Blueberry and Cream Cheese Muffin Top Bread
Serves 20
15 mins prep
55 mins cook
70 mins total
This bread tastes like one big muffin top and is more like a dense cake-meets-muffin-top than bread because it's falling-apart soft, tender, and moist. It's dense yet springy and bouncy, and it oozes with blueberries. There's a cream cheese filling that's baked in, adding more softness and moisture to the bread, as well as a nice tangy pop of flavor. The bread comes together by hand with a few bowls and a whisk in just minutes. It's the perfect way to use up you extra fresh or frozen blueberries. I'd much rather have slice after slice of this bread that tastes like muffin tops, than an actual muffin - the tops on them are gone far too fast. Plus this bread is infinitely moister and softer than any muffin I've ever had.
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Preheat oven to 350F; spray loaf pans with floured cooking spray; set aside. I used one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and one 8-by-4-inch loaf pan. Or try two 9x5 inch pans, a 10- to 12-cup Bundt or tube cake pan, 9-inch springform pan and bake as a coffee cake, or muffin pans. Do not use two 8x4 pans; batter will not all fit.
In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and whisk vigorously to combine. The softer the cream cheese is, the easier this will be. If yours isn't quite soft enough, heat in the microwave for 5 seconds. Set bowl aside.
In another medium bowl, combine blueberries, 1 tablespoon flour, and toss gently to coat. This helps prevent blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the pan while baking. If using frozen berries, keep them frozen or very cold rather than thawing them in advance because they stay intact better and bleed less when still frozen or very cold.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power. Add the buttermilk, oil (I use 1/2 cup canola oil and the second day and beyond it's perfect. The first day it's a bit oily, but I don't mind it and it dries out on the second day and longterm results are great. If you prefer drier bread, use 1/4 to 1/3 cup noting bread will dry out more as it ages), eggs, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk vigorously until combined.
Add 2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, optional salt, and stir to incorporate; don't overmix. Gently fold in the blueberries. Eyeball it and pour about one-quarter of the batter into each of the two prepared pans, with the 9x5 getting slightly more than the 8x4; batter should come up about one-third of the way up the side of each pan.
Distribute the cream cheese mixture between the two pans, with the larger pan getting slightly more. Smooth it lightly with a spatula. Distribute remaining blueberry batter roughly evenly between the two pans, with the larger pan getting slightly more. Smooth it lightly with a spatula.
Bake the two loaves (9x5 and 8x4) for 45 to 65 minutes, or until top is set in the center and golden; a toothpick may or may not come out clean because it could hit a patch of cream cheese. Baking times will vary greatly by pan sizes used. I baked the 8x4 loaf for 48 minutes and the 9x5 for 60 minutes. Muffins or mini loaves could bake in as short as 20 minutes, a big Bundt cake may need 60 to 65 minutes. Allow bread to cool in pans for at least 15 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. If bread is browning fast on top before center is cooking through, tent with foil in last 15 minutes of cooking.
Store bread that's been wrapped in plasticwrap and placed inside a large ziptop plastic bag for up to 1 week at room temperature, or freeze for up to 3 months. Freezing second loaf after it's cooled is recommended if you're not going to eat it within a week.