The Revival of the Muffin: An Essay

The muffin has gone through an identity crisis.  As a little kid, I remember thinking about muffins in a very positive light.  Even if they didn't appear on your kitchen table, I bet you could've pictured them piled high in a woven basket, lined with patterned kitchen towel, studded generously with seasonal fruits.  They were a regular member of the breakfast and brunch archetype.  Who wouldn't want a fresh-from-the-oven small baked good, that boasted a combination of delicate sweetness, rusticity, nostalgia, and happiness?  Oh, how the muffin would eventually lose its way.

I can't tell you how many swim meets I saw those disgusting, gigantic, dense, warehouse store "muffins".  You know which ones I'm talking about.  They were about the size of your face, and they came in flavors like lemon poppyseed, chocolate, and banana nut.  Then coincidently, I remember hearing things like "muffins aren't good for you.  They have so much sugar and fat."  Well, that's because the commercial muffins around back then, were cake!  Not very good cake, but they were still cakes, not muffins.  Muffins are a quick bread, which traditionally means less fat and less sugar than cake (read more about the differences here).  I mean, I love cake, but wrapping it with a giant paper muffin wrapper and calling it breakfast doesn't mean you should eat a pound of it everyday.

If the late 90s ushered in the bastardization of the muffin, then the second stake in the muffin coffin (moffin?) was the similar-looking, but very distant cousin, the cupcake.  Without ranting for too long, I can at least acknowledge the majestic rise of the cupcake from elementary school birthday parties to tiered wedding displays.  Many thought: "Why would you ever want a muffin if you can have a cupcake?"  So many cake flavors, so many frostings, and so many combinations of the two.  The millennial expectation for a higher quality product, instant gratification, variety and indulgence, not just in food, but in everything, manifested itself perfectly in the cupcake.  Now that's a lot of pressure on one, tiny baked good.  Which explains why the cupcake supernova of the last decade inevitably collapsed into a black hole (just like frozen yogurt).  So, who should rise from this pile of metaphorical ashes and crumbs?  My nomination: the muffin.  

I'm not saying we should completely do away with cupcakes.  They are essentially a wonderful baked good, but perhaps a bit of withdrawal will help us appreciate them fully again.  I'm also not saying we should put the muffin on a pedestal, it's a muffin for crying out loud.  What I am saying, is that it's time you show the true muffin the respect it deserves.  If you need something easy, fast, portable, small, and customizable, then look no further.  It needs no special treatment or recognition, just a place at the table.

Cranberry Muffins

Note: This is an adaptation of Alton Brown's Old-School Muffin Recipe, from I'm Just Here for More Food

Ingredients:

Dry:

2 cups flour  (270g)

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet:
1/2 cup of vegetable oil or melted butter (112g) [or a combination of the two]
3/4 cup sugar (150g) [go with 1/2 cup (100g) if using fruits that are sweet on their own]

2 eggs

3/4 cup plain yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk (170g)  [I only had 1/2 cup of yogurt so I just topped it off with regular milk]

     

Mix-ins:

1 - 1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh cranberries (100-150g) [substitute other berries, sunflower seeds, chopped apple, etc.]

Tools: Large mixing bowl, medium mixing bowl, whisk, spatula, measuring cups or scale, measuring spoons, muffin tin

Directions:

0. Pre-heat oven to 350°F

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk to combine.

2. Combine all wet ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.  Whisk to comine.

3. Pour wet ingredients into dry.  Using a spatula, gently mix batter until most of the flour is incorporated.  Do not over mix!  You still have to add the cranberries.

4. Add in the cranberries, mix just until they are distributed throughout the batter.

5. Spray muffin pan, or line with paper liners.  Portion muffin batter evenly.  The batter expands, but not as much as you'd think.  You can fill them almost all the way to the top.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating after 10 minutes.  Muffins are done when the tops are lightly golden brown, and they spring back when touched.

