Being a serious home baker for over 25 years, I’ve picked up my fair share of handy tips. And some of my favorites center around muffins.
Specifically, berry muffins.
I love muffins filled with fresh berries – what I never loved was how mushy they would get during baking.
No more.
And I love having warm, freshly baked muffins to serve my family even on the busiest weekday mornings. What I never loved was having to get up at the crack of dawn to make them, only to have most left over (and eventually thrown out).
No more.
Here are some of my tried-and-true baking tips for berry muffins – with no soggy berries, and the secret to making one – or one dozen – depending on who’s hungry!
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Let's get started!
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This recipe is the perfect way to use up excess berries - especially, if you're like me and get a bit too "ambitious" when shopping at the farmer's market!
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These muffins work beautifully with any combination of berries - just make sure that you chop up larger fruits so that all of the pieces are a similar size. This will ensure even baking.
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The secret to perfect berry muffins? Coat the fruit with a little of the flour from your recipe. This holds in the juices, so no more mushy fruit - and the flour coating keeps the berries from sinking to the bottom.
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Whether baking right away or freezing for later, line your muffin tins with paper or foil cups before filling with batter. Your muffins will pop right out after baking (no one likes a broken muffin!).
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Freezing unbaked muffins is one of my favorite baking tricks! Fill the muffin tins as usual, and place the tin in the freezer. When the batter is frozen, pop out the muffins and place in a freezer bag.
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Label the freezer bag with the type of muffin and baking instructions. Keep in mind that you'll need 5-10 minutes additional baking time for the frozen batter. You can now make as few - or as many - muffins as you like!
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Bake sale? Unexpected guests? These tips work with any muffin recipe, so you can have a warm, freshly baked treat any time!
Mixed Berry Corn Muffins
adapted from Martha Stewart
1 c. flour, 1 tablespoon removed and set aside
1 c. cornmeal
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/3 c. honey
1/3 c. sugar
3/4 c. milk
2 c. assorted berries (if using strawberries, cut to about the same size as the other berries)
If baking right away, pre-heat oven to 425. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl whisk butter, egg, honey, sugar and milk – fold into the flour mixture. In a third bowl toss the berries with the reserved tablespoon of flour; gently fold the berries into the flour mixture.
Divide the batter evenly in the muffin tin. Bake till golden and a tester comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and cool completely on a wire rack.
If freezing, make batter as instructed above, and divide evenly in your lined muffin tin; place tin in the freezer. Remove frozen muffins from the tin and store in a ziploc bag – label with baking instructions. To bake, simply take out as many muffins as you need and place them directly in your muffin tin (no need to thaw first). If baking fewer than 12 muffins, pour a little water into the empty cups, to evenly distribute heat. Bake as above, adding an additional 5-10 minutes to your baking time.
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