don't have any lemons at home as a substitute for lemon zest and to add that bit of extra flavour but you can use both together or skip it if you want.
Tips for when using frozen blueberries!
Even though I prefer using fresh blueberries in this recipe, you can use frozen ones as well simply following the tips below:
- Make sure to leave the blueberries in the freezer until the last minute before you are ready to use them.
- Dust them lightly in some flour to absorb the moisture and keep them from sinking.
- Add them to the muffin batter at the very end (after you've mixed dry and wet ingredients together) and fold in very gently.
- You might have to add approximately 5 minutes to the baking time. Make sure you check on your muffins at 20-25 min and add extra few minutes if required.
Mary Berry's Blueberry Muffins serving suggestions
These muffins are best eaten on the day they are baked when they are still slightly warm! Trust me, they will be devoured without problems especially if there are few of you to feed. If, however, you find yourself left with some leftovers you can refresh them the following day either in a low oven or few seconds in a microwave will do the trick too. Alternatively, freeze them once completely cooled for about 1 month.
How to make Mary Berry's Blueberry Muffins - Step-By-Step Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
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Put flour in a large bowl, add baking powder and give it a good whisk. Alternatively you could sieve both into the bowl instead.
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Add butter or margarine and rub it into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles sand/breadcrumbs.
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Add caster (fine) sugar, grate the zest of one lemon and add fresh blueberries (see for tips when baking with frozen blueberries above). Give it all a good mix.
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Prepare your wet ingredients by mixing eggs with milk and adding vanila extract (if using).
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Pour the wet ingredients into dry ones and mix in gently with silicone spatula until incorporated. Take care not to burst your blueberries. The muffin batter will be really wet, almost pancake batter like which is how it's supposed to be so don't panic. I find soup ladle really useful for pouring the batter onto the cases.
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Pour batter into the tin lined with muffin cases and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden on top and spring back as you touch them.
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Take the muffins out of the oven and let them cool on the wire rack before serving.
Mary Berry's Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 250 g self-raising flour see notes
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 50 g margarine or unsalted butter (softened)
- 75 g caster (fine) sugar
- 250 ml milk
- 2 large eggs
- 175 g fresh or frozen blueberries see notes for baking with frozen blueberries
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
- Put flour in a large bowl, add baking powder and give it a good whisk. Alternatively you could sieve both into the bowl instead.
- Add butter or margarine and rub it into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles sand/breadcrumbs.
- Add caster (fine) sugar, grate the zest of one lemon and add fresh blueberries (see tips on baking with frozen blueberries in the notes below). Give it all a good mix.
- Prepare your wet ingredients by mixing eggs with milk and adding vanila extract (if using).
- Pour the wet ingredients into dry ones and mix in gently with silicone spatula until incorporated. Take care not to burst your blueberries. The muffin batter will be really wet, almost pancake batter like which is how it's supposed to be so don't panic. I find soup ladle really useful for pouring the batter onto the cases.
- Pour batter into the tin lined with muffin cases and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden on top and spring back as you touch them.
- Take the muffins out of the oven and let them cool on the wire rack before serving.
Notes
- The nutritional information is approximate, per muffin and to be used as a guideline only.
- If you don't have any self-raising flour simply use plain (all-purpose) flour + 3 teaspoon of baking powder. You will still need to add additional baking powder as stated in the recipe above.
- When using frozen blueberries:
- Make sure to see the blueberries in the freezer until the last minute before you are ready to use them.
- Dust them lightly in some flour to absorb the moisture and keep them from sinking.
- Add them to the muffin batter at the very end (after you mix the dry and wet ingredients into the batter) and fold in very gently.
- You might have to add approximately 5 minutes to the baking time. Make sure you check on your muffins at 20-25 min and add extra few minutes if required.
- Best served slightly warm on the day they're baked.
- Freezer friendly.
Nutrition
Some more muffin recipes you might enjoy:
Cheesy Carrot and Courgette Savoury Muffins
Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins
Strawberry Muffins with White Chocolate Drizzle
Pumpkin & Cinnamon Muffins with Plum Jam
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Miriam Peñaflor says
Hi I stumble upon this recipe while searching for blueberry muffin recipe. I would like to know if I can use canned blueberry here.
Thanks in advance for your reply
joskitchenlarder says
Hello Miriam, I've never used canned blueberries so cannot really advise. One thing I would say is that if they're in syrup you'd need to drain, rinse and dry them as much as you can. Let me know if you decided to give it a go. Thanks.
Cres08 says
No my favourite. They stuck to the casing even though I sprayed the liners. I found the muffin, once baked, very heavy. I'm thinking it might be my eggs but I doubt I will make these again
joskitchenlarder says
Hi, Thanks for your feedback. I find that they do stick to the cases a bit, more so when still warm. They shouldn't come out heavy though and one thing I can think of would be that you might have overmixed the batter.
Denise says
I’m going to try muffins for the first time today, using this recipe. One question (I’m pretty sure of the answer but...): once baked, do I take the muffins (still in their cases) out of the tin to cool on the rack, or leave them in the tin to cool?
