Frozen Fruit Can Discolor Muffins Unless You Do This Simple Prep Step

Compared to seasonally specific snacks, such as high-protein pumpkin muffins, fruit-infused muffins are enjoyed all year. Since frozen fruit is easy to store and commonly well-stocked in freezers, frozen berries may be your No. 1 preference when it comes to whipping up a sweet-tasting breakfast. When it comes to baking with frozen fruit, smaller fruits with thicker skins, such as blueberries and cherries, often produce the best results. However, even though these specific fruits tend to hold their shape better than soft-skinned fruits, such as raspberries or peaches, they have a more vibrant hue when frozen and can inevitably stain your muffin batter. 

To fully safeguard your next round of frozen blueberry, blackberry, or cherry muffins from turning a dark blue or muddled purple color during the mixing process, rinse frozen berries in cool water to wash away excess juice. You may need to rinse your chosen selection a few times. Ideally, the water should gradually turn from a more vibrant shade to a muted hue with each additional rinse. Lastly, gently pat your berries dry with paper towels before mixing them into your muffin batter. Taking these small, mindful steps ensures your next round of muffins turns out stain-free.

Before you add the fruit to your muffin batter, you may or may not want to dredge it in extra flour or cornstarch. Deciding whether or not you should toss blueberries in flour before adding them to your muffin batter truly depends on each individual recipe. Apart from flour's ability to soak up excess fruit juice, many believe coating fruit in flour prevents it from sinking to the bottom of each muffin during baking. However, for thicker muffin batters that contain ingredients such as yogurt, blueberries or other fruit additions naturally stay suspended instead of sinking. Therefore, only toss your berries in flour if you're working with a thinner batter or an extra-juicy fruit selection.

Once you decide to utilize or forgo this flour hack, add the berries to your batter and gently fold the fruit in without over-mixing. Alternatively, fill your muffin pan with batter, then place your frozen fruit into each cup piece by piece. Lastly, consider incorporating an extra ingredient to turn up the flavor in berry muffins, such as lemon juice or zest.