Orange and Cardamom Muffin Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist muffins? ›

Chilling your muffin batter overnight in the fridge is the BEST thing you can do for amazing muffins. It makes them more moist, tender, and TALLER! It's very similar to chilling cookie dough, which if you know me you know I'm obsessed with chilling cookie dough.

Baking soda is most commonly used in cookie and muffin recipes. Baking powder, however, already contains an acid and a base and has a more neutral taste, which works great when baking cakes and bread.

The best bakery-style crumb muffins start with cake flour

Cake flour is more finely ground and has less protein, which leaves the muffins with a fine, light crumb and soft texture. Using cake flour is an easy way to avoid heavy, dense muffins even if you end up stirring just a bit too much. What is this?

If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

Rest the Muffin Batter

The first, most hands-off way to make your muffins pop (literally) is to let the batter rest. Make the batter, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the batter rest at room temperature for about 1 hour. If you're short on time, just 30 minutes can make a difference.

I suggest baking your muffins at 400 F. I know most muffin recipes (including the ones I have used previously) all tell us to preheat our ovens to between 325-375 F. That heat range is just not enough. While it will surely cook your muffins, it will not give you the full rise that you want.

That being said, the standard oven temperature for baking desserts like quick breads and muffins is commonly set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Setting your oven to this temperature will almost always produce a well-cooked muffin recipe.

Lemon Juice + Baking Soda

For every teaspoon of baking powder in your recipe, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to the dry ingredients and ½ teaspoon of lemon juice to the wet ingredients. You don't need to reduce the wet ingredients for this method, as you are only adding a very small amount.

Should you beat eggs before adding to muffin mix? ›

Basic Muffins

Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Scrape down and add the eggs one at a time. Beat until light and completely combined. The mixture may curdle but will be corrected when the flour is added.

Depending on what ingredients you're using, the batter will range from runny (like thin cake batter) to very thick (like drop-cookie dough). As a general rule, the thinner the batter, the lighter the muffins will be when baked. But don't be afraid to bake thick, gloppy batter.

Getting the right texture in your muffins partially comes from getting a good rise. Overmixing batter can inhibit that, ending with dense muffins instead of fluffy. This happens when you mix for too long. It can destroy air bubbles that are necessary for a light and airy texture (via The Kitchn).

The right amount of butter or oil, or a combination of both, is important to get a moist muffin. This fat is essential for producing a beautifully moist muffin with a tender crumb - so don't reduce the amount stated in the recipe.

Use a steamer. Steaming is a great way to add moisture to past-their-prime muffins. And according to a TikTok user, you should also be steaming your muffins when you bake them since the hot air and steam allow more time for the centers to rise, resulting in tender and airy muffins.