Have you seen the Muffin Man? Muffin recipes (Baking)

Name: AJ26

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Product:	Baking
Date:	01/02/06 (13951 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tastes great, can adapt for lactose intolerance diets

Disadvantages: The Calories!

Have you seen the muffin man?
The muffin man, the muffin man?
Have you seen the muffin man
Who lives in Drury Lane?


Introduction
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I am a big fan of cakes, having been brought up in a house that was always full of home baking as my mum used to be a cook prior to having children. I guess my favourite cake is chocolate cake but second favourite I think would have to be muffins. Chocolate chip, Double Choc, Lemon and Ginger, Blueberry, Mincemeat, you name it, I have probably tried it. So I thought I would do this review and tell you a little more about the muffin and share with you a few muffin recipes.

The term muffin may have originated from the old French word "moufflet" meaning a soft bread or the German word 'muffe' which is a type of cake. It is important to emphasise that there are two types of muffins, the so-called "English" Muffin and the "American" muffin. The muffins I tend to eat most are the American style. So what is the difference?

English Muffins
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The story behind the muffin is that an English baker called Samuel B. Thomas emigrated from England in 1875 to New York. He opened a bakery and started making muffins based on his mothers tea cake recipe. They were a flat chewy muffin and eventually made their way back over the sea where the English denied ever having muffins. The thought is that Thomas was perhaps an inexperienced baker and only half remembered his mothers recipe for crumpets and so the "English Muffin" was born.

'English Muffins' are about 3 inches round and 1 inch high, they are basically a bread type dough with yeast and are traditionally baked on a griddle. To get the proper texture when split in two they should not be cut with a knife, but should be split with a fork this gives a rougher texture which gives a better result when toasting (I didn't know this before doing some research for this review). They are then traditionally served with butter and jam as an afternoon tea but are now popular for breakfast.

Muffins were most popular during Victorian times when muffin men walked through the streets at teatime, ringing a bell and with their muffins on trays carried on their heads . Apparently in the 1840s the muffin-man's bell was prohibited by Act of Parliament because many people objected to it but this prohibition wasn't successful.


American Muffins
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American style muffins are 'quick breads' made in individual moulds, that is, made with no yeast, but leavened with egg and baking powder. They were not developed until the end of the 18th century. They are made with a batter rather than a dough. They are usually baked in paper cases in mould trays which are deeper than an ordinary bun tray. The American muffin resembles a large cupcake. The secret of making successful American muffins is not to over-stir the mixture doing this will lose the air in the batter and will mean your muffins will not rise.
Muffins remained a basic plain mixture until well into the twentieth Century. There was some variation with bran, blueberry, corn, date, apple, oatmeal then in the 70s and 80s muffin mania arrived further enhanced by the arrival of Starbucks and coffee shops on every street corner. Muffins exploded in size and varieties chocolate, chocolate chip, blueberry, etc.


Recipes
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Most general baking recipe books will have muffin recipes but here are some of my favourites:-

Lemon and Ginger Muffins
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For the mix -
10oz Plain Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
1-2 tsp Ground Ginger
Pinch of Salt
4oz Sugar
1 Egg
Grated Rind of 1 Lemon
300ml Milk
75ml Oil

Icing - 4oz icing sugar and enough lemon juice to make soft but thick consistency.

Method -

Sift flour, baking powder, ginger and salt into bowl.
Stir in suger.
Crack egg into measuring jug, add lemon rind, milk and oil and lightly mix.
Add wet mixture to dry ingredients all at once and stir until blended - DO NOT OVERMIX (there will still be lumps but this is normal).
Spoon into cases filling each 2/3s full. It will make 10-12 large muffins if you have a muffin tray or 20 small muffins in an ordinary bun tray.
Bake in oven for 15-20 mins at Gas Mark 6 (200 degrees centigrade).
Allow to cool in trays for a minute then move onto cooling rack.
Once muffins have cooled slightly blend icing sugar with lemon juice to make a stiff icing and put on top.

These muffins are delicious when eaten hot. They can be frozen but it is best to freeze them before putting on icing. If you have lactose intolerance I have made these muffins with rice milk and taste just the same.

Blueberry Muffins
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9oz Plain Flour
1 tbsp Baking Powder
5oz Sugar
3oz Butter, chilled
1 egg
100ml milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
6oz berries

Preheat oven to 200 degrees centrigrade, Gas Mark 6
Prepare muffin tin with paper cases for 12 muffins
Sift flour and baking powder, add sugar.
Coarsely grate in butter.
Add egg, milk and vanilla essence. Beat together using electric whisk or wooden spoon.
Using a metal spoon gently fold in berries.
Spoon mixture into tin filling just over halfway.
Bake for 20-25mins until golden and well risen.

To make variations see below -

Double Choc - Replace 2Tblsp of flour with 2tblsp of cocoa powder. Add 4oz plain chocolate in place of berries.

Banana and Pecan - Reduce milk to 75ml and add 1 large mashed banana and 2oz chopped nuts.

Honey and Raspberry - Add 6oz raspberries and replace vanilla essence and 2tbsp of milk with 2tbsp of clear honey.



I hope you enjoyed this review, I enjoyed researching it and of course trying out the muffins again just to make sure they were ok, never can be too sure you know!! So have you seen the muffin man?.......

Happy Munching
AJ26 2006

Summary: Muffin recipes, easy to make and taste great.