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American, Dinner, FI26: Foundation Recipes, Main course, Soup
Pumpkin soup
The secret to great muffins is to use fresh flour and baking powder, and not to overwork the batter. Also, decide what kind of muffins you are making before you begin. If you want moist, dense muffins for breakfast, try using whole wheat flour and add linseeds, mashed bananas or grated carrots. If you want a lighter, cupcake-like muffin, use white flour, lots of eggs, and butter rather than oil.
If you are making fluffy, cake-like muffins, you can use the same technique you would use when making a cake. Cream your shortening and sugar together first and add your eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat your flour and milk in, bit by bit, alternating the wet and dry ingredients. This helps keep your batter aerated, for fluffier results.
The best way to make juicy muffins is by stirring a moist ingredient into the finished batter before baking. Chopped apples, grated carrots, blueberries and dark chocolate are all good options.
The easiest way to keep your muffin tin clean is to line it with unbleached, natural baking paper, instead of greasing and flouring each cup. To prevent the batter from dripping on the top of the tin, try using a specially designed batter scoop to fill the cups. A small gravy ladle, or a ¼ cup measuring cup also work well.
When it comes to topping your muffins, the options are endless. Try dipping the peaks of still-warm muffins in melted butter and then into cinnamon-sugar. A dollop of sour cream topped with a few berries is never wrong. And don’t forget the simple pleasure of a dusting of powdered icing sugar.
Begin by combining your wet and dry ingredients separately. Make a well in the middle of your dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Mix gently until the ingredients are just combined. And, like all quick breads (breads made without yeast), the number one tip is not to over-mix the batter once you have combined the wet and dry ingredients. Over-mixing activates the gluten in your flour, making your muffins tough and chewy (like bread), destroying their tender crumb.
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