Paris Puffins
Delicious cake muffins dipped in butter and rolled in a sugar-cinnamon mix. A childhood favourite I could whip up a batch of these without a recipe by the time I was ten!
Delicious cake muffins dipped in butter and rolled in a sugar-cinnamon mix. A childhood favourite I could whip up a batch of these without a recipe by the time I was ten!
- Carbohydrate 38.3082149990079 g
- Cholesterol 19.1041111129758 mg
- Fat 6.18730972684906 g
- Fiber 0.200366662661235 g
- Protein 0.840535832647796 g
- Saturated Fat 2.48916972404679 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (86g)
- Sodium 15.99841664492 mg
- Sugar 38.1078483363467 g
- Trans Fat 0.323870361313392 g
- Calories 207 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat oven to 350.
- Grease 12 medium muffin cups.
- Mix thoroughly shortening, sugar and egg.
- Blend flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; add alternately with milk.
- Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes.
- Immediately roll in melted butter, then in mixture of sugar and cinnamon.
- Serve hot.
Standard ingredient declarations rarely communicate how chemical leaveners interact with soft shortening versus melted fats during mixing. Soft shortening traps air pockets efficiently when creamed with sugar, producing a tender crumb that supports the subsequent butter dip without dissolving entirely into a dense paste. When the oven reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit, those trapped micro-bubbles expand rapidly against the resistance of the flour proteins, creating twelve uniformly risen cakes that require twenty to twenty-five minutes of heat exposure until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean.
Fat Substitutions and Structural Consequences
Altering the primary lipid profile changes the final crumb density significantly. Replacing the specified shortening with an equal volume of cold, unclarified butter introduces water content that activates gluten prematurely if overmixed, yielding a chewier muffin rather than a tender cake. Conversely, swapping the liquid milk for buttermilk requires adding a quarter teaspoon of baking soda to neutralize the extra acid and maintain the correct rise. Equipment choice also matters; standard aluminum muffin tins conduct heat faster than dark non-stick surfaces, potentially shortening bake times by two to three minutes and preventing the exterior from over-browning before the interior sets.
- Grease the muffin cups thoroughly with flavorless vegetable oil rather than butter to prevent sticking, as butter solids burn easily at 350 degrees.
- Coat the baked pastries immediately while piping hot so the exterior draws in the melted butter and adheres to the cinnamon-sugar layer.
- Store leftovers in a paper-lined container at room temperature to preserve the crisp sugar coating, as plastic bags trap ambient moisture and cause the crust to liquefy.
