The first July baking event for the Barefoot Bloggers was a blueberry muffin challenge: coffeecake muffin versus streusel muffin. Which one would prevail?
In my case, neither one.
Sure, they both tasted just fine, and they all disappeared, but the consensus was that both recipes were missing something.
The first muffin was the streusel one. All the ingredients went together well, and I thought it tasted just fine. My only complaint was that they didn't have a nice, muffiny appearance, and for that I blame the pan.
Why oh why do I keep using the silicone muffin pan? Every time I use it, I am disappointed in the outcome. I used cupcake liners, thinking that would help. Nope. They were still flat on top.
The second muffin was the coffeecake one. Thinking maybe the flat streusels were just a fluke, I used the silicone pan again. Flat. Flat. Flat.The pan has been exiled to the garage. Maybe I can use it for giant ice cubes.
Now, on to the taste tests.
First up was my daughter. She felt that both muffins were missing something flavor-wise. Sugar? Salt? She couldn't pinpoint it. I thought maybe the blueberries weren't tasty enough.
Second tasting, I used my dear quilt friends as testers. The four ladies who lingered after lunch were willing to give me their opinion, so I took one of each muffin, quartered it, and passed the pieces around. Interestingly, they all shared the same thoughts as my daughter. Something was missing. They all thought the muffins were tasty, but not wonderful. Maybe they needed more blueberries? One of my friends even sent me her favorite blueberry muffin recipe, which I will have to make for comparison purposes.
This certainly was an interesting experiment, especially since Ina's recipes are usually spot-on. If you want to try the muffins, click on the muffin link or look in one of Ina's cookbooks. The coffeecake ones are in Family Style; the streusel ones are in Back to Basics. Thanks to Maria of Close to Home for choosing the Blueberry Streusel Muffin, and to Tara of Smells Like Home for suggesting the challenge.
3 comments:
I just realized I overlooked that we were supposed to make them both!!! I just picked on recipe and made that one. Duh!
I thought they were underwhelming, too, but I'm not a fan of blueberry muffins. And I agree 100% on the silicon muffin pans...not non-stick for me, and I like my muffins to rise. But thy are great for canelles, which we made for Chocolate with Francois.
Oh well, next month will be better! At least yours look great!
Nothing better than a good blueberry muffin. too bad these weren't Always looking for a new blueberry muffin recipe and a lot DOES depend on the berries.
I hadn't thot of the silicone pan affecting the rise. Maybe that is why some of mine fall flat.
Well, darn. That's a lot of baking for not being in love with them. Better luck next batch :)
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