How to Make Chocolate Chip Muffins and the Science Behind It

Introduction:

These are easy to bake, tasty chocolate chip muffins. There is also the science behind how the ingredient in this recipe, self raising flour and how it produces the beautiful, fluffy, sponge like texture.

Ingredients:

300 g self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

50 g cold unsalted butter cubed

80 g caster sugar

150 g milk or plain chocolate chips

2 eggs , lightly beaten

225 ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 200 c / 400 f / gas mark . Line 12 muffin cases.

x the flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Rub in the butter untill the mixture is like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and the chocolate chips.

Step 2:

Mix the flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Rub in the butter untill the mixture is like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and the chocolate chips.

Step 3:

In a separate bowl mix the eggs , milk and vanilla extract together. Then pour the mixture all at once into the dry ingredients and mix briefly.

Step 4:

Spoon the batter into the muffin cases and bake for 15-20 minutes or until risen , golden and firm to touch. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

Step 5:

after 10 minutes of cooling in the tin , transfer to a cooling rack or serve straight away.

Step 6: Science Behind It

Raising agents are added to a mixture to give lightness to a product. It is often used in a cake and bread mixtures. The raising agent used in this recipe is self raising flour, which is just a low plain flour added with baking powder. Baking powder is a blend of a acid and alkali. These create carbon dioxide bubbles when liquid and heat are added. This creates the soft sponge like texture because the flour has a low amount of gluten which means that the mixture will be a lot lighter and fluffier. Most baking powders are 'double acting', that is they produce a initial set of gas bubbles upon mixing and then a second set during the baking process when heat is added.