Blackberry & Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins

These are my favorite muffins to serve alongside any light weekend brunch. The batter is light and fluffy, while the lemon cream cheese center adds an unexpected touch of cream and zest of citrus. I was able to catch the last weekend of the blackberry picking season in the Northwest, and, after eating most of the berries on my walk home from the thatch, I was able to save just enough for this recipe. If it is not the season for fresh blackberries, or raspberries or blueberries, if preferred, opt for frozen; the muffins will retain the same consistency as long as the berries are defrosted and drained prior to adding to the batter.

Ingredients
For the Batter:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon milk
1 cup sugar
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) room-temperature butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4-2 cups berries

For the Lemon Cream Cheese:
1 stick cream cheese, room temperature
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
The zest of one small lemon

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with the rack in the center. Grease a standard 12 muffin pan, or line with paper cups. (This recipe yields 18 muffins, so to use all of the batter a second 1/2 batch will be made following the first.)

Combine the stick of cream cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

Whisk together the first five, dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
In a seperate bowl mix together the eggs, sour cream, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla. (As long as the butter is at room temperature, mixing the wet ingredients together can either be done by hand or with an electric mixer.)
Gradually add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, incorporating completely.
Gently fold in the berries, careful not to break the berries up turning the batter deep purple. (Furthermore, overmixing will cause the batter to become far too dense, rather than light and fluffy.)
Fill each of the muffin cups 1/3 of the way full.
Using a small spoon, scoop 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each of the cups, atop the batter. Top with additional berry batter, until approximately 1/4" shy of the rim of each cup.
Bake for approximately 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted removes cleanly. Let cool 3-5 minutes before removing from pan. Repeat the process until all the batter has been used.

Yields: 18 muffins