At last, the rain has given way and we have had some SUNSHINE. OK, so it didn’t stay dry the whole weekend but, ignoring the monsoon rains on Saturday afternoon, it’s actually be pretty bright and warm. Perhaps there is hope for a sunny summer yet? On Sunday Jon and I decided we’d make the most of the sunshine so, we got up bright and early and headed 5 minutes out of the city towards the rolling fields. Just a short way up the road, only moments away from civilisation there’s a wonderful ‘Pick Your Own’ fruit and veg farm called Parkside Farm.
Parkside Farm is a wonderful 50-acre farm that lets members of the public pick a whole host of fruits and vegetables starting in June each year with strawberries, gooseberries, broad beans, spinach and raspberries then blackcurrants, blackberries, plums, courgettes, onions, beetroot, sweetcorn and squashes as we move into the autumn. In total they offer 20 different crops for picking. It’s no surprise that they’ve won awards 3 years running for being the best ‘Pick Your Own’ farm. We’re very lucky to have a place like this on our doorstep!
Fresh strawberries
Although we knew the farm offered way more than just strawberries it was the juicy red berries that we really wanted to get our hands on. Strawberries are so expensive in the supermarkets, often shipped from countries like Spain all year round and they just don’t have the same flavour as British grown berries.
As we walked up and down the rows of “table-top” strawberries we may have gotten a little bit carried away! We came home with a huge punnet and I immediately got to baking with them. I’d been researching cheesecake muffins for a few months, looking at different recipes, working out what worked well and why. It was now time to put my own Strawberry Cheesecake Muffin recipe to the test!
Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins
The concept of these muffins is quite simple. They are a pretty normal vanilla muffin mix studded with big chunks of fresh strawberry and filled with pockets of moist cheesecake. These muffins are also topped with a crisp and crunchy brown sugar crumble topping. The contrast in texture with the soft goeey cheesecake muffin is oh-so-satisfying!
You can use frozen strawberries in this mix, particularly if you’re making them out of season. Strawberries are one of those fruits that actually freeze particularly well and I think it’s better freezing local berries at their prime, to enjoy all year round, rather than relying on importing tasteless crops from the other side of the world. Think of the food miles!!!
Call me crazy but I think these fruit filled muffins are perfect for breakfast. Can you think of anything better than waking up to sun streaming through the windows on a lazy Sunday morning, then tucking into a Strawberry Cheesecake Muffin with a hot cup of tea. Just heavenly.
But first you’ll need the recipe…
Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins – The Recipe
Ingredients
- For the crumble top
- 50g light brown sugar
- 65g flour
- 60g unsalted butter
- For the muffin mix
- 115g butter
- 100g golden caster sugar
- 50g light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 120g yogurt (low fat is fine)
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 220g self raising flour
- Pinch of salt
- 250g fresh strawberries (roughly cut into quarters or halves for smaller berries)
- For the cheesecake filling
- 170g cream cheese
- 1 egg yolk
- Zest of an orange
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C / gas mark 8.
- Using squares of grease proof paper, line your muffin tins (14 muffins total) and place to one side.
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and flour for the crumble top. Add the butter small pieces and rub together until you've formed breadcrumbs.
- In a larger bowl, cream together the butter and golden caster sugar for the muffin mix.
- Beat well until pale and creamy.
- Add in the brown sugar and continue to beat.
- Once the brown sugar is incorporated add the eggs and beat until the mix gets even paler and more creamy. It should also increase in volume.
- Next add the yogurt and vanilla and beat for another minute.
- Pour the flour into the wet muffin mix and fold gently until just about incorporated - be careful not to over mix, some dry patches of flour is fine.
- Add in the strawberries and fold again until evenly distributed then place the bowl to one side.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, egg yolk, orange zest and icing sugar for the cheesecake filling.
- Mix well to ensure its smooth and creamy.
- Begin spooning the muffin mix into each muffin case, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Next spoon over a tablespoon of the cheesecake mix and repeat until the muffin cases are full to the top.
- Once all of the cases are filled press the crumble top into the surface of each muffin.
