Here on Pancake Yancake we like to experiment with unique combinations and the first version of this muffin recipe (jackfruit + passion fruit) definitely spoke to that. Now fresh passion fruit and jackfruit were two tropical ingredients that never even made it to my tastebuds before this spring break and summer, respectively. And while the Dominican Republic made me a big fan of fresh passion fruit atop yogurt, Florida did not do the same for my sentiment toward jackfruit. Almost bubble gummy in flavor (and distinctive in odor), jackfruit is one of the few fruits I don’t really care for raw. Too bad I couldn’t have found that out before purchasing a 5 pounder at a local orchard… So into baked goods it went!

Many were quite experimental (think mandarin orange jackfruit cornbread), but one in particular gave me a new appreciation for jackfruit as it led me down a curvy, yet glorious path to these Double Cherry Muffins! From the first bite, what hooked me about the original jackfruit + passion fruit version was its soft, spongy texture and rich, buttery flavor, two characteristics that had me reminiscing back to breakfasts of madelines in France. If I could love a muffin despite not liking one of its primary ingredients, I knew I was on to something.

Considerably more common in the US (and ridiculously fresh during the summer), mango was my instinctive substitute. But after that version ended up disappointing, I decided to turn to my ready, frozen arsenal of bing cherries. Bing-o! Now I know summer is cherry season too, but note that this recipe actually uses frozen cherries. That’s because on one trip to Costco, the price of cherries was a mere $1.50/pound, so I bought two cases and froze one of them. But enough with the back story. At just 150 calories a piece, you can keep dreaming of gluttony in Paris while keeping that summer bod ’cause these rather minimalist cherry muffins are pretty healthy too!

Double Cherry Muffins

Makes 12 muffins 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups frozen, pitted cherries, divided
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, thaw 1 cup of the frozen, pitted cherries. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 F and lightly grease a 12-well cupcake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt); set aside for later.
3. Pour out any juice that might have collected and puree the thawed cherries. In a small bowl, combine the milk and cherry puree; set aside for later.
4. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
5. On low speed, alternate incorporating the dry and wet mixtures (start with 1/2 dry, all wet, end with other 1/2 dry) until just combined.
6. Chop the remaining cup of frozen cherries into eighths and gently fold the cherry pieces into the batter.
7. Divide the batter into the prepared cupcake pan and bake initially at 425 F for 5 min (to achieve tall, domed muffins). Lower temperature to 375 F and continue baking for 10-12 more minutes or until muffins pass the toothpick test.