This Ingredient Helps Prevent Blueberries From Sinking to the Bottom of Your Muffins

There's nothing more disappointing than popping out your freshly baked blueberry muffins from the oven only to find that the fruit has all sunk down to the bottom in a mushy blue layer or an uneven combination of ingredients.

So if you are in the mood to make a batch of summer blueberry muffins but seem to always have trouble getting evenly distributed fruit, grab some help from an unexpected ingredient available at the grocery store.

Enter the Pudding Cup

Many recipes that call for vegetable oil or butter may result in muffins that are a bit greasy at the bottom of the muffin tins and added ingredients, like fruit or nuts, may get pulled down as a result. When you are adding these ingredients for flavor and texture, you don't want them sinking to the bottom of the tin and weighing down the baked goods. After all, the goal is a light, fluffy muffin.

When it's time to whip up a batch this time around, take a shortcut or two from the baking aisle and try this trick out. Pick up a box of muffin mix, a basket of fresh blueberries, and a package of pudding cups.

Any variety of pudding snacks will work, from the classic Jell-O brand pudding cup, to the old standby Snack Pack, Swiss Miss, or any other favorite brand. Look for a flavor that highlights the flavor of the muffins, like vanilla, tapioca, or butterscotch.

What Does the Addition of Pudding Do for the Muffin Mix?

You guessed it, it helps to keep fruit, like blueberries, from sinking. When you are making a batch of blueberry muffins, the key is to get some lift in the batter. Steam is created in the oven as the baking process happens in the muffin tin. That lift is what helps heavier ingredients — like fruit or nuts — become suspended and distributed in the muffins as they bake rather than sinking to the bottom and creating a soggy mess. Pudding will help the muffin keep its structure and give the texture a chewy crumb with a nice little bounce that won't crumble apart.

The muffins with "blueberry sinkage" aren't as pretty but more importantly, the brightness of the berry taste throughout is lost.

A Pudding Cup Baking Test

To test this out, we made two batches of muffins: One batch with a box mix and no additional ingredients, and one batch with a box mix plus a pudding cup.

The first big difference we noticed was that adding the pudding gave the batter mix more thickness versus the straight-up batter mix, sans pudding. This was especially noticeable when we added the blueberries which were incorporated into the batter and seemed to stay evenly distributed thanks to the pudding.

The batch with the pudding cup also had an extra bonus of a nice elevated taste from its tapioca-flavored Snack Pack, and an airy texture with an even distribution of blueberries throughout the muffins. No blueberry sinkage in these baked treats!

Both batches baked up in the oven with a light golden top with a crunch from a sprinkle of granulated sugar added halfway during the bake time.

The Takeaway

The muffin mix with the pudding cup was easy to whip together and the added flavor of tapioca was a pleasant addition. The muffins had well-proportioned blueberries throughout for picture-perfect gems when we sliced them for a slather of honey butter.

Next time the mood strikes, try this easy method. In no time at all, you'll have fresh-out-of-the-oven muffins cooling on the windowsill on a summer morning.