Strawberry Muffins

Here are my tasty strawberry muffins, with a crunchy streusel topping and a strawberry butter-cream frosting. Don’t these look like Santa’s hat? Both batter, and frosting are packed with fresh straberries, they are moist and soft and the streusel adds another dimenssion to them! Serve with your afternoon tea or even for breakfast or brunch

Ingredients:

For the batter:

• 1 ¾ cup flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup/1 stick butter
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of diced strawberries
• 1 tablespoon flour, to coat the strawberries before adding to the batter

For the streusel:

• ¼ cup lightly toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened

For the frosting:

• ¼ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup icing sugar, powdered sugar
• ½ cup of diced strawberries

Directions:

Place a rack in the center of the oven.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

For the batter:

1. Grease 15 medium-sized muffin cups with a small piece of butter, then lightly coat it with flour.
2. Shake the muffin cups and invert them over a sink to get rid of the excess flour.
3. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder baking soda and salt.
4. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixture, and beat on high speed for 30 seconds.
5. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition.
6. Slowly add the milk and vanilla and beat for 30 seconds. Scrape down the edges of the bowl.
7. Stir in the flour mixture. Mix one more time with a wooden spoon to fully incorporate the batter.
8. Coat the diced strawberries with the 1 tablespoon flour, and add to the batter. Stir one last time.
9. Spoon the batter into the greased muffin cups, filling one third of each.

For the streusel:

1. Mix together the walnuts, brown sugar, flour, and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle it evenly over the muffin cups.
2. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until you insert a skewer in the center of a muffin and it comes out clean.

Meanwhile prepare the frosting:

1. Place the butter in a bowl of an electric mixture. Add the icing sugar and diced strawberries and beat on high speed to mix well, obtaining a pink frosting.
2. When the muffins have completely cooled down, spread the frosting equally on top of the muffins. You can decorate each muffin with a strawberry half, optional.

If you make this recipe, share your pictures on Facebook! I would love to see your creations!Hashtag them #Hadia's Lebanese Cuisine