Rhubarb-Ginger Muffins with Rhubarb Streusel

These Rhubarb-Ginger Muffins with Rhubarb Streusel are a wonderful way to use rhubarb, a beautifully colored sweet/tart vegetable.

Buttermilk and sour cream add richness to these rhubarb muffins, and the ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla play so nicely with the rhubarb. The Rhubarb vanilla bean streusel adds a wonderful crust on top.

Rhubarb has been making an appearance all summer long in my local grocery store, which is unusual. Rhubarb has never been particularly popular here, and when I've tried to find it in the past, I'd have to use frozen (which was also difficult to find), even in the summer. Suddenly, just this year, my neighborhood Ralph's grocery store has been carrying rhubarb! While the rhubarb section is super tiny, the rhubarb stalks are firm, shiny, and fresh. Of course I had to bake with it.

By the way, I thought it was cute that, when I bought the rhubarb for the recipe, the checkout clerk wanted to know what I was going to make with this exotic ingredient.

These muffins are best the day they are made, but they are still delicious the next day or two. You can even warm them in the microwave for a few seconds. They are so moist that they don't need any butter at all. All of my taste testers at home and at work loved them.

This recipe is super easy, especially if you use a kitchen scale. My favorite one is the OXO Pull-Out Display scale, because I can use it to measure bread ingredients, even in very large containers. If you use a scale, you don't have to drag out and wash measuring cups, pack the brown sugar, or fluff your flour and cross your fingers that you are measuring it correctly. Just place the bowl on the scale and add the ingredients while watching the digital display.

How to store the muffins: 

Sometimes muffins that contain cut fresh fruit or vegetables will get a little soggy from the moisture in the fruit if you store them in an airtight container, but if you store them without covering them, they will dry out. To store the muffins, line your airtight container with a layer of paper towels, place the muffins in a single layer on top of the paper towels, and place a layer of paper towels on top of the muffins, and close the lid to the container. This seems to help prevent the muffins from becoming soggy without drying them out.

To use frozen rhubarb:

Thaw the frozen rhubarb and then drain in a colander before chopping. 

After the recipe, be sure to check out the rest of the delicious muffins from the Muffin Monday bakers. Thank you to Stacy of Food Lust People Love for creating this group! Next month will be our three year anniversary! I'm pretty sure I haven't missed a month! 

Five random (how can I pick a favorite?) past Muffin Monday posts:

1. Blueberry Cornmeal Sourdough Muffins
2. Quiche Lorraine Muffins
3. Fresh Peach Muffins
4. Blueberry Muffin Tops
5. Bouchon Bakery Style Carrot Muffins

muffins, rhubarb

Muffins, breakfast, quick bread

American

Yield: 18 muffinsAuthor: Karen

Rhubarb-Ginger Muffins with Rhubarb Streusel

These Rhubarb-Ginger Muffins with Rhubarb Streusel are a wonderful way to use rhubarb, a beautifully colored sweet/tart vegetable.

ingredients

Muffins

• 2 cups (250 grams) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) diced rhubarb
• 3 large eggs (150 grams)
• 1 cup (240 grams) sour cream
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract if you don't have the paste)
• zest of one lemon

Streusel

• 3/4 cup (94 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (55 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Seeds scraped from one vanilla bean
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (50 grams) finely diced rhubarb

instructions

Muffins

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F 
2. Line muffin tins with 18 muffin liners. I used two 12 cavity muffin tins and lined 9 in each tin. 
3. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the rhubarb and toss to coat. 
4. Whisk the eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla bean paste together in a medium bowl.  Add the zest and stir. 
5. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and fold to just combine. 
6. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and top with the streusel. 
7. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Streusel

1. Whisk the flour, sugars, salt, and ginger together in a medium bowl. 
2. Stir the vanilla seeds into the melted butter and drizzle the mixture over the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. 
3. Squeeze the mixture with your hands until you have a crumbly texture. Stir in the rhubarb. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2018/07/rhubarb-ginger-muffins-with-rhubarb.html

Recipe adapted from Bake From Scratch May/June 2017, an amazing magazine you must subscribe to.

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

• Apple and Date Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Brown Sugar Oat Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Cinnamon Brown Sugar and Golden Raisin Muffins from Kelli's Kitchen
• Fresh Peach Streusel Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Rhubarb-Ginger Muffins with Rhubarb Streusel from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sugar-Free Mango Coconut Muffins from Palatable Pastime