Who doesn't love a good muffin? But so often, what's served up to us in cafés and commercial bakeries, I think, comes more under the category of bad cake rather than good muffin. A muffin should be light and crumbly. It should break apart easily in your hands. They are ALWAYS best eaten warm too (or at least at room temperature!), definitely not from a fridge!

Muffins seem easy to make but often they don't turn out light and crumbly. They can sometimes be dense and heavy. My biggest tip to avoid this is....don't over mix your batter. A muffin mixture with lumps in it is a good thing. Don't be tempted to mix and mix until it's smooth or you will have little rock cakes! Mix until JUST combined which literally means only until the flour is just incorporated with the wet ingredients. When mixing do it gently and use your spatula to pick the mixture up and under from the very bottom of the bowl and gently fold it over the top. You will only need to do this motion maybe 6 or so times to get it JUST combined.

I always weigh my ingredients for baking. I find it easier and quicker to put the bowl on the scales and just zero (tare) out after adding each one as you go. It's also much more accurate as baking is a far more "exact" science than other types of cooking. A little less or more can make a big difference to the end result.

So let’s try these on for size. A perfect Autumn treat when pears are in season but you could use other fruit at other times of the year - strawberries, cherries or apricots would be lovely with the chocolate in the summer time!

Makes 6 jumbo/Texas muffins

Ingredients
300g self raising flour
100g caster sugar
50g brown sugar
125g butter
140ml buttermilk (at room temp)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 XL eggs (at room temp)
100g good quality dark choc (roughly chopped)
2 small-medium pears (peeled, cored and cut into 6 slices with remainder roughly chopped)

Method:

1. Place the butter, in a medium bowl or jug, into the Combi-Steam. Select Steam. Set the temperature to 50°C. Allow to melt for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and set aside to cool slightly.

2. Select the Combination Steam. Set the temperature to 170°C. (For V-ZUG/Wolf use Hot Air Humid) (For variable Steam set to 20% or low)

3. Combine the flour, sugars and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the chocolate and the chopped pear (reserving the sliced) and combine gently.

4. Line a jumbo/Texas muffin tray with paper cups or grease well with cooking spray.

5. Add the buttermilk and eggs to the melted butter. Use a fork or whisk to combine well.

6. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Use a silicon spatula or a wooden spoon to mix until JUST combined.

7. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins. Place into the Combi-Steam and cook for 18-20 minutes or until golden and just springy when pressed in the centre on top.

8. Leave to cool in tins for 5-10 minutes then remove and cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Best eaten on the day they are made OR use your Regeneration function to warm through if eating in the following days.

Tips:
*recipe will also make 12 regular sized muffins but reduce the cooking time accordingly (around 15 mins)

Happy Combi-Steaming!

Yours in the kitchen,

The CSQ. x