In search of the ultimate muffin recipe…

I consider myself an amateur muffin connoisseur… (with tongue firmly in cheek!) Muffins are my morning tea of choice at the majority of cafes I frequent, and yet, in all my years of muffin eating, I have only eaten a few that I would class as ‘really good muffins’. That goes for baking muffins too, I have tried loads of different recipes – sweet and savoury – and yet none of the recipes I have tried are recipes that I would pass onto people and say ‘Try these, these are great!”.

So what’s up? Muffins aren’t HARD to make… they are generally considered an easy thing to bake, and would be something that first time bakers are pointed to as a recipe to try out first. Just mix wet ingredients with dry (but don’t over mix), add some flavoursome addition, and you’re off – so why are they never any GOOD?

By good I mean light but with a close cake-y crumb, sweet and moist and full of fruit etc (if sweet), or salty and cheesy and full of veges/meat etc (if savoury). Most muffins I come across tend to be dry and heavy, with nothing much inside, and a faint but awful aftertaste of baking powder. Even the muffins I make (and can tinker with the ingredients somewhat) are never quite right – I seem to get moist and heavy, or light and dry… it’s like one cancels out the other.

So does anyone have a great muffin recipe they would mind sharing? Or any hints or tips? I would truly overjoyed to finally find a great muffin recipe after all these years of searching – and no doubt, my waistline could also benefit 😉