These ginger peach muffins aren’t too sweet and have whole wheat in the muffin making them a great way to start your day!
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Summer stonefruit is one of my all-time favorite things to eat. Once I start seeing peaches pop up in the store, I know I’m going to start eating fruit nonstop for 3 months. Peaches hold a special place in my heart (and stomach) as their sweet honey flavor seems especially fleeting. Sure you can get peaches for a relatively long period of time at the grocery store. But there’s nothing like that peak season peach, with the juices that run down your arm as you bite into them. For times when the peaches aren’t quite as ripe or ideal, I start baking with them. Caramel peach upside down cake, peach slab pie, Southern peach cobbler, and peach and basil coffee cake are all beloved recipes here on the blog. But when I want a morning treat that is a little bit special, I make these Ginger Peach Muffins!
How to make these muffins
Making these muffins is slightly more involved than a typical muffin but it’s not difficult! I just involves cooking peach slices first, to soften them and infuse them with ginger flavor.
First slice the peaches into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices. Then place butter, honey (or brown sugar) and grated ginger in a skillet. Cook until bubbly, then add the peach slices, tossing and cooking until they start to soften just slightly. Set aside to cool in the pan.
Then make the muffin batter. Like a typical muffin, you want to mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another, and then combine. Stir together flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Then stir together melted butter, olive oil, eggs, buttermilk white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, grated ginger, and crystallized ginger. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until they are partially combined.
Then toss the cooled peaches one more time in the honey butter, making sure to get them properly glazed. Remove and reserve 24 slices. Take the rest of the slices and chop them into 1-inch pieces. Scrape the chopped peaches, along with any remaining glaze in the pan, into the batter. Fold to combine.
Scoop batter into muffin tin that has been buttered generously. The batter should fill nearly to the top, about 1 cup or 115 g per muffin cup. Place two slices of peaches on top of each muffin, making sure to snuggle the slices into the top of the batter.
Place in a preheated oven of 450°F and immediately drop the temperature to 350°F. Once done, let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully removing them and letting them cool on a wire rack.
How to make this a “bakery-style” muffin
You’ll notice these muffins have an ideal “bakery-style” domed top. I’ve achieved this by doing a few baking tricks. Here’s how to get make your muffin looking like they were purchased at a high end bakery!
- More batter: You’ll notice this recipe fills the muffin tin cups almost all the way to the top. Using more batter in the pan means the muffin will rise higher and bigger, giving that ideal domed muffin top.
- Bake alternating cups: I bake my muffins in two different muffin pans, alternating the filled cups with empty cups in each pan. This allows heat to evenly flow between the cups, letting the muffins rise symmetrically. It also has an added bonus of making it easier to remove muffins from the pan. But you can totally bake these muffins in one muffin pan, just expect them to rise slightly lopsided (they’ll still taste fantastic!). If you only own one pan but want to achieve this symmetrical domed muffin top, bake half the batter, alternating muffin cups, then let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and move them to a cooling rack. Run the muffin pan under cold water to cool it, then wipe out the inside of the muffin cups with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. Butter and bake the remaining batter, alternating cups.
- Use the correct muffin pan: This recipe is developed using a lighter colored nonstick muffin pan, where each cup holds about 1 cup of batter. I tested muffin pans for Serious Eats and ended up loving the USA muffin pan and OXO muffin pan (<- affiliate links), both sturdy durable pans designed to last a long time and each featuring a lighter nonstick coating where the muffins easily slide out without sticking. I recommend using a nonstick pan for muffins and cupcakes, one of the few baking items that I think a nonstick coating is a better choice. If you own or are using a darker colored baking pan, preheat the oven to 425°F initially, and then reduce the baking temperature to 325°F.
- Don’t use a cupcake liner: I prefer to grease my pans with butter instead of using a muffin or cupcake liner which gives the muffin a more professional bakery-style look. But feel free to use a muffin or cupcake liner if you’d prefer.
- High heat blast: I initially preheat the oven to 450°F, then lower the heat to 350°F once the muffin pan is placed in the oven. This initial blast of heat helps achieve what bakers call “oven spring” where the muffin rises faster, as the heat activates the baking powder in the batter. Ovens tend to drop in temperature, anywhere from 50° to 75°F when you open the door, so the higher initial temperature really helps with oven spring and creating that domed top.
How to use fresh grated ginger
I use fresh grated ginger in this recipe to really give the muffins a bright ginger flavor that powdered ginger or crystallized ginger can’t give. Scrape a piece of ginger with a spoon to peel off the outer layer of the ginger, then grate it using a ginger grater which is a ceramic dish with a rough surface in the center, or use a microplane grater to grate the ginger.
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of using fresh ginger, you can just toss the peaches with 1 teaspoon of ground ginger after you cook them in the honey and butter. And use 2 teaspoons ground ginger in the batter. Keep in mind the muffins won’t quite have the same ginger flavor though.
