This post is not about muffins. OK, maybe a little bit about the muffins, because these Cherry Peach Muffins with Vanilla Cinnamon Streusel are really good. It is more about the muffin hardware. The pan. The tin. The vessel in which the muffins were made….
As you can see, this muffin pan looks a little different than your standard muffin pan. It looks like a big, somewhat organized amoeba. Not like the usual, rectangular sort. It was touted as “a better muffin pan” so me being me, had to try it out. Apparently because of the alignment of the cups (closer together) and because it is made out of heavy gauge, coated aluminum (vs normal steel construction), your baked good get better heat distribution, thus better baking. So far, so good, as I guess the muffins came out well, though I honestly can’t say that they are a million times better than my normal muffins. Nevertheless, it’s a cool pan and so far, I like it.
(PS: It’s pricey at $35, compared to a normal muffin pan at $6-$12, but I had a gift certificate so I splurged. Who? Me? Slurge on bakeware? Never!)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 cup (and 1 average sized peach), pit removed and cut to 1/4 inch dice
1/2 cup fresh cherries, pitted and quartered
For the streusel topping
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar*
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. To make streusel topping: Mix together sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Mix with fork until it looks like coarse sand, then add the oats. Set aside in the refrigerator.
Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in one bowl. In another small bowl, combine melted butter, milk and egg. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in peach pieces. Let sit for 20-30 minutes (do not skip this step; it will increase the lift in your muffins). After the wait, gently fold in the cherries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean and they are a golden brown.
*if you don’t have vanilla sugar, substitute 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
