Recipe Snoop Forum

[jana1]

I could really use someones great advice. I just can't seem to make and bake a decent blueberry muffin. I would like to have one that's cake-like in texture. Mine come out with a raw taste and tough texture and some are not. I have followed all the recipes just as written and cooked as printed. most are burned on the bottom to. PLEASE HELP! ALSO I NEED A RECIPE FOR SEAFOOD GUMBO LIKE THE ONE AT "joe's crabshack". thanks...jana1

[nana]

could it be...

do you use 100% pure "cane" sugar (it's the best for baking)...instead of just pure granulated sugar...

real butter is best for baking instead of margarine

are you using the black type of muffin pan or glass...you need to lower the oven temp about 25 degrees from what recipe calls for with them.

same with a convection oven...lower temp or shorter baking time.

have you checked to see if your oven is really at the temp you set it for...ovens can vary, so an oven thermometer is a good investment if you like baking. Also are you using/placing the rack in the middle or a little higher position on the oven.

Hope these tips help you some.

_________________________________________________________

Blueberry Muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.


Servings: 8

Per serving:Calories: 383 Total Fat: 16.1g Cholesterol: 43mg Sodium: 341mg Total Carbs: 56.9g Dietary Fiber: 1.5g Protein: 4.3g


There are Gumbo recipes under the soup, gumbo & chowder section and the cajun/creole section you might check to see if any are to your liking.

[generall]

Welcome Jana,
Glad you joined our crazy bunch
Check out the section Nana suggested.
Generall

Nana, good tips, thanks. They will help me as well. My oven has a mind of it's own
"G"

[jana1]

thanks nana. i'm going to try everything you said. i know about the rack in the middle of the oven. the stove is only 5yrs. old. would it go bad that quick? nothing works forever anymore. i threw out one of my muffin pans cause it was so dark and old. kept the new one, but it still did'nt work for me. going to try the recipe you sent tomorrow. thanks...jana1

[nana]

jana1, a brand new oven can be where the temp is not even..."hot spots" in front, back, or one side or the other or that the whole oven temps can be off from the dial setting. There are adjustments screws on the bottom of most oven dials for this reason (underneath when you pull the dial off)...not a real common known fact to most homemakers. That is why one or more oven thermometers (they hang on oven rack) is a real good thing to have if you want to do a lot of baking. That way you know for sure what your oven temp(s) are. A oven that is off is a real "headache" when baking breads, cookies, pies, cakes and the like...not quite as bad with casseroles, roasts, pizzas...they can slip by without you really noticing something isn't just right with the oven.

Another tip...with any quick bread...muffin, biscuit for example...do not over mix or over bake. Mix/stir by hand not electric mixer...you will have some lumps...but that's ok...no lumps=tough & rubbery.

Try checking a few minutes before the "called for" baking time...It is done when a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out with just a few moist crumbs. (You can also try the "smell 'em - check 'em" way...I guess I'm guilty of doing it that way mainly myself on most baking...but for starters you probably want to use the timer )

When done...immediately remove them from oven and place the pan on a wire cake rack to cool slightly...take from the pan and cool on a wire cake rack (if they sit in the pan they sweat and the bottoms become soggy.)

Hope this helps some.

[Peggy]

Thanks Nana, I picked up some tips. I didn't know that about the oven knob screws!

[jana1]

[color=blue][/color] i'll have my son check the temp and tell him about the screws to. thanks so much for taking time to answer my questions. i really appreciate it.

[generall]

Yeah, I learned something new too. Thanks N

[nana]

Thank you all.

If you know it is say 25 - 50 degrees off all the time you can just always set the oven to equal the change without doing any adjusting of anything else.

If you really want to adjust the oven ... you might check out: http://www.appliance411.com/faq/tempera ... tion.shtml ... or google the type that you have...but, if the temperature is way off, you might want to call the service repair-person.

Really, using oven thermometers (usually around five dollars or so) really let you know & check your oven temperatures, not just at this time, but in days...years to come.

[Peggy]

Thanks Nana, yes I really DO need to get a thermometer, maybe one will show up in my stocking!