Pretty sure that it’s the former, but wanted to make sure!
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Denise, You're absolutely right. Take the muffins out of the tin and cool on the rack. Hope you enjoy the muffins. 🙂
Linda King says
Has anyone tried making these with buttermilk instead of regular milk? Dare I be adventurous?
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Linda, I haven't tried substituting buttermilk for milk in this particular recipe but have made numerous other muffins either with yogurt or buttermilk with lovely results. Let me know how it goes if you decide to give it a go! 🙂
Tricia says
Hi I used coconut milk as my husband is lactose intolerant. First time I ve made blueberry and they turned out great. He loves them. Thanks!!!!
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Tricia, That't great to hear, thanks! 🙂
helen says
not the best muffin recipe i have made but still tasty... feels like there is too little butter?
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Helen, Personally I don't think that amount of butter is an issue here. These are very simple blueberry muffins and I find them tasty enough as they are. Feel free to experiment though.
Chris Harrison says
Hi
My oven is a fan one. Is it still 180c?
Thank you
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Chris, Yes it is. 🙂
Becky Dawson says
Made these this morning and they taste ok, blueberries sunk and I had coated them in the dry ingredients first as instructed. Not the tastiest muffins I've made but it's all a learning curve and I'm sure the family will eat them regardless! 😁
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Becky, Not even good old Mary Berry can come up with recipe that is 100% to everybody's taste it seems 🙂 If you decide to give these go again, try coating your blueberries separately in a tablespoon of corn flour first and then adding them into dry ingredients. It seems that just mixing them with the dry ingredients can be a bit hit and miss sometimes.
stephen rutherford says
My blueberries sunk to the bottom of the muffin! I"m not sure why
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Stephen, Not sure why as mixing your blueberries with the dry ingredients before adding the wet ones should coat them nicely in flour which then soaks up that excess liquid and prevents from sinking to the bottom. Perhaps next time try coating them first with a little bit of extra flour (making sure you get rid of the excess though). You could use corn flour for that as it's much finer, lighter and better for coating (if you've got any handy). Hope you enjoyed the muffins despite sunk blueberries.
Graham Smith says
Made these today, fairly easy to put together. Only gripe was they stuck to the cupcake holders .
Otherwise very tasty, but messy
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Graham, They usually stick a bit less once cooled down but I must say we had fair share of them almost straight out of the oven and yes they definitely stick a bit then. 🙂 I'm glad you enjoyed them though. 🙂
Rachael says
I only have medium eggs. Will it still work?
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Rachel, I think it should be fine. The equivalent of 2 large eggs would be a bit more than 2 medium but I don't think that slight difference is going to affect your bake too much. You could also add a third of another medium egg (beaten lightly first) to make up the difference. Hope that helps.
Debbie says
I’ve just tried to make your chocolate chip muffins I’m trying to learn how to bake not going very well.
I followed instructions step by step but once I took them out the over the top was cooked perfect but the bottom of the muffin was still soggy can you advise what I’m doing wrong please
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Debbie, Are you sure they're soggy or is it just blueberry juice that gathered at the bottom of the cupcake case? If you followed the recipe to the letter and assuming that your oven temperature is correct it might be just a bit of moisture from blueberries. Once the cupcakes are out of the oven and on the cooling rack, simply let them cool down a bit and they should be absolutely fine. However if they're not cooked properly that might have something to do with the oven temperature or perhaps the time during which the muffins were in the oven. Did you bake them 20-25 min as per recipe or even slightly longer if using frozen blueberries? I hope that helps a bit and that they turned out ok.
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
Blueberry is probably my favourite thing to put in a muffin so I'd love a batch of these, especially warm straight from the oven!
joskitchenlarder says
Freshly baked blueberry muffin is just epic isn't it? 🙂 I've burnt myself before trying to devour one too soon after it's come out of the oven lol.
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
You can't go wrong with a blueberry muffin, I love them. These look so tasty.
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Cat! 🙂 They can definitely test one's willpower 🙂
Helen - Cooking with my kids says
These blueberry muffins are one of my favourites too. You can always rely on Mary Berry!
joskitchenlarder says
Ha ha, that's right! Queen of cakes never disappoints and these are lush! 🙂
Balvinder says
Every year I post some kind of blueberry recipe but this year I didn't get a chance to do. The combination of lemon and blueberries make a wonderful combo. I Love them for breakfast.
joskitchenlarder says
They make lovely breakfast treat, don't they!
Corina Blum says
These sound wonderful Jo! I love blueberry muffins but haven't made any for ages as my children are not always so keen on fruit in bakes any more!
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Corina 🙂 My youngest is not a fan of fruity bakes either so that leaves three of us demolishing these and they are oh so easy to demolish lol
Monika Dabrowski says
I'll take a blueberry muffin any day! With a coffee is best, I agree. Great process photos! Thank you for linking up with #CookBlogShare
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Monika! 🙂
Donna says
Blueberry muffins are my favourites! I haven't made any for ages, so thanks for the reminder!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Donna! 🙂 You can't beat them really, classics! 🙂