Leftover Buttermilk? Make Some Muffins!

For my Italian cream cake, one of the ingredients I have to buy is buttermilk. In the olden days, buttermilk was a byproduct of making butter. When butter is churned, the byproducts of this action produce a solid, the butter, and a tangy leftover liquid, the buttermilk. These days, however, the buttermilk we buy at the grocery store is made by adding a lactic acid bacteria culture to skim or non-fat milk. The milk is then fermented to make today's buttermilk. The taste and consistency are similar to that of the original buttermilk, but without the added fat. Baking with buttermilk yields a fluffy, moist and tender consistency.

After using the one cup of buttermilk required by my Italian cream cake, I was left with most of a quart. Usually, the buttermilk sits in my fridge, lonely and unused, until it becomes stinky, chunky and vile after a few weeks and I throw it out in disgust. Not this time! I decided to put it to good use, and I made a double batch of blueberry white chocolate muffins.

I'm always sure to add plenty of blueberries to my muffins, so no bite goes un-blueberried. The white chocolate chunks melted into the batter and made for creamy, rich muffins. I also topped each muffin with a good sprinkling of turbinado sugar before going into the oven, for that nice added crunch. Eric and his belly approved.