Happy Valentine’s Day! Earlier in the week, Sally shared with you a recipe that is great for a Valentine who prefers the savory to the sweet. Today, we have a recipe that will appeal to any taste buds. Why not extend your Valentine’s Day into the weekend? These Blackberry Blueberry muffins are the perfect item for a weekend Valentine’s Day breakfast or brunch. You can make them for your loved one, or have the whole family join in! Kids will enjoy decorating with the Blood Orange Icing in a design of their choosing. Have a great Valentine’s Day weekend!

Here is the recipe Sally made.

Makes 12

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 cup halved blackberries

3/4 cup blueberries

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon grated blood orange zest

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Blood Orange Icing:

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 2/3 cups confectioners sugar

1/4 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with non stick cooking spray. Line the pan with muffin papers. Set pan aside. In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt and allspice. Stir to blend.

3. To make the glaze, put the 2 Tablespoons of butter into a small bowl. Add 1/3 of the confectioners sugar and stir until a thick paste has formed. Add the orange juice, vanilla and salt. Stir until well blended. Add the next third of the sugar and stir until well blended. Add the remainder of the confectioners sugar and stir until icing is well mixed. Remove the cooled muffins from the pan. Drizzle the muffins with the icing.There is enough icing to cover the top of each muffin, if desired. Return the muffins to the wire rack until the icing has dried. Serve muffins.

Recipe ©Sally James Mathis
Photography ©Taylor Mathis

Here is more on the picture Taylor took.

Above is the set shot for the Blackberry Blueberry Muffin shot. Once Sally prepared the muffins, it wasn’t too complicated to style and light them. We decided to use a plate that had a Valentine’s Day feel with out being too full of hearts and cupids. The lighting set-up was created with my light source placed behind the subject and a reflector placed in front of the subject. The final shot was taken from an overhead camera angle.

When I am looking for a soft look with little contrast between the shadows, backlighting and filling the shadows in with a reflector is an approach I commonly take. If you want to learn more about this technique, I cover it in great detail in the food photography educational series called photographing FOOD.