Make assorted Muffins USING 1 RECIPE
The Ultimate Muffin Recipe
Emma Fontanella’s Assorted Muffins made using one base recipe. Here, from left to right we have blueberry muffins, strawberry muffins, and chocolate chip muffins.
About My Assorted Muffins Recipe
These muffins are soft, delicious and so easy and quick to make - the batter comes together in seconds! With this recipe, you’ll learn how you can easily make assorted flavors all at the same time using one base recipe, so there’s minimal clean up! It's a great way to save time and effort while enjoying a variety of flavors.
This recipe can be found in my cookbook, Simple Pleasures. In the book, you’ll find many more great treats, like Double Chocolate Muffins, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Crackly Top Brownies, and my signature Melt-In-Your-Mouth Italian Lemon Cookies.
The method in this recipe is based on the way we make many different flavors of muffins in bakeries. In a professional setting, we need to produce hundreds or even thousands of muffins a day, in many different flavors.
It’s not practical to start from scratch for every flavor. So, we make base batters, and adapt them for different needs.
These muffins are perfect for parties, get togethers, graduations, bake sales. The method will let you to cater to the different taste preferences of your family and friends without having to prepare multiple muffin batters. The best part is, they freeze beautifully, so you can make a batch ahead of time, and pull out individual muffins whenever you like.
Having said that, make sure you try at least one while they’re still warm out of the oven - they’re unbelievable that way!
Using one base muffin recipe, you can make endless different flavors. The only limit is your imagination, so have fun creating different flavors!
Using Only Pantry Staple Ingredients
These are muffins are made using only pantry staples. So, you can easily bake a batch whenever you feel a muffin craving!
My muffin recipe is designed to just use only pantry staples, like flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, butter and milk. There are no special ingredients here — you’ll see many recipes that call for ingredients like yogurt or buttermilk that you might not have on hand.
Baking using pantry staples is one of the key themes of my cookbook. I really want people to be able to open up their store cupboard and fridge, and bake something delicious using ingredients they always have to hand.
I don’t know about you, but I find it annoying when recipes call for ingredients that I’m not going to use often. They either sit in a cupboard unused for years, or if they’re fresh ingredients, the leftovers end up getting thrown away. So, whenever possible, I design my recipes to only use pantry staples.
What’s the secret to a good muffin?
There are a couple of secrets to making good bakery style muffins. First, to get that iconic muffin top, start by baking at a high temperature for a few minutes. This activates the baking powder which starts the muffins growing quickly. Then, reduce the temperature for the rest of baking. Second, dust the add-ins (like blueberries or chocolate chips) with flour to prevent them sinking to the bottom during baking.
Are muffins healthier than cupcakes?
The short answer is yes. The reason is that cupcakes are usually covered in sugary frosting, whereas muffins aren’t. Of course, they’re not a health food, but they are delicious!
What flavor muffins can you make?
In this recipe, I give you detailed instructions that make it easy to make muffins using fresh fruit, chocolate, nuts and seeds, and mixtures of flavors. So, you can make your favorite muffins easily, like: blueberry; chocolate chip; lemon poppy seed; chocolate chunk; apple cinnamon; raspberry and white chocolate; strawberry; and cinnamon streusel.
You can easily make different flavor muffins in a single tray. See the detailed instructions below.
With my method, you can even make all of those in a single try of muffins! So, get creative, and have fun experimenting creating new flavors. The only limit is your imagination!
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 minutes, plus 20 minutes cooling
Yield: 12 muffins
EQUIPMENT
12-cup muffin tin
Paper liners
INGREDIENTS
2½ cups (350g) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (150g) granulated white sugar
3 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
12 tbsp (1½ sticks / 180g) unsalted butter, melted
2 medium eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (240g) whole milk, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
The way I’ve organised these instructions is to give you the base (plain) muffin recipe. Then, give you instructions after that for how to make different kinds of flavors using chocolate, fruit etc.
So, please look at the instructions for the flavor you want to make e.g. blueberry muffins, before you start making the base batter. That way, you’ll put the add-ins in at the right time!
For The Base Flavor Muffins
Step 1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line the cups of the muffin tin with paper liners.
Step 2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 3. Mix the wet ingredients. In another large bowl, whisk together the warm melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
Step 4. Make the batter. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix well.
Note: this is the point where you’ll add most of your add-ins, like fruit, chocolate chips, or nuts. See details in the section “To Make Different Flavors”.
Look for a smooth batter, but don't overmix. Transfer the batter into the prepared muffin pan, dividing it evenly among the cups. Make sure to fill the paper liners all the way to the top to get that signature "muffin top."
Note: If you want to create different flavors in a single tray, you can divide up the batter into separate bowls before adding the mix-ins. Or, you can even add the mix-ins directly to the plain batter in the liners (see photo below).
If you want, you can add the mix-ins to individual muffins. That way, you can create as many different flavors in a single batch as you want.
Step 5. Bake the muffins.
Doing the toothpick test to check the muffins are baked perfectly. It’s important not to overbake muffins!
Bake for 5 minutes at 400°F (200°C), and then lower the oven temperature to 320°F (160°C). Continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes more.
The total baking time for the muffins will be 15 to 20 minutes-be careful not to overbake them. Do the toothpick test. If the toothpick comes out clean, the muffins are ready.
Step 6. Serve. Allow the muffins to sit in the pan for about 2 minutes, then carefully remove them from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes or the paper liners will stick to the muffins.
Enjoy the muffins warm or at room temperature.
To Make Different Flavors
Here I give you instructions for creating different flavor muffins using the base batter, above.
For strawberry, raspberry or other fresh fruits, follow the instructions for adding the blueberries.
For combinations of add-ins, for example, raspberry and white chocolate, half the amount of each seperate add-in.
Dust The Mix-Ins With Flour
Dusting the mix-ins (here strawberry, chocolate chip, and blueberry) with flour to stop them sinking to the bottom during baking.
Make sure to dust your mix-ins with flour. That will stop them sinking to the bottom during baking.
See how dusting the mix-ins with flour, in this case, blueberries, allows them to be even distributed throughout the muffin. If you don’t do this, they will almost always sink to the bottom during baking.
Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dust 7 ounces (200g) of chocolate chips in 1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour. (For other types of chocolate, cut it into chunks).
After combining the wet and dry ingredients in Step 4, add the chocolate chips to the batter, and mix gently to distribute them.
Use the same technique for working with nuts and seeds.
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry muffins. One of my favorites!
Add the finely grated zest of 2 lemons to the wet ingredients in Step 3.
Dust 1½ cups (200g) of fresh blueberries with 1 teaspoon of flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.
After combining the wet and dry ingredients in step 4, add the blueberries to the batter and mix gently to distribute them.
(For other fruits, e.g. strawberries, consider cutting the fruit into pieces before adding to the batter.)
Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
Add ½ tablespoon of ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients in Step 2. Before baking, top the muffins with streusel topping (see below).
To make the streusel topping, in a medium bowl, combine ¾ cup (115g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (100g) granulated white sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add 6 tablespoons (85g) cold butter, cut into small pieces.
Using your fingers, rub this mixture between your hands until crumbs form. Distribute the topping evenly over the muffins before baking.
MAKE AHEAD & FREEZE
When cool, store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Or, put the muffins in a ziplock bag, and freeze them. They freeze beautifully!
Watch the video for more tips
Hi! I’m Emma Fontanella. Here you’ll find trusted, tested recipes to satisfy your baking addiction and carb cravings. Learn more…
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