Muffin Monday - Blackcurrant Cheesecake Muffins

I think we're seeing in working mothers a change from "Thank God it's Friday" to "Thank God it's Monday." If any working mother has not experienced that feeling, her children are not adolescent.

- Ann Diehl 

Now that I no longer have to go into an office to do a regular 9 to 5, I really look forward to Mondays. For a start, I have the whole house to myself and after what is a normally hectic weekend full of activities, the peace and quiet is a much welcomed relief. Another reason I now look forward to the start of the week is of course, Muffin Monday, our weekly cooking group hosted by Anuradha of Baker Street.

This week's recipe is Berry Cheesecake Muffins, and it was up to us what kind of berries we wished to adopt in the recipe. I was all excited and enthusiastic until I went grocery shopping and no fresh berries were to be found anywhere! Which was really strange because only a few days ago, the store shelves were lined with punnets upon punnets of the most beautiful strawberries... That's one of the hazards of living out here in the low-lying tropics, we rely on the regularity of overseas shipments for fruits such as these and unfortunately, they are not as regular as I'd like... 

And so I surrendered to the fact that my muffins would not contain any fresh berries this time round. I located a jar of blackcurrant jam instead and used that as the filling for the cheesecake muffins. The jam was already very sweet so to compensate for that, I reduced the amount of the other sugars stated in the recipe. The added lemon zest provided a warm citrusy note that balanced off the sweetness and creaminess of the muffins quite well. 

The sight of some of the hot jam oozing out from underneath the batter as these came out of the oven simply added to the muffins' allure. If you love the idea of mini New York-style cheesecakes, then these muffins are  definitely for you!

Note: Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Berry Cheesecake Muffins
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (I reduced this to 1/4 cup)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup brown sugar (I reduced this to 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup strawberry jam (I used blackcurrant jam)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

2. Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together egg milk, brown sugar, butter, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.

4. Spoon half of batter into muffin cups. Top each portion with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture and 1 teaspoon jam. Spoon remaining muffin batter on top.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove muffins and cool on rack. Store in airtight container.