Rhubarb Sour Cream Muffins ~ One advantage to living in a northern climate (there aren’t too many…lol) is rhubarb! If you are not familiar with rhubarb, it’s a cool season perennial vegetable, that’s right…it’s a vegetable! Even though we most often treat it as a fruit in such confections as pies, crisps, squares, ice-cream, compotes and jams, crumbles, coffee cakes, sweet breads and muffins, it is actually a vegetable.
Rhubarb is a cool season, perennial crop. It requires temperatures below 40 °F / 5 °C to break dormancy and to stimulate spring growth and summer temperatures averaging less than 75 °F / 24 °C for vigorous vegetative growth. The Northern U.S. and Canada are well suited for rhubarb production. Once planted, rhubarb plantings remain productive for 8 to 15 years.
Music Man and I were recently talking about the “old days” and how every single farm seemed to have a massive rhubarb patch. And, the thing was, it never seemed to be in the regular garden, it was always in some obscure patch, but always close to the farmhouse.
As many of you already know, I LOVE muffins! If I had to pick just one food group to live on, it would probably be muffins…lol!
This recipe for Rhubarb Sour Cream Muffins is a variation on my recipe for Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins. If you have access to rhubarb, I strongly urge you to give this delicious spring/early summer treat a try!
I try to make it a habit to gather everything I will need for a recipe before I begin. This way, if I am missing an ingredient, I can run to the store now (much more convenient), instead of mid-way through the recipe. (Not at all convenient!)
In large bowl whisk eggs and gradually add sugar, continue whisking until pale yellow in colour. (I love that pale yellow colour. I would like to paint my kitchen that exact shade!)
Once you start adding the flour mixture, be gentle with the batter. Over-mixing will result in a tough muffin. Stirring by hand is often the best way to do this step, that way you are less inclined to overmix.
Gently stir in the rhubarb. (If there is any liquid in the bowl, drain it before adding the rhubarb to the batter.) If you haven’t already switched to a spatula, do it now. Mixing with the paddle attachment will shred the rhubarb.
I LOVE the contrast between the jewel coloured rhubarb and the creamy batter.
For crunch and sparkle, once you have scooped the batter into the muffin tins, sprinkle each muffin with a little sparkling sugar. ( I buy mine at the bulk food store) This adds a bit of sparkle and a nice crunch to the top of the muffin.
Hot from the oven and the kitchen smells so good! I may have to pry one of these babies out of the tin and eat it before they even cool!
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1½ cups rhubarb cut into pea sized pieces and tossed in 3 Tbsp white sugar
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and spray 12 large muffin cups or line with cupcake papers.
- In a separate bowl stir together flour, salt and baking soda.
- In large bowl whisk eggs and gradually add sugar, continue whisking until pale yellow in colour.
- Continue whisking while slowly pouring in oil and then vanilla.
- Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture, alternating with the sour cream.
- Gently fold in the rhubarb mixture.
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
- Bake in preheated oven for ~ 20 minutes.
- (I whisked and combined the ingredients by hand as I find this method produces a much more delicate muffin.)
As always, if you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask and I will do my very best to answer.
Have you ever eaten anything made with rhubarb? Do you like the taste of rhubarb?
Have you ever baked/cooked with rhubarb?
What is your favourite rhubarb recipe?
Oooh I love a rhubarb dish! :) I am soooo sold on these!
Isn’t rhubarb a tasty treat Soozle!
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This is so timely! I picked the rhubarb from my garden today and as it’s newly planted rhubarb the stalks are small, ed and tender. Not enough for a pie, but perfect for a batch of muffins! Now I have the perfect recipe! Thanks, Monica!
These are great Pat, so moist and tender. Plus, the rhubarb is a little different from many muffins
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