Mountain High Muffins
Song: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye
I might not be a master in creating gourmet dessert or haute cuture cuisine, but I may humbly say that I rarely fail in baking mountain high muffins, no matter what recipe I used. I guess it’s a gift? Noooo, no, no, no, no. You can tackle any muffin recipe as long as you grasp the basic principles of muffin baking, ones I would like to share with you on this cloudy monday.
- Do not be confused by different methods.
There are two kind of methods I know: the classic method, one that tells you to pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir them just until moistened, creating lumpy batter; and the one you whip with electric mixer while hot, creating a batter similar to pancake’s, I call this Ruri’s method (’coz Ruri introduced this method to me).
Both methods work fine. They’re just slightly different in texture. The first method creates crumbly texture, while the other one creates spongy texture. You just have to try both to decide which ones you like the best. - The dynamic duo: leavener and temperature
These two things are the essentials in rising the muffin in the oven and create those high mounds we love. So make sure the leavener is fresh and works well (baking powder and or baking soda), and your oven is very hot to work sparingly with the leavener. Preheat your oven at high temperature (200-220 Celcius degree) for at least 15 minutes before the actual baking. After you put your muffin in the oven, you can adjust the temperature as needed.
If you’re using electric oven, use BOTH UPPER AND LOWER HEAT. This is important, because one of the reasons why muffins refuse to rise high is because the upper area of the oven is not as hot as the lower area. Therefore, make sure your oven heats evenly. - No tapping, please
Do not tap the pan. While sponge cake batter needs to be tapped once in a pan to eliminate any excess bubles and spread the needed buble evenly in the cake, it is NOT the same case with muffin. It needs no tapping, it even hates tapping! On the other hand,….it needs the batter to be mounded up in the middle. - Mound up your batter
The fastest and easiest way to do this is using the pastry bag/piping bag, otherwise you can use ice cream scoop or two spoons (thanks, Liz). Drop the batter right in the middle of each muffin hole and let it spread itself from there. Classic method muffin will create the mound alright, but Ruri’s method will create flat batter. That’s alright, do not panic. As long as you drop the batter right in the middle of each hole, we’re gonna be okay. - Fill it up
Fill your muffin tins full to the upper rim. It’s not cupcake, remember? We need our muffin to be high, so it needs all the batter available in one tiny cup to rise and rise more. Don’t worry about the batter would spill. The batter on the rim would have been baked already and become a firm guard when the middle starts to rise, forcing the batter to break through the middle, creating the mound you want. In fact, if you have like 1 cup batter left, do not use it to fill another cup. Instead, use it to add a little bit extra batter to each hole. Once again mind you, drop it right in the middle. - With a little help from the steam
Try not fill all the cups with batter. Leave one empty, and instead, fill it halfway with water. The steam will help the batter rise even better. Do not fill it too full, unless you’re ready for water splashing tragedy.
If you already filled them all, well, don’t be discouraged. Your muffins will be okay still. You can always experiment anytime you want. - Oh, so hot!
By the time you reach this stage, your oven should be very hot, both upper and lower area. That’s good. Now, put the pan on the middle rack of the oven and set the actual temperature. Mind the rule of thumb: the smaller the food, the faster it should be baked, therefore the hotter the temperature should be. The bigger the food, the longer it should be baked, therefore the cooler the temperature should be. My magic numbers are 200 Celcius degree for 15 minutes for mini muffins, and 180 Celcius degree for 20 minutes for large muffins. You know your oven better, so you know what to do. - Watch it rise
Check your muffins about 2-3 minutes before it’s done and watch them rise high. High, high up in the sky! Test with skewer, and take it out from the oven. DO NOT OVERBAKED or they will turn out dry. Let it cool on the rack. Wrap individually to ensure their freshness.
Muffin batter in Ruri’s method. Left: Before adding the eggs. Right: After adding the eggs.
Ain’t no mountain high enough,
ain’t no river wild enough,
ain’t no valley low enough,
to keep me from getting to you, babe..
— Marvin Gaye
Disclaimer: even though these principles are tested through time, most of them are my personal preferences and might only work for me though. So don’t come crying if your muffins still turn out flat or merely mounded. Maybe you just have to learn harder.
About the muffins:
- Chocolate muffins: adapted from Eliza’s muffin recipe
- Other muffins: adapted from various recipes, including Ruri’s.
