Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffin Tops

Our family recently decided to start following a gluten-free lifestyle. Since I do so much baking and cooking, it has been rather easy to convert. However, recreating our favorite recipes is a bit of a challenge at times. We LOVE Blueberry (or Blackberry) muffin tops. So naturally it was on the top of my list of recipes to convert. My first attempt was a success in texture and decent in taste (well, I wasn't a fan but Hubby and Son ate them). I knew I could come up with a better version. Attempt #2 was a great texture, although a little more spongy than typical muffins, and yielded an amazing flavor! So, I thought I would share. 

One thing I have found from several blogs, is that when working with GF flours, it is much more accurate to measure by weight. You can pick up a food scale pretty cheap and it will make your GF recipes much more successful. To begin, you need to make a GF flour mixture. There are several ways to do this since there are so many GF flours available. You will get different flavor and texture results from all of them. The key is to have 60% Starch and 40% Whole Grain. So here is the specific mixture I used for my muffin tops: 

Flour mixture (this will make just slightly more than you need for this recipe) 
180 g Tapioca Flour (starch) 
45 g Brown Rice Flour (whole grain) 
45 g Sorghum Flour (whole grain)
Mix all 3 together well. (After my second attempt turned out so great, I also made a batch of Blackberry ones. However, I didn't have quite enough Tapioca Flour so I added the weight I was short by in White Rice Flour - another starch. The flavor was still what I was looking for) 


 Batter 
* 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter 
* 1/3 cup whole milk 
* 1 whole large egg 
* 1 large yolk 
* 3/4 teaspoon Almond Extract 
* 210 g Flour mixture 
* 1 1/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum 
* 3/4 cup sugar 
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
* 3/4 teaspoon salt 
* 9 oz fresh blueberries (can use 12 oz of Frozen Blueberries - thawed and drained) 

 Topping 
* 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits 
* 35 g flour mixture 
* 1/4 cup brown sugar

 Preheat oven to 375 (350 for dark or non-stick pans). Grease Muffin Top pans (or regular muffin tins) Melt butter over low heat. Meanwhile, mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Once butter is melted, remove from heat and whisk in Milk. Next, add whole egg, egg yolk, and almond extract. Whisk together well. Add to dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Carefully fold in blueberries. Pour into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 mins (May need to bake longer for regular muffins). Cool on baking racks for 10 mins. Remove from pans to cooling racks to finish cooling off. Enjoy warm or room temperature.