Bakery-Style Muffins Recipe: Create Your Own

My bakery, Flour, sells several types of muffins, from blueberry to pineapple-coconut to chocolate chip-raspberry. But they're all based on one powerhouse batter: tender and light but still sturdy enough to hold copious amounts of fresh fruit.

In fact, the batter can take any number of flavor variations, which means it's also the perfect starting point for creating your own custom recipe. And this interactive tool makes it easy: you just choose your fruit, chocolate, nuts, and any additional flavorings for the batter, and if you like, pair it with a simple glaze for another layer of flavor.

Tips for Perfect Muffins

• Room temperature ingredients are key. This batter uses melted butter, and if the milk, eggs, or crème fraïche are too cold, the butter will solidify and won't blend in well.
• Don't overmix the batter. Overmixing will make the muffins tough. To avoid overmixing, add the fruit and other flavorings before the batter is fully mixed.
• Overfill the cups. The batter should mound higher than the rims of the cups by about 3/4 inch; this makes the batter bake up into those great big bakery-style muffin tops. If the tops meld together while baking, just cut them apart with a table knife when they've cooled.
• Glaze the muffins while they're still warm, which makes the glaze spread easier. If the muffins are too hot, however, the glaze will melt right off.