• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Start Here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop

The Bake School

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start Here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Start Here
    • Baking 101
    • Recipes
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Muffins

    Published on: August 19, 2013 by Janice Lawandi; Updated on: March 9, 2023 7 Comments

    Honey blueberry muffins

    548 shares
    • Facebook337
    • Reddit
    • Flipboard
    Jump to Recipe
    Collage of photos of blueberry muffins with streusel topping, freshly baked in vintage muffin pan on top, and on bottom, muffin split open with pat of butter

    These honey blueberry muffins topped with streusel crumble topping are baked at a higher temperature initially to help form a bigger muffin top, which everybody loves.

    Collage of photos of blueberry muffins with streusel topping, freshly baked in vintage muffin pan on top, and on bottom, muffin split open with pat of butter
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    These are some of the best fruit muffins I've made. I am a huge fan of blueberry muffins but what sends these over the top is the honey: the honey flavour is actually quite pronounced!

    If it's rhubarb season, be sure to make these strawberry rhubarb muffins with streusel topping, which is almost the same recipe as this one but made with ground almond and sour cream in the muffin batter for a richer, a little more dense muffin.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients you need to make these honey-sweetened blueberry muffins
    • Toppings for muffins
    • Equipment
    • Achieving a big muffin top
    • Storage
    • How to defrost muffins
    • 📖 Recipe
    Ingredients laid out for baking blueberry muffins: sugar, frozen blueberries, vanilla, salt, honey eggs, butter, baking powder and soda, flour, and crumble topping

    Ingredients you need to make these honey-sweetened blueberry muffins

    • To make the muffins
      • butter, preferably unsalted though salted butter will also work. You will omit the salt in the muffin batter if you choose to bake with salted butter.
      • granulated sugar—brown sugar could work but choose light brown sugar to avoid overpowering the honey
      • honey—use real honey from a local apiary if you can. The flavour is stronger and unmatched! Favour darker fall honey to give these a bolder honey flavour
      • large eggs, don't use smaller eggs because your batter may be too dry and the muffins won't be tender
      • buttermilk is included with the wet ingredients to make sure these muffins are tender but also to add flavour
      • vanilla extract is added to enhance the flavour in the batter—feel free to use store-bought or homemade vanilla extract!
      • all-purpose flour (or half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour) is needed to bind all the ingredients together and give the muffins more structure
      • baking powder and baking soda are needed here to improve the rise instead of just baking powder alone, without baking soda. Read up on baking soda vs baking powder if you are unsure about the difference between them
      • salt is really important to bring out the sweet flavour which can be very bland otherwise. Don't skip it. I like to use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but table salt will work, though the muffins will be saltier and you may want to halve the salt in that case.
      • frozen blueberries–fresh will also work
    • To make the streusel topping
      • butter, preferably unsalted butter because you will add salt to the streusel, but if you have salted, it will work. Just adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly, otherwise, your topping may be too salty
      • granulated sugar though brown sugar would also work here and would add to the molasses flavour
      • ground almonds or almond flour
      • all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour will work in the streusel. It gives the streusel a little body so that the paste of butter and sugar doesn't melt all over the muffin tops
      • salt to balance out the sweetness
    Topping blueberry muffins with streusel topping in a vintage muffin pan before baking

    Toppings for muffins

    These honey-sweetened muffins are topped with a streusel topping made with ground almonds, but you have other muffin topping options:

    • top with a sprinkle of oats
    • top with a generous sprinkle of maple sugar, granulated sugar or cinnamon sugar
    • top with chopped nuts or pumpkin seeds

    If you prefer to top these muffins after they are baked, consider drizzling them with a glaze, as in these cranberry lemon muffins. You can make a simple icing sugar+milk glaze, for example, flavouring with a little vanilla extract or some lemon juice (replace the milk in the glaze with lemon juice if you want this option).