Flickr’s tag: muffin
Comment by Ari (Baking and Books) — December 12, 2006 @ 5:21 am
Fantastic five star post! I really loved this one, I may even use it as my excuse to do even MORE baking before I leave for Israel. Maybe I can take some muffins on the plane, mmmm….
Bookmarked!
Comment by ruri — December 12, 2006 @ 7:40 am
muah muah muah….
tengkyu banget udah bikin detail kayak begini
banyak yang nanya ama gw kok muffin gw gak ngembang lah, keras lah, de el el es be deh
ntar gw suruh pada ngintip postingan loe ini ya…
tengkyu haneeehhh….
miss you neh
Comment by yanti — December 12, 2006 @ 11:23 am
kyaaaa…. posting ini top banget!!!
salam kenal Mbak Riana
. aku sering mampir ke sini tapi ga pernah komen, cuma nyerap ilmunya doang 
. makasih banget ya..
Comment by small cookie — December 12, 2006 @ 2:49 pm
wow I love tall muffins! going to give it a try. BTW, I love your disclaimer. LOLz
Comment by small cookie — December 12, 2006 @ 2:51 pm
sorry, can you help me to translate Ruri’s method. thanks.
Comment by eliza — December 12, 2006 @ 10:57 pm
gue liatin kalo ngisi muffin-nya sampe 3/4 penuh, hasilnya munjung ya? gemes liat foto2nya abis pada endut2 & merekah gitu
Comment by rita — December 13, 2006 @ 3:43 am
SAlam kenal mbak duh….. itu muffin make me hungry mbak. Ajarin donk mbak hehehehe
Comment by adelena — December 13, 2006 @ 4:15 am
aduh, ngiler banget liat muffinnya mba….
disaat-saat aku sedang terdampar in the middle of nowhere kayak gini, rasanya nggak nolak banget-banget kalo dikasih yang kayak ginian…. salam kenal mba riana….
Comment by rita — December 13, 2006 @ 10:23 am
allow Riana..I love this post !……
*ngacir mo bikin muffin…..*
Comment by desy — December 13, 2006 @ 1:36 pm
slurrpp lapeer niech mbak, kliatannya enyak yo, bagiin resepnya yo
Comment by nYam — December 13, 2006 @ 3:19 pm
bener-bener bikin kelaparan
*colek-colek suami minta beliin mixer*
Comment by retma — December 13, 2006 @ 9:19 pm
Oooh, jd begitu yah?? Hm… aku jd tau beberapa kesalahanku. Hehehee:) termasuk panas oven ituh. Yg ditambahi telur kok bisa gitu ya Ri?? Aku kenapa kalo bikin suka pada ke atas semua adonannya?
Pernah enggak sih, tp seringnya pada ke atas semua. Jd dimikser syusah. kenapa?
Comment by maR — December 14, 2006 @ 7:58 pm
Riana,
Salam kembali. Thank you for posting this up. And especially thank you for those beautiful photos!
Comment by farida — December 15, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
Mbak… itu muffin atasnya ditaburin apaan yak?
kacang ya? kok bisa nempel? dilapisi apaan dulu sih?
Comment by maruko — December 15, 2006 @ 7:51 pm
mbak sebenarnya saya sendiri kurang bisa membedakan cupcake ama muffin………..dan saya kurang suka juga ama muffin,tapiiii mbak riana begitu liat foto muffin mbak yg no.7 merekah dgn manisnya ,saya udah nggak bisa menahan diri untuk mencoba bikin ……sangatttt menarik dan mengiurkan………..bawaannya pingin gigit tuh muffin……..
Comment by Sandi @ the WhistleStop Cafe — December 19, 2006 @ 3:16 am
Rocky Mountain High, I’ve seen it raining fire in the sky…John Denver
Love your pictures, glad I found your blog. Stop by sometime!
Comment by tita — December 19, 2006 @ 12:09 pm
Mbak…salam kenal ya…
sejujurnya aq blom pernah bikin muffin, padahal dirumah udah bli loyang muffin udah lama banget..cuma blom pe-de , minta izin untuk nyobain resepnya boleh ya mbak..
trims
tita
Comment by shinta — December 21, 2006 @ 6:42 pm
Mbak Riii,
Seperti biasa, ulasan dan foto-mu prof abiss… Aku juga sering bikin muffin, dan oven-ku yang high temper itu emang cocok dengan resep2 muffin, jadinya semua menjulang as mountain high, haduuh bahasanya… BTW, itu muffin coklat, slurrppp bangets ga seeh… Kepengen!
