Blueberry Mango Muffins with Coconut Crumble

A few weekends ago, I went with my boyfriend to Kennebunkport, Maine, and had breakfast at one of his favorite restaurants, The Wayfarer. Aside from the highly reviewed home roasted corned beef hash (which did not disappoint), the star of our brunch was a grilled blueberry mango muffin. It was crunchy, fluffy, sweet, and salty, all at once, and I knew I had to find a recipe to mimic this delicious Maine find. After some searching, I was lucky enough to stumble across a similar enough recipe that I have since adapted to rave reviews! 

The muffins from this recipe are, in my opinion, best served fried with a little bit of butter. The salt from the butter in the skillet highlights the sweetness of the fruit, and the heat gives the muffin side a delectable crunchy texture. Though the original muffin I had in Maine did not have any coconut crumble, I absolutely love what it does for the texture and the overall richness of the flavors. 

I've made blueberry muffins before in the past, but these ones take the cake... I mean muffin!

Though this blog is primarily for my own use, if you use this recipe, feel free to leave your comments below, and happy baking!

Ingredients

Crumble

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon white cane sugar*

3 tablespoons sweetened coconut flakes, chopped

Additional unchopped coconut flakes (optional)

1 pinch salt

2 tablespoons salted butter, softened

Muffin Batter

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

1 and 1/4 cups white cane sugar*

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup buttermilk (recipe for homemade buttermilk below)

1 pint fresh blueberries

1 whole mango- peeled, seeded, and diced

*For this recipe I used Trader Joe's Organic Sugar Evaporated Cane Juice

Homemade Thick Buttermilk Recipe, makes 1 cup

4 and 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup milk

• Measure milk and lemon juice and combine in a glass container
• Stir thoroughly and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes (The mixture will begin to curdle)

Coconut Crumble Directions

1. Combine 1/4 cup flour, the cinnamon, 1 tablespoon sugar, the chopped coconut, and the pinch of salt in a small bowl. 
2. Mix in 2 tablespoons of softened butter until completely incorporated into the flour
3. Add additional coconut flakes (unchopped) as desired until crumble reaches a crumbly texture
4. Set aside

Muffin Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 16-20 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners. When I made this recipe, I had enough batter to fill 22 standard muffin cups.
2. With an electric mixer, beat the softened butter, 1 and 1/4 cups sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl until smooth.
3. Beat the first egg into the butter mixture until completely blended before adding the second egg.
4. Continue mixing until light and fluffy!
5. In a separate bowl, combine the 1 and 3/4 cups flour with the baking powder.
6. Beat the the flour mixture slowly into the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
7. Fold in the blueberries and mango pieces.
8. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins; sprinkle with coconut crumble.
9. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and a toothpick can be inserted and cleanly removed, 25-35 minutes.
10. To allow the flavor of the mango to really blossom, cool muffins completely before eating (you can always warm them up again later!).

Serving Tips

For an extra razzle dazzle, try cutting the muffins in half and frying them on a skillet with a tablespoon of butter! The heat makes the blueberries pop and gives the muffin side a delectable crunchy flavor, while the salt in the butter highlights the sweetness of the fruit.