    Equipment

    Blueberry muffins are easy to make and I like to mix them by hand so no special electric mixers are required! Still, there are a few tools that will make your muffin-baking sessions a little easier:

    1. Muffin pans: for regular muffins, you can't get away without a muffin pan. And if you can, please invest in two 6-cup muffin pans (like this Wilton pan on Amazon) or one bigger 12-cup muffin pan (like these Wilton pans on Amazon). This way you will be ready to make full batches of most recipes, which can yield anywhere from 8 to 12 muffins, depending on how much batter you scoop per cup. 
    2. Paper liners, parchment liners, silicone liners: we can debate over which is better for muffins, but personally, I like disposable paper liners (like these on Amazon that you would use for cupcakes too). For lower-fat muffins or muffins with less sugar, these can stick to paper liners. In this case, use parchment liners (Amazon) or silicone liners (Amazon). Savoury muffins, for example, work best baked in either of these.
    3. Large cookie scoops: Some call them "dishers" and they are the most reliable scoops I've found on Amazon. They can handle firm doughs without breaking because the release mechanism is separate from the handle! This gives you a better, firm grip on the handle, without the risk of breaking the leaver. The handles are different colours according to the size. 
    4. Cake tester and/or instant-read thermometer: if you bake a lot, you can probably gently poke muffins with your fingertip and instinctively know when they are done baking. The rest of us have to use a cake tester or thermometer to check if the muffins are done baking.
    A vintage muffin pan with freshly baked blueberry streusel muffins with a stripped blue and white kitchen linen

    Achieving a big muffin top

    I've been wondering about how coffee shops achieve the famous "muffin top." So, I did some research, and I baked a lot of muffins to find out how.

    I tested 4 baking methods to see which yields the best muffin tops (this is where "I get my geek on"):

    1. Mix batter and bake immediately at 350°F: fairly flat top, not much of a top
    2. Mix batter and bake immediately starting at 425°F for about 8 minutes, then finishing the baking time at 350°F: pointed dome top that really peaks upward
    3. Mix batter and store in the fridge overnight, then bake 24 hours later at 350°F: same as #1 but more puffed
    4. Mix batter and store in the fridge overnight, then bake 24 hours later starting at 425°F, then immediately dropping oven temperature setting to 350°F when you put them in the oven (as recommended by Thomas Keller in his Bouchon Bakery book): same as #3
    How to achieve the perfect muffin top - does temperature play a role in the muffin top-

    Tricks to achieving big muffin tops:

    • thicker batter leads to bigger muffin top. Thick batters have more structure therefore the steam from baking really pushes it up, while thin batters tend to spread out more than up, I guess.
    • filling the muffin cup or paper liner leads to a taller muffin. The fuller the muffin cup, the more of a top you get. There's a risk that the batter may overflow onto the pan, sticking to it. Something to keep in mind. You may want to grease the muffin pan rim all over the surface to avoid any sticking.
    • baking muffins at a higher temperature yields a taller muffin top
    Blueberry muffins with honey and a crumble topping

    Storage

    You can store these moist honey blueberry muffins for 3–4 days in an airtight container, but I prefer to freeze them.

    Remember to fully cool the muffins to room temperature (for 3–4 hours) before transferring them to an airtight container or freezer bag for long-term storage (1–2 months).

    How to defrost muffins

    If you want to defrost frozen muffins, you have a few options depending on how much time you have:

    • longest method—in the fridge overnight, unwrapped to avoid moisture buildup on the surface of the muffin tops
    • at room temperature, unwrapped to avoid moisture buildup on the surface of the muffin tops—this will take a few hours
    • fastest method—in the microwave oven: place the unwrapped muffin on a napkin or a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on HIGH for about 30 seconds for each muffin. The time and results will vary according to the power of your microwave.
    Honey blueberry muffin with crumble topping opened up to show inside

    For another blueberry muffin, try these blueberry bran muffins. And if you bake a batch of muffins and you notice the blueberries in muffins turn green or changed colour as they baked, don't panic. That could be the effect of pH on the colour of the berries, but that has zero impact on the flavour of the berries. Just as yummy and safe to eat, though the green blueberries can be a little off-putting!

    📖 Recipe

    A pan of baked honey blueberry muffins with streusel topping.