7.  Allow them to cool by dislodging them from the pan.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.

The Verdict: A lovely, not-too-sweet and tart breakfast treat bursting with color.  I personally like less sweet breakfast items because then you have a good excuse for jam or lemon curd.  These muffins would also work well with diced apple or blueberries and peaches in summer (just reduce the sugar a bit).  You can even replace 1/2 of the flour with whole wheat for more texture.

Even if you don't get around to making a batch, I hope you see the muffin in a different light.  Enjoy!

Some Like It Hot

I'm not one of those people.  After leaving California's Central Valley (90-105 F summers) for more temperate climates further south in LA area (70-80 F year round), my ability to cope with uncomfortable heat evaporated.  Then, what little heat adaptability I had left completely disappeared when I later moved to the SF Bay area (65 F in July).  The one thing that has remained constant across geography and time, is my ability to consume large amounts of ice cream regardless of air temperature.  It is a talent I inherited from my father and a skill I've continued to hone over the decades through rigorous and focused training.    

So given that today is one of the hottest days so far since moving to Philly I decided I should make some ice cream.  Then I decided, since I'd probably eat all of it, I should make sherbet.  Plus, milk is cheaper, sherbet is faster, and I have bigger plans for the pint of cream sitting in my fridge.  

Technically these are pluots, but let's not get too snobby.

I decided on Plum Buttermilk Sherbet.  After Googling for a bit, I triangulated a loose approach to throwing a batch together, but I wouldn't say it was a recipe per se.  A recipe for a frozen delight can be easier to develop than say, a cake recipe, but you still have to balance several factors.  And, I'm not talking just about taste, though that is clearly important, I'm talking about getting the right texture once it's frozen.  I've seen freshly churned ice cream enter a freezer and I've seen both concrete bricks and slushies exit a few hours later (none of mine...I swear). So here is a quick run down on the usual suspects without getting too technical.

1. Sugar: A higher proportion of sugar lowers the freezing point of the mix.  You put too much sugar in, it will not freeze properly.  Too little and you've got an ice cube, or a popsicle, which fortunately is also delicious.

2. Fat: Fats have high freezing points.  Just think about what happens when you put some oils in the fridge, they harden.  So, too much fat may lead to an ice cream that may be too hard and chalky...and will probably feel fatty on the roof of your mouth.  

3. Alcohol:  Anti-freeze is made of alcohol, so besides flavoring your frozen treat, all that rum/vodka/bourbon also makes it softer.  Too much liquor can make it a slushy, so don't get too boozy if you want something scoopable.

4. Thickeners:  This one is weird, I realize, but hear me out.  Good texture is mainly dominated by small ice crystal size.  A thicker sorbet base will keep some of the ice crystals from getting too big as the mixture hardens in the freezer.  These more viscous bases can incorporate more air (think apple sauce versus apple juice), and more air means a more frothy or "creamier" scoop.  This is especially important for sorbets which--gasp--sometimes contain egg whites or gelatin for increased creaminess and improved texture.  The story gets more complicated with custard-based ice cream because of more milk solids, fat, egg yolk etc.  That's for another time, we don't want anyone falling asleep now.

5. Water:  All of the components listed above, in essence, allow you to tweak the way water freezes.  So if you want the opposite affect of everything above, add more water.  Clearly this dilutes flavor, use sparingly.

With all that in our apron pocket, time to mix!

Put it all in the blender and use a scale
...no washing measuring cups and spatulas!

A little corn syrup is not evil (more viscosity = better texture)

After tasting over and over again while slowly adding
the sugar (the little triangle symbol), this is the "recipe"

A few pinches = Flavor Country

Side note: I once heard a savory chef who was moonlighting as a pastry chef say that "Vanilla is the 'salt' of the pastry world" and he added vanilla to EVERYTHING.  I now know where he got it, and I love & respect David Lebovitz, but I don't think that line is true.  Vanilla is very useful, but salt is the 'salt' of the pastry world, and if used properly, it will enhance most desserts.  

