Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins with Almond Streusel

This week’s recipe is for Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins with Almond Streusel and I’m telling you they are worth the effort. Since my Mom didn’t really bake with rhubarb it never made it in to my repertoire either. All I have ever really known about it is that people either really love it or hate it and it pairs well with strawberries. Working with this recipe gave me the opportunity to get to know rhubarb a bit.

Do you even know just how healthy rhubarb is???

I HAD NO IDEA EITHER!!!

They don’t come right out and say it but it sounds like it’s as close to a superfood as you can get with all of it’s health benefits. Who knew??! It’s a great source of vitamins A, C and K and also contains nutrients like calcium, potassium and magnesium. All are important for maintaining good health. You can blend rhubarb stalks with water and a sweetener of your choice to make rhubarb juice. Rhubarb juice is a good detoxifier, can help boost your immune system and increase energy levels. Seriously, how long before they turn this in to pill form? Clearly it’s just a matter of time.

Other health benefits from drinking rhubarb juice?

Prevents Alzheimer’s Disease
Anti inflammatory properties
Builds bone strength
Relieves chronic constipation
Reduces blood sugar levels
Improves digestion
Beneficial for vision
Improves liver health
Lowers cholesterol
Has anti aging properties
Maintains kidney health
Combats cardiac diseases
FIGHTS CANCER

That’s a lot of good wrapped up in a stalky vegetable that someone decided to bake with and it still gets a bad wrap. Drinking a cup of rhubarb juice might make it in to my daily morning routine. I’ll keep you “posted”. See what I did there? 😉

Today we will be eating Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins with Almond Streusel instead of drinking it.

Rhubarb is tart and a little bitter. It has a consistency of celery actually, that surprised me. Commonly paired with strawberry and let’s not forget sugar. Lot’s of sugar. I would say the flavor when cooked down and sugared up is a cross between a strawberry and a kiwi. I’m thinking strawberries became the go to with rhubarb to hide the fact that rhubarb was in the “mix”.

There are several varieties of rhubarb all varying in shades of red and green. Mine was on the green side and I wanted my filling to be red. Not having strawberries in the fridge I gave the raspberries I had a try. I thought that has to be just as good and it was!! So good.

I also upped the vanilla and sour cream to increase moisture and just bring the muffin’s vanilla flavor forward. Increasing the almond extract in the streusel topping also created a more consistent almond flavor to the topping. I’m excited to be adding this recipe to my repertoire. I’ll totally make them again and again. I hope you will too.

Step by step.

Raspberry Rhubarb Filling Ingredients — Raspberry rhubarb filling ingredients. (not pictured here is the juice of one lemon).

Almond Streusel Topping Ingredients — Almond streusel ingredients.

Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins Ingredients — Muffin batter ingredients.

Make filling first.

Cooked Rhubarb — Cook rhubarb on the stove with sugar, flour, lemon zest and lemon juice.

Rhubarb Compote — It will look like this when its done.

Combine Sugar and Cream Cheese — Combine 1 tablespoon sugar with cream cheese.

Make streusel second.

Raspberry Rhubarb Filling — Gently combine rhubarb, cream cheese and raspberries. This is your fillin.

Making Streusel Topping — Making streusel topping. Combine dry ingredients.

Cutting Butter into Streusel — Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork.

Make muffin batter third.

Adding Almond to Streusel — Add in almond extract and “cut” in with pastry blender or fork to evenly distribute. This is your topping.

Combine dry muffin ingredients — Start muffin batter. Combine dry ingredients. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar — Cream together butter and sugar.

Add Eggs to muffins — Add eggs one at a time.

Adding Sour Cream and Vanilla to mix — Vanilla and sour cream.

Add wet to dry muffin ingredients — Combine with dry ingredients.

Muffin Batter — Batter is a little thick but fluffy.

Muffin pan prepared — Prepare pan with liners and cooking spray.

Fill Muffins — Fill each with 1/4 cup batter.

Assemble and bake.

Muffin Wells — Make a well in the middle of each.