    Honey Blueberry Muffins

    AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi
    Here's a recipe for big homemade blueberry muffins sweetened with honey and made with fresh or frozen blueberries
    5 from 1 vote
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 25 minutes mins
    Total Time 45 minutes mins
    Course Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8
    Calories 392 kcal

    Equipment

    • Muffin pan
    • 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
    • 3-¼ oz scoop
    • Cake tester
    Need measurements in CUPSUse the button options below to switch from Metric to US measurements! It's that easy!

    Ingredients
     
     

    For the streusel topping

    • 20 grams bleached all-purpose flour
    • 20 grams ground almonds
    • 20 grams granulated sugar
    • 1 pinch Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
    • 20 grams unsalted butter melted

    For the muffin batter

    • 180 grams fresh blueberries frozen or fresh
    • 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
    • 100 grams granulated sugar
    • 2.5 mL baking powder
    • 2.5 mL baking soda
    • 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
    • 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature, cut into small pieces
    • 94 grams honey
    • 80 mL buttermilk (1 % fat)
    • 5 mL pure vanilla extract
    • 2 large egg(s)
    • 8 grams bleached all-purpose flour

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 425 °F (220 °C). Line two muffin pans with 8 to 10 muffin paper liners being sure to space them out between the two pans to allow better air flow.

    To make streusel topping

    • In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, ground almond, sugar, and salt.
    • Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until a crumble forms.
    • Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

    To make honey blueberry muffins

    • If you are using fresh blueberries, place them in the freezer before beginning. If using frozen, keep them in the freezer until you need them.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
    • Add the softened butter and work it in with your hands, rubbing it in until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
    • In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey, the eggs, the buttermilk, and the vanilla.
    • Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir it in (takes about 20 stirs to get the batter mixed).
    • When the batter is ready, in a medium bowl, toss the frozen blueberries with the extra 8 grams of flour to coat the blueberries evenly.
    • Fold the floured blueberries into the batter gently with a wooden spoon or spatula to evenly distribute them.
    • Divide the batter between 8 to 10 paper-lined wells of two muffin pans. If you want big muffins, you'll need 8, if you want regular-sized muffins, you'll need 10. Sprinkle with streusel.
    • Bake at 425 °F (220 °C) for 20 minutes, then use a cake tester inserted into the middle of a muffin to check if the muffins are baked. If you are baking 8 muffins, they probably aren't baked through at this point, so rotate the pans and drop the temperature setting to 350 °F (175 °C) for the last 5 to 10 minutes or as much as necessary.

    Notes

    If you are using fresh blueberries, freeze them for at least 30 minutes before you start making your batter so that they are solid and less likely to bleed when you fold them into the muffin batter. 
    If you are using frozen blueberries, make sure to keep them frozen until the very last minute and add them to the batter, frozen, otherwise, they will bleed into the muffin batter and the batter may turn green.
    For a “regular” muffin top: bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes.
    For a “domed” muffin top: bake at 425°F for 20 minutes, then rotate the pans and drop the temperature setting to 350°F for the last 5 to 10 minutes.
    For a “puffy” muffin top: refrigerate the batter overnight, then scoop the batter into 8 to 10 muffin paper-lined wells of a muffin pan, sprinkle with streusel topping, and bake them at 350°F for about 30 minutes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 392kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 6gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 241mgPotassium: 117mgFiber: 2gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 510IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 2mg
    Give backIf you enjoy the free content on this website, buy me a pound of butter to say thanks!

    Want to see more muffins? Here are a few other recipes for you to try:

    • chocolate zucchini muffins
    • plum cardamom coffee cake muffins 

    More Muffin Recipes

    • Serving pizza muffins on plates with marinara dipping sauce and chilli flakes.
      Pizza Muffins
    • A plate with a pumpkin muffin split open and smeared with butter, with a cup of coffee on the side.
      Pumpkin Muffins With Streusel Topping
    • Freshly baked carrot muffins being served on plates with butter.
      Moist carrot muffins
    • A grey-rimmed ceramic plate with two banana muffins, one split open and buttered.
      Banana Muffins with Oats (Gluten-Free)

    Baking resources

  • Baking conversion charts
  • Baking ingredients and pantry staples
  • Baking substitutions
  • Common baking conversions
  • Choosing baking pans
  • How to measure ingredients for baking
  • Mixing methods
  • Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Reese says

      February 06, 2015 at 3:31 am

      I just made this (without the streusel topping.) So so SO good! It helps a lot that everything is measured In grams. Makes things easier! The muffin texture is more like cake, fluffy! But I'm not complaining. I also cut down the sugar. Omg trying to stop eating. Not enough!

