Savory cheese muffins
Unlike the familiar sweet kind, savory cheese muffins are rich with cheddar and Parmesan, with a hint of scallion and black pepper. The tops are covered in crisp baked cheese, while the inside is soft, fluffy and a little stretchy while still warm. They're great for breakfast with eggs, alongside soup or packed as a snack.
- Difficulty
- Very easy
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 22 min
- Rising or chilling
- 10 min
- Total time
- 47 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
For the batter
Cheese for the topping
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C and generously butter twelve muffin cups, or use nonstick liners. Melted cheese sticks to the pan very easily, so thorough greasing lets you get the muffins out in one piece. The pan is ready when every nook has a thin layer of butter.
Step 2
Grate 120 g cheddar for the batter and set aside 30 g cheddar separately for the topping, have 30 g grated Parmesan ready and finely chop 20 g scallions. Finely shredded cheese melts evenly through the crumb instead of pooling in lumps. You're ready when the cheese is in loose shreds and the scallions are well drained.
Step 3
Mix 250 g all-purpose flour with 12 g baking powder, 10 g granulated sugar, a pinch salt and a pinch ground black pepper, then toss in the cheese and scallions. Coating the cheese in flour keeps it from clumping and spreads it throughout the muffins. The mixture is ready when every shred of cheese has a thin white coating of flour.
Step 4
Melt 80 g unsalted butter and let it cool slightly, then whisk it with 100 g eggs and 220 g whole milk in a separate bowl. Cooled butter keeps the cheese from melting before it goes into the oven. The mixture is ready when it's uniform and pale yellow, with no bits of solidified butter.
Step 5
Pour the wet mixture into the cheesy flour and fold a few times with a spatula, just until all the flour is moistened. The less you mix savory muffin batter, the more tender the muffins, so stop once there's no dry flour left. The batter is ready when it's thick and lumpy, with orange-gold shreds of cheese still clearly visible.
Step 6
Spoon the batter into the cups to fill them, sprinkle the reserved cheddar over the tops and add a few scallions too if you like. The cheese on top melts and bakes into a crisp, fragrant crust. You're done when all the cups are evenly filled and the tops are covered with cheese.
Step 7
Bake at 200°C for about 18 to 22 minutes, until the muffins have risen high and the cheese on top is bubbling and golden brown. High heat gives a crisp outside while the inside stays moist and soft. They're done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out free of wet batter, perhaps with a little melted cheese on it.
Step 8
Let the muffins rest in the pan for about five minutes, then run a thin knife around the edges to lift them out and serve them warm. A short wait lets the cheese on top set so the muffins don't stick or tear when you remove them. They're ready when the cheese crust is firm and crisp and the muffins slide easily out of the pan.
Equipment
- Oven
- Muffin tin
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Mixing bowl
- Kitchen scale
- Wire cooling rack
Tips
- Add some chopped pan-fried bacon or sweet corn to the batter to turn these into a more complete breakfast.
- Saltiness varies by cheese, so taste a shred of cheddar first and cut back on the salt if it's already strongly flavored.
- A pinch of sweet paprika or dry mustard stirred into the flour makes the cheese flavor stand out even more.
Storage
The muffins are best warm, but because of the cheese, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Before serving, warm them at 170°C for about eight minutes to re-crisp the cheese crust.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The muffins stick firmly to the pan.
- Melted cheese has glued itself to the sides of the cups. Grease the pan more thoroughly or use liners, and run a knife around the edges while the muffins are still warm.
- The muffins taste too salty.
- The cheese was salty enough on its own, so the added salt was too much. Next time, halve the salt or use unsalted butter and unsweetened milk.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
