Fruit Muffin Crumble Topping Recipe.

As promised in my previous post, here is the recipe I use for all my fruit muffins. It really brings so much more flavour and texture to the muffins. It is for anyone with a super-sweet tooth.

Fruit Muffin Crumble Topping Recipe (For 12 muffins)

Ingredients
3 tbsp of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I prefer slightly course brown sugar)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions
1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together and mix it with your finger tips (as it is the coolest part of your hands and it will prevent the butter from melting too quickly). Mix till a crumble consistency is achieved.
2. Sprinkle over un-baked muffin, before placing muffins into the oven.
3. Enjoy a delicious muffin(s) with tea!

I also mentioned that I had my fair share of problems while baking muffins. My muffins would sometimes turn out like rocks and have large holes in them. I did the following to solve this.

• I added less egg.
• I added less liquids.
• I avoid over-mixing my muffins by mixing the wet & dry ingredients with my hands, instead of a wooden spoon or electric mixer.

However, somehow my banana muffins always don’t turn out as well as I would like them to. They aren’t that moist. Any tips?

Muffins & Cupcakes: Why they are different.

I found a lot of talk and misconceptions about the similarities and differences between a muffin and a cupcake online. Some say a muffin becomes a cupcake when there is frosting on it. Some say that cupcakes are smaller than muffins. That is incorrect, here is my take on it. Let’s conquer the cupcake first.

Cupcakes

• A cupcake is essentially the same as a whole cake. It is simply baked and served in a portion to serve one individual.
• It is usually frosted (like those in the photos above) and decorated. It is common to see it at birthday parties and weddings.
• It is sweet and hence eaten mostly as a dessert or a sweet treat.
• An un-frosted cupcakes does not equate to a muffin.
• Butter is usually used in a cupcake recipe.
• Conclusion: A cupcake is a cake.

Muffins

Source: Wikipedia

• A muffin is one of the easiest things to bake (although I’ve had my fair share of failures, will give you tips to succeed in baking a muffin). It is simply mixing the wet and dry ingredients together and some recipes do not even require the use of an electronic beater or whisk.
• It can be frosted or not frosted. For fruit muffins, I like to use a crumble on top (recipe in the next post).
• It can be sweet or savoury and is mostly eaten during breakfast or tea.
• A frosted muffin does not equate a to cupcake.
• Oil is usually used in a muffin recipe.
• Conclusion: A muffin is a type of bread (quick bread).

I hope this clarifies the difference between a cupcake and a muffin better. Watch out for my next post on my experience with baking muffins.