Raspberry white chocolate muffins

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Preheat the oven to 190°C and line twelve muffin cups with paper liners. A fully hot oven from the start makes the batter spring up fast and form tall, round tops. You're ready when the oven has reached temperature and the liners sit flat in each cup.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Melt 100 g unsalted butter over low heat or in the microwave, then let it cool a little while you prepare everything else. Butter that's too hot can scramble the eggs and melt the white chocolate too early. It's ready when it is fully liquid but only feels slightly warm when you touch the side of the bowl.

   Low heat.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   Put 260 g all-purpose flour, 150 g granulated sugar, 10 g baking powder, 1 g baking soda and a pinch salt in a large bowl and whisk them together. Mixing the dry ingredients first spreads the leaveners through the flour, so you won't get bitter spots or big holes. The mixture is ready when it is evenly colored and fluffy.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   In a second bowl, whisk 100 g eggs with 100 g plain unsweetened yogurt, 80 g whole milk, 5 g vanilla extract and the cooled butter. The gentle acidity of the yogurt activates the baking soda and makes the crumb more tender. The wet mix is ready when it is smooth, creamy yellow and free of streaks of egg white.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry ones and use a spatula to fold up from the bottom about fifteen times, stopping while a few small streaks of flour remain. The less you stir, the less gluten forms, which keeps the muffins tender and free of long tunnels. The batter is ready when it is thick, lumpy and a little uneven; it doesn't need to be smooth.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Chop 120 g white chocolate into pea-sized pieces, set a small handful aside for the tops, then add the rest to the bowl with 170 g fresh raspberries and fold two or three times, very gently. Raspberries are delicate, and rough stirring will break them and turn the whole batter pink. You're done when the fruit and chocolate are spread through the batter and most of the berries are still whole.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Use an ice cream scoop or two spoons to divide the batter among the twelve cups, filling them almost to the top of the liners, then sprinkle the reserved white chocolate over the tops. Filling the cups generously lets the muffins rise above the pan into round domes. The cups are ready when the batter is level across all of them and speckled with chocolate on top.

   Mark step 7 as done

8. Step 8

   Bake at 190°C for about 20 to 24 minutes, rotating the pan once after fifteen minutes if your oven heats unevenly. This temperature puffs the tops quickly while giving the centers time to cook through. They're done when the tops are golden brown, spring back when pressed lightly and a skewer pushed into the batter (not into a raspberry) comes out clean.

   Bake at 190°C for about 20 to 24 minutes.

   Mark step 8 as done

9. Step 9

   Leave the muffins in the pan for about five minutes, then lift them onto a wire rack to cool for ten minutes more. A short rest in the pan firms them up so they don't break as you take them out, and moving them to a rack keeps steam from collecting underneath. They're ready when they feel sturdy in your hand and the liners peel away easily.

   Suggested time: about 15 minutes.

   Mark step 9 as done