Packed full of juicy raspberries and sweet white chocolate chips, these simple raspberry white chocolate muffins are moist, delicious and so easy to make!
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Originally published April 2020. Blog post and photos updated August 2020.
With so many of us currently living and working at home in isolation, I wanted to bring some positivity to the table. This recipe for raspberry white chocolate muffins is so easy and approachable. I can’t wait to share it with you!
What an unbelievably strange time we are living in at the moment. All of our lives have in some way been turned upside down by the recent turn of events; I think we’re still trying to get used to this new way of living. How we took so many things for granted, like going out for a meal or seeing our friends.
Isolation is hard for a lot of us but luckily it has given me more time to spend in my kitchen and work on new recipes. As you know I try to keep all of my recipes as simple and unintimidating as possible. I feel these muffins especially are so easy for anyone, especially those wanting to bake for the first time!
Raspberry white chocolate muffins recipe
I love the combination of raspberries and white chocolate, and if you do too you simply have to make these muffins. I’m really proud of them as they’re packed full of raspberries and white chocolate chips, and are super moist and squidgy!
My goal with this muffin mixture was for it to be thick enough to hold all of the raspberries and white chocolate, whilst not being too dense and tough. I’m so happy that the raspberries and chocolate don’t sink to the bottom of the mixture, yet the muffins still have a wonderfully light texture.
(If you love the combination of strawberry and white chocolate, check out my No-Bake Strawberry White Chocolate Cheesecake and my Strawberry White Chocolate Cookies!)
How to make moist muffins
Muffins truly are very easy to make, requiring just two mixing bowls, a whisk and a spatula. However, the method and ingredients found in muffins make all the difference between a flat, dry muffin and a tall, moist muffin!
Ingredients such as buttermilk, oil and light brown sugar play an important role here; let’s talk more about the ingredients.
Raspberry white chocolate muffins ingredients
Full amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here’s a quick summary! To make these easy, moist muffins you’ll need:
- Plain flour for the main structure of the muffins
- Baking powder
- Bicarbonate of soda I use both of these raising agents to give the muffins a strong boost to rise nice and tall!
- Salt to balance the flavour of the muffins
- Caster sugar for sweetness
- Light brown sugar for sweetness and moisture
- Melted butter for delicious buttery flavour and moisture
- Eggs for structure
- Sunflower or vegetable oil for moisture
- Buttermilk for even more moisture!
- Vanilla extract for added flavour
- Raspberries fresh or frozen for natural raspberry flavour
- White chocolate chips for that creamy white chocolate flavour which pairs perfectly with the raspberries
So as you can see, the muffins are super moist thanks to ingredients such as oil, buttermilk and light brown sugar. There are also pockets of juicy raspberries in each muffin which make them feel even moister!
Don’t have buttermilk? You can substitute it for any other milk but the muffin will be less moist. Alternatively, you could make your own buttermilk. It’s really easy to do and will be worth it – let me explain how!
How to make buttermilk from scratch
Simply add a tablespoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar to your normal milk, then stir it together briefly and leave it aside for about 10 minutes. After this time the milk will have thickened slightly and curdled – you now have buttermilk!
I find this method works best on full-fat or semi-skimmed milk; skimmed milk tends to remain a little thin, though the muffins will still be delicious and moister than if you’d used regular milk!
How to make the best raspberry white chocolate muffins
This easy raspberry white chocolate muffin recipe comes together super quickly, with no electric mixer needed! Just follow these steps:
- Preheat your oven to 220°C/200°C fan. This high heat is important in the first 5 minutes of baking; you’ll drop it to 180°C/160°C fan after 5 minutes; I’ll explain why further down the post!
- Line your 12 hole muffin tray with muffin cases/liners. Alternatively, you could spray each muffin tray hole with non-stick cake pan spray if you don’t have or prefer not to use muffin cases/liners.
- In a large bowl whisk together your plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and both sugars until combined. Set the bowl aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together your melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, sunflower oil and buttermilk until combined.
- Now simply pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture in the large bowl and using a spatula, fold together until just combined. Overmixing at this point can lead to heavy, dense muffins so try to mix as little as possible until no pockets of flour remain.
- Fill your muffin liners around 3/4 full of muffin mixture and place the muffin tray into your preheated oven. Set a timer for 5 minutes.
- Once the muffins have been baking for 5 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/160°C fan. The initial high heat helps the muffins rise nice and tall, and reducing the temperature bakes them through evenly in the centre without them burning.
- Bake the muffins for a further 13-15 minutes, then remove the tray from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, remove each muffin from the muffin tray and place them onto the wire rack to cool completely.
I mentioned earlier that the method of mixing your muffins can also affect how moist your muffins are. The key thing to remember is to mix the muffin mix as little as possible until just combined. Overmixing = dry, tough muffins!
How to make tall muffins
As explained in the method above, the initial high-temperature trick helps the muffins to rise rapidly in the first five minutes of baking. Reducing the temperature for the remaining 13-15 minutes then helps to bake the muffin through evenly, and prevents the muffins from becoming too brown on the outside!
What is the difference between muffins and cupcakes?
