Plum Ginger Muffins

Tender and fluffy whole wheat muffins infused with fresh ginger and topped with sauteed plum pieces.

Remember that time when I shared this really decadent french toast recipe and yelled at you to roast your apricots? [Sorry about that.] Well, I’m having a similar feeling when it comes to these plum and ginger muffins. Baked, roasted, or even pan-roasted plums are the way to go.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably had mixed experiences with plums. Sometimes they are delicious and full of flavor and other times, they are watery and bland.

It is a hit-or-miss type of thing, and every summer seem to be a little bit different.

Luckily, there seem to be so many types of plums available (seriously, so many varieties!) that I’ve generally been able to find some good ones. On that note, if you’re looking for a consistently good plum, apriums–an apricot and plum hybrid–is always a favorite.

Either way, when you sauté even the worst plums in the world in a butter, honey, ginger mixture on the stove, and place them on top of light and fluffy muffin batter and proceed to bake them–you will have some pretty delicious plums.

I swear, roasting, or baking fruit is one of the world’s best kept secrets. It gets all wrinkly and concentrated in flavor, and the texture almost always improves.

Seriously works every time.

One of the best accompaniments to plums that I’ve discovered recently is fresh ginger. In fact, I discovered it with these very muffins.

I’ve been on sort of a ginger kick lately (ginger lemonade to ginger ice cream to these spicy peanut ginger drumsticks–just to name a few!), but I loved it. On that note, I really hope you love ginger too.

It adds something special to these muffins–a freshness and hint of spiciness that can’t be beat. To up the ante, both fresh finely grated ginger root (both in the muffin batter, as well as added to the lightly sautéed plums) and ground ginger are included in the recipe.

The actual muffin batter is a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flour, granulated and brown sugar, the typical leavenings, ground ginger, as well as a touch of cinnamon. Melted butter, buttermilk, egg, and sour cream (a mere half cup!) help produce a very light cake-like crumb. 

As you can imagine, these muffins taste best right out of the oven, when you can take a bite of the still warm and fragrant plum topping, but they can be stored at room temperature (well wrapped) for an additional 2 to 3 days.

Plum Ginger Muffins

4 stars (3 ratings)

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Yield: 11 Muffins

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 25 minutes minutes

Total: 45 minutes minutes

Tender and fluffy whole wheat muffins infused with fresh ginger and topped with sauteed plum pieces.

Ingredients

Sauteed Plums:

• 4 ripe, but firm red plums
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger root
• 1 tablespoon pure honey

Muffin Batter:

• 1¾ cups (210 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (70 g) white whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup lightly packed dark brown sugar lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger root
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 6 tablespoons (3 oz; 85 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
• ¾ cup (180 mL) buttermilk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 large egg

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) with a rack in the center position. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.
• Prepare the Plums: Cut the plums in half, remove the pit, and slice each half into three wedges. Combine the butter, ginger root, and honey in a small skillet and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until bubbly and fragrant. Add the plum slices and stir gently over the heat for another 20 to 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• Prepare the Muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, grated ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl bowl, combine the melted (and cooled) butter, buttermilk, sour cream, and egg, and whisk until smooth.
• Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until the flour is incorporated. The batter will be relatively thick. Distribute the batter evenly in the muffin pan (this recipe will yield about 11 muffins) with a scoop. Top each muffin with two to three sautéed plums wedges, pressing them just slightly into the batter.
• Bake the muffins for 24 to 28 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, and then remove. Allow to cool on a rack. Muffins are best served slightly warm after baking, but can stored at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Place a paper towel on the surface of the muffins if storing to help prevent gumminess.

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 328kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 278mg, Potassium: 142mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 432IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 75mg, Iron: 2mg

Author: Laura / A Beautiful Plate

Course: Muffins

Cuisine: American