It’s hard to beat proper bakery-style muffins – the small, sickly and sticky supermarket ones that only have a few blueberries dotted through rarely live up to expectations. I love (and will happily queue) for a high-domed, crunchy-topped muffin, studded evenly with blueberries throughout. But recreating this at home can come with its challenges: sinking blueberries, green- or blue-streaked batter, flat muffin tops. This is one recipe where understanding the science of baking really does come into play.
Total time to make : 30 minutes Time to prep : 10 minutes
Time to bake : 20 minutes
Servings : 12 large muffins (or 24 mini)
Ingredients
380g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
200g caster sugar
250ml buttermilk
80g butter, melted and slightly
cooled
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or use
vanilla extract)
200g blueberries
3 tbsp demerara sugar, for
sprinkling
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 230°C/210°C fan and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together in a large bowl. Add the sugar and stir everything together well.
3. Add the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, eggs and vanilla to a measuring jug and whisk together with a fork.
4. Make a well in the flour bowl and pour in the wet ingredients. Gently fold until just combined, being careful not to overmix – the batter will be thick and heavy. Use a spoon to pile 1 tablespoon of the batter into the bottom of each case.
5. Add the blueberries to the remaining batter in the bowl and gently fold once or twice to mix. Spoon this batter into the cases, filling to the top. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and then slide them into the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200°C/180°C fan
and bake for another 12–15 minutes until golden, risen and a clean skewer inserted in the centre comes out with no wet batter streaks.
6. Remove from the oven and leave until just cool enough to touch before popping the muffins out of the tin and transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Nutritional Information
(per muffin)
325 calories
5g protein, 42g carbs, 14g fat
Good to know:
The raising agents start to work as soon as the wet ingredients hit the batter, so work quickly to mix and get the muffins into the oven.
Starting the oven at a high temperature creates a higher ‘dome’ on the muffins. Remember to reduce the temperature though!
Once cooled, will keep for 3 days or wrap tightly in cling film and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.