Tim Horton's-Inspired Fruit Explosion Muffins

This recipe for Tim Horton's-Inspired Fruit Explosion Muffins yields a tender vanilla cake muffin, studded with strawberries and filled with homemade cherry jam.

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe for Tim Horton's-inspired Fruit Explosion Muffins is easy to make, and you can use any type of jam or fruit filling.

They're soft, cakey muffins packed with flavour, and not overly sweet, even with the addition of fruit filling.

The muffins come together in about 30 minutes time.

They're nut-free, which makes them great for kids' school snacks.

Ingredients you'll need

For this recipe, you'll need a combination of wet ingredients an dry ingredients:

• all-purpose flour: regular flour will work fine here; I don't recommend using bread flour; + extra flour for dusting cut strawberries
• baking powder: acts as a leavener for the muffins
• baking soda: another leavener that reacts with acid to give the muffins lift
• sea salt: balances out the sweetness
• vegetable oil: adds moisture to the muffins and keeps them tender; you can use melted butter if you prefer more flavour
• large egg: binds the mixture together
• granulated sugar: adds sweetness; you can use any sweetener you like
• buttermilk: if you don't have buttermilk, you can mix 1 tablespoon of white vinegar with whole milk
• yogurt: thick full-fat Greek yogurt will give the best flavour
• vanilla extract
• diced strawberries: dusted in appx 1 tablespoon flour; or any fruit that you like such as blackberries or blueberries
• jam filling: any jam or preserve of your choice; I used cherry pie filling

How to make the muffins

Preheat oven to 425F.

Prepare a muffin tin tray with muffin liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, egg, granulated sugar, buttermilk, yogurt and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold the mixture together.

When there are still some white lumps of flour left, add in the flour-dusted cut strawberries and continue to fold until just incorporated.

Be careful not to overmix.

Use a tablespoon to scoop batter into the muffin wells about ⅓rd of the way up.

Add a tablespoon of jam to the centre of the muffin batter.

Top off the muffin tin with the remainder of the batter.

Give the muffin tray a few taps to release any trapped air bubbles.

Bake at 425F for 5 minutes, and then reduce to 375F to bake for another 12-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with the slightest crumbs clinging onto it.

Let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring to completely cool on a wire rack.

How to store & reheat

At room temperature:

Store the Fruit Explosion Muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Refrigerator:

You can store the muffins in the fridge for up to 1 week (in an airtight container).

Freezer:

Store the cooled muffins in a freezer-safe container for up to 1 month.

Reheat:

To reheat the muffins, microwave for 1-2 minutes, until warmed through.

Expert tips & substitutions

To prevent the strawberries from sinking in the muffin batter, dust them with flour.

You can use any type of jam or pie fruit filling.

Try a Rhubarb Strawberry Compote or Strawberry Earl Grey Jam.

Other recipes you may like

Be sure to check out these recipes:

Matcha Chocolate Banana Muffins

Easy Cherry Pie Filling (4 Ingredients)

Matcha Cherry Financiers

Matcha Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting

Rose Lychee Raspberry Cupcakes

Coconut Passionfruit Cupcakes

Let me know if you try out this recipe -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!

Print Recipe

4.84 from 6 votes

Tim Horton's-Inspired Fruit Explosion Muffins

This recipe for Tim Horton's-Inspired Fruit Explosion Muffins yields a tender vanilla cake muffin, studded with strawberries and filled with homemade cherry jam filling.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time17 minutes mins

Total Time32 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Servings: 6

Calories: 220kcal

Author: Michelle

For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.

Ingredients

• 160 g all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon for dusting cut strawberries/fruit
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 60 ml vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 60 g granulated sugar
• 65 ml buttermilk
• 60 ml thick Greek yogurt full-fat
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ C diced strawberries dusted in 1 tablespoon flour
• 6 tablespoon jam or fruit filling of your choice

US Customary | Metric

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F/218°C.
• Prepare a standard muffin tin tray with 6 muffin liners.
• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, egg, granulated sugar, buttermilk, yogurt and vanilla extract.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a spatula to gently fold the mixture together.
• With some lumps of flour left, add in the flour-dusted cut strawberries and continue to fold it in until just incorporated.
• Be careful not to overmix.
• Add 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin well, filling it about ⅓rd of the way up.
• Add a tablespoon of jam to the centre of the muffin batter.
• Top off each muffin tin with about 1.5 tablespoon batter, or enough just to cover the jam. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.
• Give the muffin tray a few taps to release any trapped air bubbles.
• Bake at 425°F/218°C for 5 minutes, and then reduce to 375°F/191°C to bake for another 12-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with the slightest crumbs clinging onto it.
• Let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring to completely cool on a wire rack.

Notes

The batter will increase in size once the dry ingredients and wet ingredients combine and the leavening agents activate. 

Use a spatula to scrape every bit of batter to ensure you get every last bit into the muffins. 

If the muffins explode with jam, that's OK -- it's in the name! 

Nutrition

Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 319mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 2mg

The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.

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