      Reply
    2. Easy BlueBerry Muffin Recipe @ Blogher says

      January 01, 2015 at 2:17 am

      mmm. i can taste those muffins and smell them and i am already getting hungry. i will give this recipe a go.

      Reply
    3. Nicole J says

      September 13, 2013 at 1:07 pm

      I eat muffins the same way! Love that. I use the high heat blast method you described for my muffins. Works great!

      Reply
    4. kumars kitchen says

      August 28, 2013 at 6:54 am

      scrumptious muffins,such a burst of berries 🙂

      Reply
      • Janice Lawandi says

        August 30, 2013 at 2:03 am

        thank you! These really hit the spot if you are craving a blueberry muffin 🙂

        Reply
    5. Melissa@Eyes Bigger says

      August 27, 2013 at 4:58 pm

      I love your experiment posts. And I had to laugh because I eat my muffins exactly as you described - peeling the whole thing, breaking the stump off and eating that first and then the delicious top.And I can tell you this about the perfect muffin top. I worked in a coffee shop in high school and we made muffins (from some industrial mix that we added wet ingredients to), shoved them in the oven for 20 minutes or whatever with no temperature changes and voila - perfect jumbo muffin top. I have no idea what was in that mix but I have never, in the 20 years since then, been able to replicate it at home (and I have tried many, many times)

      Reply
      • Janice Lawandi says

        August 30, 2013 at 2:03 am

        There really is a whole science to muffin tops. One day we will get it right!
        I love that we eat our muffins the same way!

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    This is a picture of Janice Lawandi

    Hi, I'm Janice!

    I am a baking-obsessed recipe developer with a PhD in Chemistry who writes about baking and the science of baking.

    More About Me

    Join the Community

    If you enjoy the free content on this website or have questions, consider joining the Bake School Community!

    Easter Treats

    • Strawberry jam with rhubarb smeared on a piece of toast on a plate.
      Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
    • Freshly baked rhubarb crumble ready to be served.
      Rhubarb Crumble
    • Rhubarb upside down cake sliced to serve it.
      Rhubarb raspberry upside-down cake
    • Serving rhubarb muffins on plates with a side of butter.
      Rhubarb muffins with sour cream and streusel
    • Let's bake with rhubarb-best rhubarb recipes roundup
      What to bake with rhubarb
    • Bluebarb or blueberry rhubarb crumble with a marzipan oat crumble topping in a blue baking dish with a fluted edge
      Blueberry rhubarb crisp with marzipan crumble

    Berry Baking

    • Milk crumbs on a Momofuku Milk Bar style cake-layers of blackberry curd, almond cake, and almond frosting
      Blackberry almond cake — Milk Bar style
    • raspberry amaretti semifreddo slice
      Almond raspberry semifreddo
    • Vanilla cardamom tapioca pudding with strawberries
      Homemade tapioca pudding recipe with fresh strawberries
    • A pan of baked honey blueberry muffins with streusel topping.
      Honey blueberry muffins
    • A plate of raspberry financiers.
      Raspberry Financiers
    • Honey-kissed-strawberry-rhubarb crumbles
      Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble With Honey

    Eggless chocolate cake

    Chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles on a cake stand.
    Learn to make an eggless chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting!

    Baking conversions

    Buy the baking conversion charts NOW!

    As seen on

    Logos of online and offline publications that featured the Bake School and Janice Lawandi.

    How to poach pears

    Poached pears on an enamelware plate.
    This easy poached pears recipe is simple and you can use the poached fruit for salads, appetizers, and desserts!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Meet Janice Lawandi
    • FAQ
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and conditions
    • Accessibility
    • Press

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services
    • Portfolio

    As seen on

    Logos of online and offline publications that featured the Bake School and Janice Lawandi.

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    COPYRIGHT © 2025 · THE BAKE SCHOOL

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.