corn muffins

(Date: 5 Feb 2012)
The 24th recipe in 2013. It's also the second recipe I used from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller. Again, it's a muffin recipe with the batter sitting overnight in order to hydrate the flour. I didn't control the temperature well -- my oven seems to be getting dodgier with more unstable temperature these days. Could be a sign of ageing? But the resulting muffins are still very moist and soft.

The original recipe is "Corn Muffins" from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller. Basically I've followed the recipe quite closely except the following minor changes: (1) I only used two-thirds of the recipe and have made smaller muffin tin, (2) I've reduced the sugar amount from 90g to 75g, (3) Sea salt & sunflower oil had been used instead of kosher salt and canola oil, (4) I prepared the batter without using a hand mixer to prevent over-mixing.


What I used? (for 6 medium muffins, about 78g each)
134g plain flour
34g cornflour
8g (1.5tsp, slightly heaped) baking powder
75g granulated sugar
4.8g (1 tsp, slightly heaped) sea salt
112g whole milk 2 large eggs
1 UK-medium/large egg (57g, shelled)
60ml sunflower oil
48g frozen sweetcorn kernels

What I did?
Place the flour in the bowl. Sift in the cornflour and baking powder. Add the sugar and salt and mix very gently for about 15 seconds to combine. / Add the milk and egg. Mix gently for about 30 seconds, just until combined. / Slowly pour in the oil, then beat for about 30 seconds to combine. / Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all the dry ingredients that may be stuck to the bottom. / Fold in the corn. / Transfer the batter to a covered container and refrigerate overnight (or up to 36 hours). / When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200C (fan-forced oven), and line a medium 6-cup muffin tin with liners. / Spoon the batter into the cups about 80% full. / Place the pan in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 180C, and then lower to 160C after 6 minutes. Bake for a total of 27 minutes, or until muffins are lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. / When done, place the pan on a cooling rack and cool muffins completely.

What I felt?
Very moist and tasty. As the author has pointed out that this batter is slightly sweet (and it's an American recipe! Slightly sweet probably translates to very sweet or too sweet to swallow for Asians), I have reduced the sugar content by almost 20%. The muffins turned out to be just slightly sweet even but more closer to the savoury side. It's not as light as the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins I made few days ago neither. But I think its related to the sugar reduction. One thing that I am not happy with are the weird shapes of the muffins. I think it's because my oven was too hot so the whole top has been done way too soon, and hence the muffins got some ugly uneven rises. If I make this or other Thomas Keller's recipes again, I'll preheat at 190C and immediately lower it down to 160 once I place the pan in.

How good was it? 8/10. Although it's not as light as the Lemon Poppy Seed muffins, I like this one too. It's still very moist and tasty, way better than other non-TK muffin recipes I've used before, including the famous American Test Kitchen's one. Another plus is the oil and sugar contents of this muffin is not that high, it feels healthier and I can enjoy them with less guilt.

How easy was it? 10/10. Very easy. Because it didn't even ask you to grate lemon zest or toast nuts.

How economical was it? 10/10. Very economical. As it doesn't use nuts, seeds or zest, it is among the cheapest muffins we can make at home.

Will I make this again? Maybe. If I really make this again, I'll want to double the amount of corn kernels. But I am tempted to try this recipe with frozen petit pois peas too... feeling a bit adventurous now...