The difference is mainly in the method of combining the ingredients. Cupcakes are typically made by creaming butter and sugar together with an electric whisk, before adding your eggs, flour and other flavourings. The creaming method helps to create a light, fluffy cupcake.
Muffins, however, are simply made by combining the ‘wet’ ingredients with the ‘dry’ ingredients, as explained above. No electric mixers are needed to beat air into the mixture. The addition of more raising agents such as baking powder and bicarbonate of soda helps the muffins to rise tall. This is why muffins are typically denser than a cupcake, with a closer texture.
As a result, cupcake mixtures tend to be smoother and thinner in texture than muffin mixture, which is typically thicker and more lumpy!
How do I know when my muffins are done?
Simply poke a cake skewer or cocktail stick down into the centre of your muffin and check that it comes out clean. If it has some wet mixture on it, place the muffins back in the oven for a couple more minutes before checking again.
Can I use frozen raspberries in muffins?
Absolutely – I recommend using them straight from the freezer as letting them defrost first will make them soggy and more watery. Before adding to your muffin batter, coat them in a teaspoon of flour; this will help prevent them sinking to the bottom of the muffin mixture when baking!
What’s the best flour to use in muffin recipes?
I tend to use plain flour for most of my baking as I like having more control over the raising agents I add to it. However, I have tested this muffin recipe using self raising flour and they come out just as good! The only change you’d need to make is a reduction in the baking powder used. I recommend using 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in this recipe if using self raising flour.
Can you freeze muffins?
Yes, muffins freeze brilliantly and are a great go-to snack to have in the freezer! Simply place in an airtight container, or store individually by double wrapping each muffin in film. They won’t take too long to defrost on your countertop, or you could give it a few quick bursts in the microwave if you need a muffin in a hurry!
Tips for making perfect muffins
- Make sure your eggs and buttermilk are at room temperature as they will incorporate much more evenly into your muffin mixture
- You can whisk the dry ingredients as much as you like, and your wet ingredients too, but once you’ve combined the two in your large bowl only mix until just combined (i.e. no pockets of flour remaining) – this is my top muffin tip as over-mixing can easily take your muffins from being moist to super dense and dry
- Definitely try the initial high-temperature trick! This will give your muffins a great boost to make them taller than if you bake them at a lower temperature from the start
- If using frozen raspberries, coat them in a teaspoon of flour before adding them to your muffin mixture – this will stop them sinking to the bottom of your muffins
- Use buttermilk if possible as this will result in the moistest muffins. If you don’t have buttermilk to hand, follow my instructions on how to easily make your own buttermilk in just 10 minutes!
To summarise, these delicious raspberry white chocolate muffins are:
- Genuinely easy to make with just two bowls, a whisk and a spatula – no electric mixer required!
- Packed full of juicy, fresh raspberries and sweet white chocolate chips
- Incredibly moist thanks to ingredients such as buttermilk, oil and light brown sugar
- Easily freezable for a quick snack
- Quick to make so a great last-minute bake!
If you make it I’d love to see! You can show me by tagging me @bakerjoblog or using #bakerjoblog!
Other muffin recipes to try:
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Hummingbird Muffins
- Lemon Coconut Muffins
- Blueberry Nut Muffins
Other cake recipes to try:
- White Chocolate Blondies
- Nutella Brownies
- Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
- Carrot Loaf Cake
- Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake
- Peanut Butter Brownies
- Chocolate Coconut Cake
- Chewy Homemade Brownies
- Carrot Cake Swiss Roll
- Gingerbread Latte Cake
- Banoffee Brownies
Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins
Equipment
- 12 hole muffin tray
- Spatula or wooden spoon
- 1 large and 1 medium mixing bowl
- 15 muffin cases/liners or non-stick cake pan spray
Ingredients
- 300 g plain flour*
- 2 + 1/2 tsp baking powder level
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda level
- 1/2 tsp salt level
- 100 g caster sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 50 g butter melted
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 60 ml sunflower oil
- 200 ml buttermilk room temperature
- 200 g raspberries fresh or frozen*
- 200 g white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan. Line your muffin tray with muffin cases or spray with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, caster sugar and light brown sugar until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk the melted butter, eggs, buttermilk, sunflower oil and vanilla extract until combined.
- Pour this wet mixture into the large bowl of dry ingredients, and fold together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined.
- Now add the raspberries and white chocolate chips and continue folding together gently until just combined. Do not over mix at this stage as it will make the muffins dense.
- Fill each muffin case about 3/4 full.
- Place the muffin tray onto the middle shelf of your preheated oven. Set a timer for 5 minutes. This initial 5 minutes at high temperature allows the muffins to rise more rapidly.
- At the 5 minute point, without opening the oven door, drop the oven temperature to 180°C/160°C fan. Bake the muffins for a further 15 minutes.
- Remove the muffin tray from the oven and place onto a wire rack. After 5 minutes remove the muffins from the tray and place them on the wire rack to cool completely.
- Best eaten within around 4 days. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- * You can substitute plain flour for self-raising flour, but reduce the baking powder to 2 tsp.
- * If using frozen raspberries, coat them in a teaspoon of flour before adding to the muffin mix to prevent them from sinking to the bottom!
Delicious recipe! Made the others day and were gone in no time!
Author
Thank you, Bella! I’m so happy you enjoyed them 😊