- Bake in the hot oven for five minutes before turning the temperate down 180C / gas mark 4 and bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden and springy.
- Allow the muffins to cool on a cooling rack.
- Enjoy while still warm.
Notes
These muffins are super moist and best served warm. They should be kept in the fridge and eaten within 5 days. They also freeze well. Make sure you thaw well before eating (and why not zap them in the microwave or pop in the oven and warm them up again before eating.)
I sent Jon off to work with these on the Monday. We were both a little sad when Monday came around. There just aren’t enough day’s in the weekend! Hopefully my Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins helped put a smile on his colleagues faces. Being at work isn’t quite so bad when you get freshly baked treats!
What did you get up to this weekend? Did you get out and about in the sunshine? Or perhaps you too spent time in the kitchen baking. Let me know in the comments below!
Like this recipe? Why not pin it for later.
I love those raised strawberry beds – so easy to pick from. Lovely recipe, I do like a pudding in a muffin.
Thanks Helen! More muffins should be stuffed with puddings shouldn’t they 😛
Firstly I have to say how beautiful your muffin tin is, really is quite gorgeous. Pick your own, I love picking your own, it’s just so rewarding and makes the produce just that little more special. Your strawberry cheesecake muffins look sensational.
Thanks Sara! It’s from Antropologie. I believe it’s still on the site…
Pick-your-own is the best way to get the most flavourful strawberries! It’s been far too long since I’ve done it actually. These look delish – I love your muffin tray too!
Sounds like you need to get yourself down to your local pick your own farm Natalie! They definitely taste ten times better!!! The muffin tray is from Anthropologie and I think you can still get it!
Farm fresh strawberries baked up in a muffin, what could be better? I love the way you lined the muffin cups!
Hi Sue! Glad you like the muffin cases. A clever little trick of mine which comes in handy when I’ve run out of proper cases! There’s so much you can do with baking parchment!
There is nothing like the taste of fruit picked fresh from the farm. I love strawberries in just about anything and these cheesecake muffins look heavenly to me.
Hey Ali, thanks for stopping by. I couldn’t agree more!!!
I’m always a bit sad when it’s the end of the weekend too – but one of these muffins on a Monday morning would definitely cheer me up! Love the idea of a muffin studded with cheesecake and I’ve got some fabulous strawberries in the fridge just perfect for this recipe.
Clearly it was meant to be then April! We all know what you’ll be making this afternoon 😉 enjoy!
We went strawberry picking last year and it was so much fun – I can’t wait to go back this year. I then need to make these muffins, as they look delicious.
Thanks Dannii. Picking your own is the way forward!!! Do you have a big pick your own farm near you? I always think they are well kept secrets! Took us ages to find ours!
I loooove Parkside, not least because of the table-height strawberry picking – soooo much easier on the back and knees! Love your crumble-topped muffins!
We are going back again this weekend 😀 I love that the do veggies too!!!
I love Strawberry cheesecake this is just perfect, made into little muffin and so much easier than making whole cheesecake.
They’re definitely a fun alternative to a bigger cake Suchi!
Love the flavor combination of strawberries and cream cheese and the topping looks delicious!
Thanks Kathi 😀
Oh-Ma-Gawd! These sound insanely good! It’s so hot here in South Florida that we have no choice but to get our strawberries from somewhere else. (our peak season is in February). Definitely going to make this when I get some good berries!
In February?! Gosh! You better pin this recipe for then 😉 in the meantime store bought will do 😛
I love strawberries in any form. This recipe sounds so flavorful and looks so delicious!
Thanks Kushi! Enjoy!
Strawberries strawberries strawberries! I think these muffins will be a hit in our house!
Enjoy J!
Wow Emma these look so good! Love that you used fresh picked fruit!
Thanks Cindy 🙂 I’m glad you like them! It makes them all the more satisfying when you’ve picked the strawberries yourself!
YUM! These look just perfect Emma & the perfect way to use up a glut 🙂
Jane x
Thanks Jane. Glad you like them 😀 I just wish I had a glut this year to make them!!!