i cant bake muffins to save my life

Str4berr3

Recently bought these silicones muffin tins for when i bake muffins for the first time, but last night after baking three batches i just cant seem to get it right.
They just did'nt raise and were burnt. the instructions says (Nigella Lawson-domestic Godess.) put in preheat oven of gas mark 6 which i did but came out burnt and goey in the middle, second batch i thought i would try a gas mark 4 but still did the same; burnt, did'nt raise but no goey in the middle. overall each batch went in for 25 mins as instructed.
i did everything the book said the exact ingrediants, instruction, step by step.
What am i doing wrong????
I soooo want to bake muffins for my family in the morning!!!

lucylou

hi there I have never baked in silicone moulds so can't help you there but maybe they need less time to cook?try this recipe it always comes out:
200gr (8oz) self raising flour
75gr(3oz) margerine or butter
1 egg
chocolate chips or anything else you want to put in them
pinch of salt
75gr(3oz) caster sugar
1-2tbs milk


Grease baking tray.Sift flour and salt into bowl(or you can blend all ingredients in the mixer if you prefer).Rub in margerine.Stir in sugar and beaten egg.Mix chocolate chips or raisins or whatever filling you want.take spoonsfull of the mixture and fill your muffin cases or moulds with it.Level the top.Brush on little egg and sprinkle with sugar.Bake 15 mins at 400F(gas 6).
Let me know

honey

Hiya,

I'm no expert but I remember reading somewhere that you shouldn't overmix muffin mixture - it should still have lumps in when all the ingredients are combined.

Could this be the problem??

I have a similar problem with scones - end up with biscuit shaped scones every time!!!!

Lillibet_2

Don't know about the burning (sounds like the oven is too hot to me but don't take my word for it!) but I do remember a programme with Nigella baking muffins & her warning cooks not to expect them to look like shop muffins & rise to any great height as that is a chemical reaction & her recipe won't produce that effect, so to have lower expectations.


HTH

lucylou

well I have two types of muffin trays the small one and the 6 cup one.The six cup one is better as you can fill it up to the top and tehy come out really nicely .A tip though to check if they are cooked properly is to take one out and cut in half then you can see if it's ready in the middle or if you have to leave it another minute or two in the oven.As for the taste I prefer home made as they are delicious!

squeaky

My mum uses a metal knitting needle (or a sharp thin knife) and sticks it into the middle of the bun or cake. If it comes out with stuff on, the cake ain't cooked. If it comes out clean then the cake is done.

Lillibet_2

To check if a cake is cooked properly pop a clean skewer into the centre of it. If the skewer comes out clean the cake is cooked through, if anything is adhering to it then it needs longer:D

Edit : Oops, cross posted with Squeaky!

MrsMW

I looked at one of those silicone moulds and was quite tempted but I wonder if they conduct the heat like the metal ones do. Just a thought.

Debt_Free_Chick

MrsMW wrote:

I looked at one of those silicone moulds and was quite tempted but I wonder if they conduct the heat like the metal ones do. Just a thought.

Good point - nice lateral thinking there

Try this

Put them in and watch carefully until the top is nicely brown. Then loosely cover with foil, reduce the heat, and continue to cook until middle is done.

This is a variation on the Aga method of cooking, where you use a "cold shelf" - a baking tray, essentially - placed on the shelf above, to deflect some of the heat and prevent burning on the top.

Works in the Aga ... so might be worth a try

catznine

lucylou wrote:

hi there I have never baked in silicone moulds so can't help you there but maybe they need less time to cook?try this recipe it always comes out:
200gr (8oz) self raising flour
75gr(3oz) margerine or butter
1 egg
chocolate chips or anything else you want to put in them
pinch of salt
75gr(3oz) caster sugar
1-2tbs milk


Grease baking tray.Sift flour and salt into bowl(or you can blend all ingredients in the mixer if you prefer).Rub in margerine.Stir in sugar and beaten egg.Mix chocolate chips or raisins or whatever filling you want.take spoonsfull of the mixture and fill your muffin cases or moulds with it.Level the top.Brush on little egg and sprinkle with sugar.Bake 15 mins at 400F(gas 6).
Let me know

Hi there Lucylou!

Have just made up a batch of these but as I prefer wholemeal flour used an extra egg and some more milk! Made 6 large muffins and 10 smaller ones (in fairy cake cases). Am just testing one now with my lunch - very nice thank you!

catznine

Sorry forgot to say to Stra4berr3 re your original post - don't give up - just keep altering the oven temp slightly and test with a scewer until you get there and make a note of what worked and what didn't. We have all been there at some time or other and it really is practice makes perfect. Good luck!