Red currant muffins

For an easy summer treat, make these red currant muffins. This recipe uses just one bowl and simple ingredients you should have on hand.

The muffins bake up tall and fluffy. If you make a full dozen, they will be perfectly domed, or you can make larger bakery style red currant muffins if you fill only 8 of the spots.

Red currants are quite tart but mellow out once baked. I use less sugar in this recipe to make the muffins a bit healthier. I think these muffins perfectly balance sweetness with the tart berries, without going overboard. However, the recipe is flexible enough to adjust the sugar.

Jump to:

• Recipe
• Red currant muffins
• Using fresh red currants
• Types of oil & fat
• Sweeteners & sparkling sugar
• Other red currant muffin recipes
• More resources

Recipe

Using fresh red currants

Red currants are in season in summer, typically from June through August.

If you can't find red currants, pink or even white-ish ones are a good substitute. They have a similar flavor, but are a little sweeter and less tart. Black currants have a pretty different flavor profile - they are more herbal and medicinal.

Currants are often sold in little pint containers, so this recipe is developed to use 1 pint. That comes out to about 1.5 cups of berries. The amount of fruit is pretty flexible, working well with anywhere between 1-2 cups of red currants.

Buying & storing red currants

Currants are rarely found in grocery stores. You'll have the best chance to buy currants at a farmers market or a specialty store.

Look for currants that are still attached to the stem and are slightly translucent. Store them in the fridge, still attached to the stem, like you would store grape. Removing currants from the stem shortens their shelf life.

They should last at least 3 days in the fridge, or up to a week if you're lucky. You can also freeze the red currants and use them later in these muffins. No need to thaw, just toss in the batter and fold them as instructed.

Seeds

Each currant berry has a tiny seed inside that is edible. They are similar to seeded grapes, but the seeds are much, much smaller. The seeds usually soften enough when baked that they aren't noticeable. However, sometimes I get a batch of currants that still have a slightly crunchy seed, even when baked.

Raw vs baked

If you've tasted a red currant raw, you'll notice how tart and tannic they can be. Those qualities mellow out once baked into muffins like these. They are quite similar to baking with cranberries, which are not very appetizing raw, but absolutely delicious once baked.

Types of oil & fat

I've used several different types of oil and fat when testing variations of these red currant muffins. One of the main differences is between oil and butter.

Oil vs butter

Oil is 100% fat and gives muffins the perfect texture and keeps them moist longer. Butter is about 80% fat so the muffins can end up slightly dryer. However, butter gives muffins more flavor, so it is often preferred for basic muffins, like blueberry or even currant.

I still chose to use oil for these red currant muffins because I prefer the texture. But either option works. If you want to use butter, you can substitute the same amount of oil for melted butter.

Different types of oil

Any type of vegetable oil works well in these muffins. Regular vegetable oil is mostly flavorless, and so is avocado oil. However, I really like using a mild olive oil - it adds the tiniest hint of flavor.

If you have any nut oils lying around that haven't gone rancid, those are also a good option. While expensive and often not worth using in a muffin recipe, they don't last very long. When I have them around for a while I use them up in muffins and quick breads before they go bad.

If you do use a nut oil, like walnut or pecan, try mixing some chopped nuts in the muffin batter as well. It will turn out like a cranberry nut bread, but with red currants instead.

Milk

I've tried these muffins with whole milk as well as half & half. Both turned out great. Higher fat content makes a richer, moister muffin. Whole milk has about 3.5% fat and half & half is between 10-18%.

That said, you can use any milk you have on hand. If you use a nonfat or low fat milk, add an extra tablespoon of melted butter or oil. You can also mix whatever varieties you have on hand - I made another batch with ¼ cup of half & half and ½ cup of whole milk.

Sweeteners & sparkling sugar

Most of my muffin recipes are light on sugar to make a healthier snack. Even through red currants are pretty tart, I think using only a ½ cup of sugar, plus the topping, is just sweet enough.

Adding more sugar

I usually reserve the heavy-sugar options for cupcakes, but if you want a sweeter muffin or if you are going for a bakery-style indulgent muffin, go ahead and add more sugar. You can add ¼ to ½ a cup of sugar to the batter - no need to change anything else.

Sparkling sugar topping

When I make low-sugar muffins, I often add ½ to 1 teaspoon of sparkling sugar to the top. It adds a burst of sweetness that tastes stronger than in the same amount was stirred into the batter. In other words, you get more bang for your buck.

Sparkling sugar is white and doesn't melt when baked. I usually buy mine from King Arthur Baking. You can buy it directly from them for around $13 or from their amazon store but it's almost twice the price. Also check the cake decorating section of your grocery store for other brands. (Both of those are my affiliate links, so I get a small commission if you buy something).

If you can't find it at the grocery store and don't want to order a specialty item, look for demerara sugar by all of the other sugars. It is sometimes called 'raw' sugar and it has a golden color. It also doesn't melt when baked, at least not very easily. Demerara sugar also has a slightly more brown sugar flavor, but is still delicious on these red currant muffins, as well as most other muffins.

Other red currant muffin recipes

There aren't many recipes for red currant muffins, but I've found a few other ones you might be interested in trying:

• Red currant muffins with streusel topping by Gather & Be. The recipe uses butter, 1 cup of sugar, 2 cups of red currants, and a streusel topping with brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Red currant muffins with maple syrup from Jess in the Kitchen. Her recipe sweetens the muffins with ⅔ cup maple syrup and also includes whole wheat flour, greek yogurt and chopped nuts.
• White currant & lavender muffins from Katie at the Kitchen Door - red currants could easily be swapped in, or use white or pink currants if you find them!

Alternatively, you can use any cranberry muffin recipe and swap in red currants.

• Fresh cranberry muffins from The View from Great Island - this recipe is actually based on her recipe. Her recipes feature fresh, seasonal ingredients and you should definitely spend time browsing through her site.
• Cranberry walnut spice muffins from Golden Barrel - these muffins use melted butter, cinnamon, ginger, and brown sugar.

You can also try a black currant muffin recipe.

• Black currant muffins from Where is My Spoon
• Black currant bran muffins with lemon & cardamom from Eat Simply, Eat Well

More resources

See what else is currently in season and get produce guides for each month.