Cupcakes and muffins are both small, single-serving baked goods, but the key difference is that cupcakes are typically sweeter, lighter, and often decorated with frosting.
Meanwhile, muffins are denser and moister and are often baked with additional ingredients, such as chocolate chips, nuts, or fruit, like blueberries.
Deemed the standard muffin flavour, the sweet batter and tart blueberries make these baked snacks easy on the palate – even more so when baked from scratch.
Those with an air-fryer can whip them up in just over 10 minutes with this speedy recipe from Candice Bannister, founder of Candy’s Cupcakes.
Her formula calls for eight simple ingredients and a short cooking time of eight to 10 minutes to ensure perfectly risen muffins.
Candice’s recipe calls for fresh blueberries. However, frozen berries are often cheaper when the fruit is out of season in the UK, between September and June.
Those who wish to swap fresh blueberries for frozen ones should be aware that frozen berries will release more liquid. In this case, you may need to adjust the recipe by adding more flour.
Generally, you don’t need to wait for blueberries to defrost before using them, but tossing them in a little flour can help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the batter.
Air-fryer blueberry muffin recipe
Ingredients
250g all-purpose flour
30g granulated sugar
62g of milk
Two tablespoons melted butter
One egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Handful of fresh blueberries
Method
Set your air-fryer to 170C before making a start on the muffin batter. This will ensure even speedier baking than usual.
Add the measured flour, sugar, baking powder, and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix well until everything is well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to form a complete batter.
Add the blueberries to the bowl and gently fold them into the mixture for even distribution. Find some silicone muffin cups and use a spoon to measure out even portions of the mixture into each one.
Place the muffin cups in the preheated air-fryer and cook for eight to 10 minutes until the muffins are golden brown.
