Day 92.5 New Year's Day Corn Muffins with Raspberry Jam

Corn Muffins with Raspberry Jam

New Year's Day morning. I am not a big fan of New Year's Eve. I hate the hype, unrealistic expectations and drunken resolutions. But I do love the morning, and so to kick off New Year's Day 2011, I resolved to make beautiful corn muffins filled with raspberry jam for breakfast.

This recipe comes direct and unadapted (because there are some things so perfect, they can't be improved upon)  from my favorite baking cookbook, quite possibly of all time, flour (no capital 'f'), by Joanne Chang owner and operator of Flour Bakery + Cafe in Boston, and co-owner with her husband, of Asian restaurant, Myers+Chang.

flour was the thing I wanted most for Christmas. Not only did I get it, but it came autographed with the inscription, "Make life sweeter...eat dessert first!". Words to live by. And, when I sent an email to Flour bakery telling them how much I loved the book, Joanne Chang took the time to personally write me back. How cool is that?!

Until this morning, I had never used a scale to measure baking ingredients, but according to flour, if you really want to bake with accuracy, the scale's the way to go. Unlike measuring cups and spoons that vary by brand, the scale gives a true weight in grams, eliminating the potential for inaccurate measurement that could potentialy wreck an otherwise perfectly good recipe.

Before pursuing her culinary passion, Chang got a degree in applied mathematics and economics from Harvard - so if she says to use a scale, really, who am I to question her recommendation? Amazingly, Santa brought me a scale for Christmas, so this recipe  marks my Salter scale debut. These are the little discoveries that get me looking at life with fresh perspective. Nuts, I know, but totally true.

Hereto-with the completely unadapted, unaltered, unadulterated recipe from flour 

Corn Muffins with Raspberry Jam (makes 12 large muffins)

• 2 3/4 cups (385 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (200 grams) medium-coarse yellow cornmeal
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick/56 grams) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (165 grams)packed light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup (240 grams) milk, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup (70 grams) canola oil
• 3/4 cup (180 grams) creme fraiche, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (255 grams) raspberry jam

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the over to 350F. Butter a standard 12-cup muffin tin, coat with nonstick cooking spray, or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well mixed. In a small bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar until it forms a thick slurry. In a second large bowl, whisk the eggs until well blended. One at a time, whisk the milk, then the oil, then the creme fraiche, and finally the butter-sugar slurry into the eggs. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and fold carefully, just until the dry and wet ingredients are well combined. The batter will be thick and pasty.
3. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each prepared muffin cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon jam on top of the batter in each cup, then top off each cup with another 1/4 cup batter, making sure the cups are evenly filled. They should be filled to the rim.
4. Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until the edges of each muffin are golden brown and the center springs back when pressed with a fingertip. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan.
5. The muffins taste best the day they are baked, but may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you keep them longer than 1 day, refresh them in a 300-degree oven for 4-5 minutes. Or, you can freeze them, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 1 week; reheat directly from the freezer, in a 300-degree oven for 8-10 minutes.