Corn muffins
Corn muffins have a lightly crisp golden crust and a slightly coarse, delicately sweet crumb full of corn flavor, a beloved side for soups and barbecue in the American South. A touch of honey makes them fragrant and keeps them moist longer, and they're best eaten warm with butter.
- Difficulty
- Very easy
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 18 min
- Rising or chilling
- 10 min
- Total time
- 43 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and brush a twelve-cup muffin pan with a thin layer of butter or line it with paper liners. Cornmeal needs strong heat to give the muffins a crisp golden crust. The oven is ready when the indicator light goes off and you feel a blast of heat when you open the door.
Step 2
Put 85 g unsalted butter in a small saucepan, melt it over low heat, then take it off the heat to cool a little. Butter that is too hot will scramble the eggs when you mix it in. The butter is ready when it is completely liquid and the side of the pan feels just warm.
Step 3
In a large bowl, whisk together 150 g yellow cornmeal, 150 g all-purpose flour, 70 g granulated sugar, 12 g baking powder and a pinch salt. Cornmeal is heavier than flour, so whisk thoroughly to blend the two. The dry mixture is ready when the yellow color is evenly spread with no separate white patches.
Step 4
In another bowl, whisk 100 g eggs with 240 g whole milk and 30 g honey, then pour in the cooled butter and stir quickly. Stirring constantly keeps the butter from firming into specks when it hits the cold milk. The mixture is ready when it is smooth and pale yellow, with no honey left at the bottom.
Step 5
Pour the wet mixture into the center of the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula from the outside in, stopping as soon as no dry flour remains. Cornmeal batter easily turns tough if overmixed. The batter is ready when it is about as thick as a loose porridge and still has a few small lumps on top.
Step 6
Let the batter rest for about ten minutes at room temperature. This gives the cornmeal time to absorb moisture, so the crumb is softer and less gritty. The batter has rested enough when it has thickened slightly and a few small bubbles dot the surface.
Step 7
Spoon the batter into the pan, filling each cup about three-quarters full, and smooth the tops gently with the spoon. Leaving some space lets the muffins rise without spilling over the edges. You've done it right when all the cups are filled to the same level.
Step 8
Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are a glossy golden and the edges pull slightly away from the pan. The short baking time keeps the crumb from drying out. The muffins are done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops spring back when pressed lightly.
Step 9
Let the muffins cool in the pan for five minutes, then take them out and serve them warm. A short rest in the pan firms up the crust so the muffins don't break when lifted. They're ready when a gentle shake of the pan loosens them from the cups on their own.
Equipment
- Oven
- Muffin tin
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Small saucepan
- Wire cooling rack
Tips
- You can stir a small cup of cooked sweet corn kernels or grated cheddar cheese into the batter for extra flavor.
- Baking in a preheated cast-iron pan gives the muffins a crispier bottom than a regular aluminum pan.
- For less sweet muffins to serve with savory dishes, cut back on the sugar and keep the honey the same.
Storage
The muffins are best on the day they're baked. You can keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for two days, or freeze them for up to a month and reheat them in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for about eight minutes.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The muffins are dry and gritty in the mouth.
- The cornmeal was too coarse or the batter didn't rest. Choose a medium-fine cornmeal and let the batter rest a full ten minutes before baking.
- The muffins have flat tops with no dome.
- The baking powder is old or the oven wasn't hot enough. Test the baking powder by dropping some into hot water to see if it fizzes, and wait until the oven is fully heated before putting the muffins in.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
