Rhubarb Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins

Makes 10

Note: Kieffer doesn’t use liners for many muffins in the book, but likes to use tulip liners (which stand taller in the pan) for muffins with streusel to help keep the streusel on the batter and off the pan and oven floor. If your variety of rhubarb doesn’t cook down into a pretty shade of pink (many don’t), you can add a thin slice of red beet or a handful of raspberries to the pan with the rhubarb, or add a few drops of pink food coloring to the rhubarb mixture. From “100 Morning Treats,” by Sarah Kieffer (2023, Chronicle).

INGREDIENTS

For the rhubarb swirl:

1½ cups chopped rhubarb, in bite-size pieces

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon water

For the cream cheese swirl:

3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 tablespoon sugar

For the muffins:

1½ cups flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

2 tablespoons sour cream, at room temperature

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups streusel (see recipe)

DIRECTIONS

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line every other muffin cup in two standard 12-cup muffin tins with tulip liners. (The muffins rise better when every other muffin cavity is filled.)

To prepare the rhubarb swirl: In a small saucepan, combine the rhubarb, sugar and water. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb has broken down, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

To prepare the cream cheese swirl: In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar, and stir until smooth.

To prepare the muffins: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk and sour cream.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, 1 minute. Add the sugar and salt and beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, and add one-third of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until just combined. Beat in the buttermilk mixture and the remaining flour mixture in halves, alternating between the two and ending with the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

Pour the rhubarb and cream cheese mixtures into the bowl, and use a spatula to swirl the mixtures into the batter until just incorporated with two or three turns; there will still be streaks of fruit and cream cheese. The muffin batter can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.

Scoop a scant 1/3 cup of the batter into each tulip liner. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of each muffin.

Bake until the streusel is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with a few crumbs, rotating the pan halfway through baking, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then gently remove them and transfer to a wire rack to cool for a few more minutes before serving.

Muffins are best eaten the day they are made, but they can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Streusel

Makes 4 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup almond flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, at room temperature

DIRECTIONS

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, combine both flours, both sugars, the cinnamon and salt and mix at low speed. Add the butter, one piece at a time, beating just until the mixture comes together but is still quite crumbly. Store the streusel in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for up to 1 month.