Comment by retma — December 27, 2006 @ 6:17 pm
**garuk-garuk kepala** Masalahnya begini. Itu adonan, waktu butter masuk sih oke2 ajah Ri. Yang jadi masalah itu setelah telur masuk. Nah, mulai manjat deh. Makin tambah telur, adonan makin manjat. Ihikz… ihikz…
Gini deh. Dikau waktu nambahin telur, itu adonan bener2 dah dingin, suam2 kuku, atau masih anget agak panas. Hihihihi. Suhu ngaruh kagak? Thx yah… :p
Comment by lori — March 13, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
Hi, this is my first time here. Super helpful tips that you have here. Thanks for sharing. I’ll keep them in mind the next time I bake muffins. BTW, I read your About Me, and having lived in Indonesia (Jakarta) for 7 years, I sure don’t think that it’s a retarded country. And yes, you guys have AWESOME food!
Comment by zao — July 16, 2007 @ 3:56 pm
hi thx for the interesting pics and techniques !
i really love them, hey can anyone here recommend me some good ovens for baking muffins?
e.g. the brand name, some function specifications etc.
thank you !
hope to hear from you all soon !
Comment by Indri — July 20, 2007 @ 9:35 am
Mbak riana, makasih atas tips-nya. Akhirnya aku tau kenapa adonan muffin resep mbak ruri yang ku bikin selalu manjat kocokan mikser. Ternyata karena aku masukin butter+air nya gak sediki2, 3 kali masuk selesai. Mau coba nikin yang bener-nya. Sekali lagi makasih ya mbak ^_^
Comment by Lorraine — August 22, 2007 @ 9:23 am
Loved your explanation to cook ‘high’ muffins, very entertaining and amusing. Thanks, looking forward to giving your methods a try.
Comment by jacqui — December 5, 2007 @ 1:07 pm
hi riana, i love love love your blog. could you please translate ruri’s method for moi?
Comment by CY — December 11, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
Hi, I like to learn more about Ruri’s method. However, I don’t understand her blog? Can u help to translate? Or do u have any link to the “translated” method? Thanks.
Comment by CY — January 30, 2008 @ 10:23 am
Hi Riana,
Know u must be very busy. Hope u can find time to do a translation for us on Ruri’s method. Thanks.
Comment by sherry — January 30, 2008 @ 8:48 pm
Mbak Riana makasih bgt ya tips dan triknya..Aku contek ya…:)
Comment by Annemarie — February 8, 2008 @ 11:53 pm
Great post - I was trying to sum up some ideas for a friend asking why her muffins weren’t rising, but you’ve done a far better job than I was going to. Thanks!
Comment by fika — July 15, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
mba, muffinnya bikin laperrr…
) butternya boleh di ganti mentega ga?? thanks
mo tanya dong (sorry kl pertanyaannya bodoh
Comment by christi — July 20, 2008 @ 1:36 am
Hai riana..
Foto muffin nya ok banget yah!
Aku pernah coba buat sekali dgn resep dr situs lain tp bantet gak mau naik. Aku rencana mau coba lg dgn resep ruri. Moga2 aja kali ini sukses.
Tapi kalo mau yg bener2 merekah (seperti jamur) kayak blueberry muffin yg di starbucks bisa gak yah?
But thanks a lot for sharing those tips..
Comment by Ivonne — August 6, 2008 @ 10:15 pm
hai gw ivonne salam kenal y,seneng bgt bisa nemuin blog ini,and gw ngucapin thank berat ama co gw yg ud ngajari karna gw agak gaptek ni,gw dapet banyak ilmu dari sini,thanxs bgt ya mbak soalnya aku jg kemaren ud coba bikin mufin ruri tp gak ngembang.entar aku pengen coba bikin resp mbak….mmm mufinnya bener bener menggoda.
Comment by Jill — August 11, 2008 @ 8:30 am
Thank you for posting these great tips! The last few times that I have baked, I incorporated all of this advice…heat, water, extra filling…and my muffins have been wonderfully tall.