If you don't have this texture in 15-20 minutes of
churning in a home machine...something is wrong.

Done! About 23 minutes for me.

The Results:  Tasty and scoopable.  A little on the sweeter side of perfect, which also put it on the softer side as well, but it paired well with some fresh blueberries.  Texture is light and creamy, and the buttermilk provided nice acidity.

Verdict: I'd make it again, but I'd employ a few tweaks.  You could add another 2-3 tart plums to balance the sugar and add more color.  If you don't like things too sweet, and don't mind the alcohol, you could probably cut 50-75g of sugar and add 1T of vodka.  

Alright, back to training...

Restarting my kitchen (blog)

Davao Gulf, Philippines

After traveling over two oceans this summer, moving thousands of miles across the country, and unpacking countless illegibly labeled boxes, I was finally able to bake in my new home today.  

Of course I couldn't get started until my groceries were delivered.  Yes, I know, for shame.  I am unwilling, and probably unable, to carry 20 pounds of sugar and flour more than four blocks.  So FreshDirect, I thank you, and sorry you had to dodge the Philadelphia parking authority a few times.  

The delivery guy said the parking authority lady was lying in wait behind some bushes...watch out.

I don't plan on having fruits and vegetables delivered because the value just isn't there, but when it comes to fully stocking one's baking arsenal, it really is a no brainer, especially with the waived delivery fee for first time customers.  It's super easy to order, and they have a better selection than you'd expect, especially for cheese!  (I picked up some Rouge et Noir brie, anyone want to party?)  Alright, enough plugging the delivery guys and admitting laziness on my part.  To the baking!

After pinging my food partner in crime, Liz, for an idea that didn't require too many fancy ingredients, she suggested pound cake.  Ah, a perfect baking season opener.  

I already had a recipe in mind that I had found last week while trolling on MarthaStewart.com's blackberry recipe album.  However, since good blackberries are hard to find, and bad ones are truly disgusting and painfully disappointing, I went with raspberries. Plus they were super cheap at TJs this week--bonus!

The Original Recipe: Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Blackberry-Swirl Poundcake

Tweaks: 
1. Raspberries for Blackberries
2. No sour cream on hand, replaced with 50/50 buttermilk/greek yogurt
3. Added zest of one lemon

Method: Basic Creaming, alternating dry and wet ingredients, fold in berry puree 

Notes & Tips:  
1. When zest is called for in a recipe, add it to the creaming step.  The friction of the sugar will draw out more oils (flavor) than if you add it later on.

Make life easy on yourself, and your mixer, and use room temp butter

2. If you have a stick or hand blender use that instead of food processor for the berry puree.  Less cleanup & faster.

I almost abandoned the whole project to eat this straight with a spoon

3. Typically poundcake has very little chemical leavener, in this case baking powder, because the main leavening action is the physical aeration that occurs during the creaming step.  Plus it's supposed to have a denser crumb by tradition.  The 1/4 teaspoon listed in this recipe is "insurance", and unnecessary as long as you beat the crap out of the room temperature butter and sugar.  It should be fluffy and white before adding the eggs.  Once the eggs are in, no more aeration.

Fairly even crumb.  Not bad.

The Results: A well-textured cake, slightly dense like you'd expect a poundcake to be, but not too dense, and definitely not dry.  I appreciated that it wasn't too sweet either.  I think it would make a good gift and would pair well with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for a true dessert.  Also, if you wanted to be super efficient (read: lazy) you could probably use any loose or thinned jam in place of fresh fruit puree.

Verdict: I'd make it again.  Maybe next time with cranberries and orange zest.  

And Sean, who usually gravitates more towards chocolately items, even tried it.

Back in April, I distinctly remember thinking I wasn't going to feel at home until I stopped living out of suitcases and was able to make something in an oven.  I have to say, I haven't fully acclimatized to everything in Philly (the humidity, no car, nighttime swimming, um...more humidity), but it's starting to feel pretty good otherwise.

Roma!