Preheat the oven to 200C or 400F. Thoroughly grease your muffin tin with both butter and oil – this will ensure the blueberries don’t get stuck. As per the notes – you’ll get more aesthetically pleasing muffins if you leave every second muffin hole empty. It allows space for the muffin tops to develop.
Use the paddle attachment on your kitchen mixer to begin creaming the butter. I find this takes a lot longer than people say on the internet. Once the butter has lost its cube form and is smooth, add the sugars and continue to beat, scraping down regularly, until the mixture is light and creamy. You will need to scrape very regularly. Don’t skimp on the creaming – it forms the backbone of the whole muffin. I have added a photo of what the mixture should look like – it takes me about 15-20 minutes of beating and scraping down the mixture.
While you’re waiting for the mixture to cream, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl. If you haven’t already, ensure the eggs and milk are room temperature.
Once the mixture is properly creamed, add one egg at a time. Scrape down thoroughly after each egg, and wait until the mixture becomes smooth again before adding the next one. It will look a little alien before it reaches the smooth stage, so don’t worry.
Once the eggs are incorporated, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture with the mixer on a low speed (I use speed 1 one my Kitchenaid). Once incorporated, add 1/2 of the milk mixture and repeat. The batter might look split when you add the milk, but it should ‘repair’ when you add the next batch of flour. Repeat again, ending with the last 1/3 of flour.
Scrape the batter down and add the vanilla bean paste or essence. Give it one last mix before removing the bowl from the stand and mixing in the fresh blueberries.
Divide the mixture evenly amongst 9-10 muffin holes that have been well greased with both butter and oil. Trust me, you need both.
Next, top each muffin with the blueberry compote. As an option, you can also sprinkle over some finishing sugar.
Place the muffins in the oven on the lowest rack (see notes) for 25 minutes. I like to cover the muffins with foil once I notice the tops are perfectly browned – normally this is when there is about 10 minutes to go.
Allow the muffins to cool in the tin before gently removing. If you’re not using silicon, I recommend gently twisting them in the tray to encourage them to come out cleanly.
They keep well for a few days in an airtight container.