Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins

It's that time of year again...local fresh fruits and vegetables are becoming available! Rhubarb is one of the first to be available.

I love the tartness of rhubarb, especially when paired with something sweeter like strawberries.

I had no strawberries, but did have a few raspberries, and put them to use together with the rhubarb I had bought.

A bit of honey for sweetness, the last of my pecans for crunch and these muffins were ready to bake.






Tender, moist with a hint of orange...filled with a tart raspberry rhubarb compote and topped with a cinnamon pecan crumble...this was our breakfast this morning!

To make the compote, place the following into a shallow pan:

1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup diced fresh rhubarb
1 tablespoon honey

Cook over low heat until the fruit releases it's juice, then increase the heat to medium low.

Cook until the fruit is tender and the liquid is almost all reduced.

Remove from the heat, and cool completely.






Lightly grease 9 muffin cups (I made these quite large) and turn the oven on to heat to 350F.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Set aside until needed.

In a separate bowl, combine:

2 eggs
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup white sugar

Whisk well.

Whisk in:

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

Whisk in:

1 cup milk

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.

Place batter into each of the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 1/2 - 2/3 of the way.

Divide the rhubarb compote between the muffins, keeping it to the centre of the muffin cups as much as possible.

Divide the remaining batter between the muffins, gently spreading to cover the compote.

To make the topping combine all the ingredients until you have moist clumps.

1 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans
3 ounces melted butter

Divide the topping between the muffins, pressing gently to ensure it sticks.

Bake at 350F until the muffins have risen, and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 25 - 30 minutes.

Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan before carefully removing them.

• The compote can be made up to 3 days ahead, and kept in the fridge. 
• Use fresh strawberries instead of raspberries; frozen raspberries can also be used.
• Jam can be substituted for the compote. Your muffins will be sweeter.
• The orange (or lemon) zest can be added to the compote as well as, or instead of, the muffin batter.
• I greased the pan; you can also use muffin liners.
• As mentioned, these were large muffins; they can be scaled down, giving you 12 muffins instead of 9.
• Pecans are optional in the topping. Other nuts can be used; oats can also be used.
• The muffins freeze well. I like to wrap them individually before freezing, allowing me to defrost the right amount. They are also easy to add to a packed lunch that way.