Thursday, January 21, 2010

Chocolate walnut muffins

So there - a first illustration of my inability to bake :) They weren't bad, but they weren't those fluffy light soft oh so wonderful in the morning with your coffee. Oh well, I'll keep trying ;)

3 comments:

  1. In case you haven't come across these tips yet:

    Any baked goods with non-yeast leavening in them (i.e. anything with baking soda or powder) need to be mixed as little as possible and put into a good hot oven. Muffins, scones, pancakes, waffles, all fall into this category. It's a chemical reaction that creates the air bubbles, and you want as much of that reaction to happen under great heat, so it will expand quickly and then cook right on the spot rather than bubbling to the top and popping, right?

    Also - the fluffy muffins you see in stores are full of junky stuff to make them look like that. Just keep trying stuff until you find a recipe you like.

    Personally, I like the recipe for cornmeal muffins on the Purity Cornmeal bag. I use acidified milk instead of buttermilk (1 tsp or tbsp - can't remember - of vinegar then top up to 1 c. or whatever it is of milk).

    ALSO - you have to keep in mind where the recipe is from. US cups have 227 mL in them, but Canadian cups have 250 mL. It makes a big difference. I have some dollar/thrift store measuring cups that, as I look at them, they seem a little smaller than my other ones, so I use them for American-sourced recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow... I had no idea, not about mixing, and not about cups. I'll have to go look at my measuring cups now. Not only do I need cooking classes, I also need a new brain....

    ReplyDelete
  3. In case you haven't come across these tips yet:

    Any baked goods with non-yeast leavening in them (i.e. anything with baking soda or powder) need to be mixed as little as possible and put into a good hot oven. Muffins, scones, pancakes, waffles, all fall into this category. It's a chemical reaction that creates the air bubbles, and you want as much of that reaction to happen under great heat, so it will expand quickly and then cook right on the spot rather than bubbling to the top and popping, right?

    Also - the fluffy muffins you see in stores are full of junky stuff to make them look like that. Just keep trying stuff until you find a recipe you like.

    Personally, I like the recipe for cornmeal muffins on the Purity Cornmeal bag. I use acidified milk instead of buttermilk (1 tsp or tbsp - can't remember - of vinegar then top up to 1 c. or whatever it is of milk).

    ALSO - you have to keep in mind where the recipe is from. US cups have 227 mL in them, but Canadian cups have 250 mL. It makes a big difference. I have some dollar/thrift store measuring cups that, as I look at them, they seem a little smaller than my other ones, so I use them for American-sourced recipes.

    ReplyDelete