Muffin and pound cake basics

Similar ingredients, different mixing

Muffins and pound cake both start from flour, sugar, fat and eggs. The results differ so much mainly because of how they are mixed. For muffins, dry and wet ingredients are prepared separately and combined briefly, and the air comes mostly from leavening. For pound cake, butter and sugar are beaten for a long time to work in air, the creaming method, and that air is the basis of the volume. So muffins have a coarse, fluffy crumb and pound cake a fine, dense one. Learn these two methods and you will understand most simple cake recipes.

Muffins: mixing less is the key

For the muffin method, mix dry ingredients such as flour, leavening, salt and sugar in one bowl, mix wet ingredients such as eggs, milk and melted butter or oil in another, and then combine the two. The key is to stop as soon as no dry flour shows. Small lumps are fine. Mix too long and gluten develops, making muffins tough, leaving long tunnels inside and pushing the tops into peaks. Fold in blueberries or chocolate chips at the end with just a few strokes. Many recipes fill the cups about two thirds full.

• Mix dry and wet ingredients separately
• Once combined, stop when no flour shows
• Leave a few small lumps as they are

Understanding leavening

In batters like muffins that do not get much air beaten in, leavening does the lifting. Baking soda is alkaline and releases gas only when it meets acidic ingredients in the batter, such as yogurt, buttermilk, brown sugar or honey. Baking powder contains soda and an acid together, so water and heat are enough to set it off. They differ in strength and cannot be swapped one for one. Too much soda gives a bitter, soapy taste and dark color. Opened leavening loses power when it absorbs moisture, so close the lid tightly and check the date.

How pound cake works

Pound cake is named for the old practice of using a pound each of flour, butter, sugar and eggs, that is, equal weights. Today many recipes add a little leavening or adjust the ratios, but the basic idea of roughly equal parts remains. In this batter, creaming decides the volume. Loosen soft butter, add sugar and beat until it turns paler and increases in volume. Then add room-temperature eggs in small portions to prevent curdling, and finally fold in the flour gently with a spatula.

Baking pound cake

Line the loaf pan with parchment or butter and flour it lightly so the batter does not stick. After filling, make the center slightly lower and the edges higher so the rise comes out even. Pound cake batter is thick and heavy, so it is often baked longer than muffins at a relatively moderate temperature. A long crack down the center of the top is normal. It happens because the outside sets first and the inside rises afterwards. If the top browns too fast, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it.

Checking doneness

For both cakes, the most common test is pushing a wooden skewer into the center. If wet batter clings to it, keep baking; if it comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs, take it out. A top that springs back when pressed lightly is another sign. Muffins are small, so a few minutes make a difference; check earlier than the recipe says at first. A pound cake taken out underbaked tends to sink in the middle as it cools and develop a gummy streak.

• Wet batter on the skewer means bake longer
• Does the top spring back when pressed?
• Check earlier than the recipe at first

Cooling and storage

Leave muffins in the tin for a few minutes, then move them to a rack. Left in the tin too long, steam collects and the bottoms and sides go soggy. Let pound cake cool briefly in the pan, then turn it out to cool completely. Wrapped in plastic once cool, it will not dry out, and many bakers find that after about a day the moisture evens out, the crumb settles and it slices more neatly. For longer storage, wrap slices individually, freeze them and thaw at room temperature. Cakes topped with cream or fresh fruit spoil easily, so refrigerate them and eat them soon.

Safety and allergies

Melted butter mixed in while hot can cook the eggs, and butter melted in a microwave can spatter and burn you, so warm it in short bursts and let it cool before use. Use dry oven gloves to take out pans, and remember that fruit or chocolate inside a fresh muffin can be much hotter than the outside, especially when giving one to a child. Wheat, eggs, milk and nuts are common allergens, so tell people what is in anything you share. It is safer not to taste raw batter.