Substitutions & Customization
- Peaches: These are peach muffins, so I do recommend you use peaches or find a different recipe. But you can easily swap the peaches for nectarines or apricots if you wish. You can also use a firm pluot in the recipe as well. Just make sure the fruit is ripe but not soft. You need a slightly firmer fruit, otherwise it will fall apart when you saute and cook it initially.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is adds tang, acidity and richness to this muffin. But you can easily make a buttermilk substitute by mixing 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to 34 cup of milk. Mix and let sit for 10 minutes to thicken. Or substitute 1/4 cup plain full-fat sour cream and 1/2 cup of whole milk for the buttermilk.
- Whole Wheat: I use whole wheat flour in this recipe because it is a nice counterpoint to the peaches. Whole wheat also absorbs more liquid, which means the batter will be nice and thick, suspending the peaches on top. You can swap out the whole wheat with regular all-purpose flour, or use a different flour, like rye flour in its place. You can also swap out the same amount of almond flour for the whole wheat flour. Just expect the muffins to be a little more crumbly.
- Butter & Oil: I use a mix of melted butter for richness and olive oil for moisture. If you want your muffins to be more rich, use 3/4 cups melted butter. If you prefer a more moist and tender muffin, try using 1/4 melted butter and 1/2 cup olive oil. You can also substitute a more neutral tasting vegetable oil, like canola, corn or avocado oil if don’t care for the flavor of extra virgin olive oil. But I love the combination of extra virgin olive oil, ginger and peach.
How to store these muffins
Store these muffins at room temperature for up to 2 days in an air tight container or under a cake dome. Or store them in the fridge for up to 5 days in a resealable Ziploc bag or airtight container. You can also freeze these muffins for up to 2 months. Chill them first on a baking sheet in the freezer for 2 hours, or until they are frozen through. Then move them to a resealable freezer bag for longer storage. This prevents them from sticking to each other.
If you like these peach muffins, check out these other muffin recipes:
- Neapolitan Muffins
- Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Cherry Almond Muffins
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Carrot Muffins with Prunes, Pecans, and Sunflower Seeds
And check out these other recipes using summer fruits:
- Sweet Cherry Slab Pie
- Classic Blueberry Pie
- Chocolate and Strawberry Scones
- Blueberry Rhubarb Pie
- Blueberry Galette
- Raspberry Oat Bars
- Apricot and Cherry Slab Pie with Crumb Topping
- Easy Strawberry Cake
- Swedish Blueberry Cake (Blueberry Tosca Cake)
Ginger Peach Muffins
Ingredients
Peach topping and filling
- 3 medium peaches, firm but ripe about 455 g or 1 pound
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon honey or 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger about 1/2-inch piece
Muffin batter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 280 g
- 1 cup whole wheat flour 145 g
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup white sugar 200 g
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 75 g
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted, 115 g
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 45 g
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup buttermilk 175 g
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract optional but recommended
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger about 2-inch piece
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger
For the muffin pan
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Make the peach topping and filling by pitting and cutting the peaches into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices. No need to peel them. Place the butter, honey (or brown sugar) and fresh grated ginger in a medium sized skillet. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the honey starts to bubble and look frothy.
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Reduce the heat to low and add the peach slices, stirring them in to the glaze, cooking for an additional minute or so, until the peach slices start to soften slighty. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
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Make the muffin batter by placing the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using a balloon whisk, stir the dry ingredients together until they are well blended and uniform in color.
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Place the white sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, olive oil, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, almond extract (if using), grated ginger, cinnamon, ground ginger, and crystallized ginger in a bowl and whisk together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix them together gently, until about half the dry ingredients are absorbed into the wet ingredients but there are still large pockets of dry ingredients visible.
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Take the cooled peach slices and toss them one more time to coat with the honey ginger glaze. Then remove 24 slices and set aside. Chop the remaining slices into 1-inch chunks.
Add the chopped peaches along with any residual honey glaze, into the muffin batter. Then fold and mix the fruit and glaze into the muffin batter just until a batter forms. If there are a few dry spots here and there, that’s fine. Don’t overmix! Overmixing will lead to a tough muffin.
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Take one muffin pan and generously brush alternating cups in the muffin pan with melted butter, leaving the other cups dry. Then spoon batter into each cup until they are full, about 1 cup of batter or 115 grams (4 ounces) each. The muffin cup should be almost full. You should have used half the batter.
Take two slices of peaches and lay them on top of the batter of each muffin, nestling them in a bit.
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Place the muffin pan in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350°F. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top of the muffins are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, before gently twisting and removing each muffin, moving them to a wire cooling rack.
Increase the oven back to 450°F, and then repeat the whole process again with the remaining muffin batter, either in a different muffin tin, or the same tin that has been rinsed under cold water to cool it off, and then wiped dry and clean with a kitchen towel or paper towel.
Notes
Nutrition
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