Thermomix Basic Muffin Recipe | Plus Suggested Variations (2024)

FAQs

What is the most important rule to follow when baking muffins? ›

The number one rule for successful muffins is: Don't over-mix the batter. Use a rubber spatula to quickly fold (gently stir) the liquid ingredients into the dry ones. A few streaks of flour still showing is okay, especially if you plan to add in extra ingredients like fruits and nuts.

The main challenge of the muffin method is mixing the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients without activating too much gluten. This is especially challenging with traditional muffins which contain relatively little sugar and fat that would help tenderize gluten.

You can use either all-purpose flour or pastry flour; all-purpose flour gives you a sturdier muffin while a pastry flour muffin will be lighter and more delicate. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, vegetable oil or butter, and eggs. Make sure to blend them thoroughly!

Having eggs, butter, and milk at room temperature helps them form a smooth mixture that traps air and expands when heated in the oven. That expansion makes your muffins fluffy and light. Room-temperature butter should indent easily when you press it.

Overmixing the batter.

When you overmix the batter, it crushes the air bubbles and ruins the fluffy texture. → Follow this tip: To ensure a batch of light, fluffy muffins, mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just barely combined, and no more dry flour is visible.

A basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tablespoons sugar, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. When the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level.

If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

Which flour makes the fluffiest muffins? ›

Cake flour is more finely ground and has less protein, which leaves the muffins with a fine, light crumb and soft texture. Using cake flour is an easy way to avoid heavy, dense muffins even if you end up stirring just a bit too much.

Start the oven on high

Bake your muffins at 400°F for the first 5 minutes, then drop the temperature to the more standard 350°F for the remainder of the bake time. This method sparks the leavening agents (especially baking powder) in the batter to react quicker, creating that gorgeously risen top.

Structure - although oil makes baked goods very moist and longer lasting than butter, for high rising baked goods that need more structure, like muffins, butter is a better choice. Butter is wonderful for incorporating air into baked goods.

But if you want super domed muffins with seriously tall tops, rest the batter for an hour! This will allow the flour to hydrate and absorb the liquids in the batter more fully, leading to taller domes.

Quickbreads and muffins are hydrating batters, which means the flour absorbs the liquid over time, resulting in a very moist muffin, and improving the flavor. So let your muffin batter rest, up to 24 hours if possible.

#1 Read through the recipe

Make sure to quickly skim the recipe before you start baking to understand the general flow and key steps. You can even make notes on the recipe or highlight key points to help you along.

"My golden rule for baking is make it cold and bake it hot," she said. Use Grated Butter for Flakey Crust.

MEASURE!

Because a gram is always a gram. Never bake without measuring your ingredients. Unlike cooking, baking is first a science, then anything else. If you start adding ingredients like baking powder and sugar without measuring, it can lead to some spectacular baking disasters.