Vanilla Muffins

The word "muffin" was first registered in English in 1703 as "moofin", possibly derived from the Old French moufflet, which meant "soft" in reference to bread, or from the Low German muffen, meaning "small cakes".

A muffin is somewhat like a small cake & though it does resemble a cupcake in that they both have cylindrical bases and rounded conical tops, they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes & generally lack frosting; savory varieties (such as cornbread muffins) also exist. They generally fit in the palm of an adult hand, and are intended to be consumed by an individual in a single sitting.

To start with I tried baking the simple vanilla muffins with tutti frutti in edible muffin cups.

Ingredients: -

2 cups Maida

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup butter

1 ½ cup sugar

1 cup milk

Vanilla Essence 1 tsp

2 eggs

½ tsp salt

Method: -

1. Preheat the oven to 180 Deg C. Place the baking tray in the middle of the oven.

2. In a beating dish, combine flour, baking powder, butter, sugar, milk, vanilla essence, eggs, salt & beat well on low speed for a minute or two.

3. Fill each muffin cup to ¾th depth & bake for 20-25 minutes till done or until very lightly browned & a cake tester is inserted in the center comes out clean.

4. After baking for 4-5 minutes, sprinkle the tutti-frutti or dark/white chocolate chips

5. Remove from the oven immediately & place on a wire rack to cool.

Variation: - There are many varieties & flavors of muffins made with a specific ingredient such as blueberries, chocolate chips, cucumbers, raspberry, cinnamon, pumpkin, date nut, lemon, banana, orange, peach, strawberry, boysenberry, almond, and carrot. These ingredients are then baked into the muffin. Muffins are generally considered to be a breakfast food, but in Europe where they have tea (the meal) they are eaten then.