Make more muffins

Most home cooks are perfectly comfortable improvising when it comes to savory dishes, but baking, with all its fussiness, is a different story. If you want your cakes, pies, breads and cookies to turn out, we’re told, measurements must be precise. For me, that means baking gets short shrift simply because it requires time, the right recipe and concentration.

My solution has been to commit one simple formula to memory so that I can turn out something homey and satisfying, like muffins, on a regular basis. The following recipe has been through a few rounds of testing, and has successfully produced both muffins and breakfast cake. Best of all, only six of its ingredients are essential, so you can use it as a boilerplate to be gussied up with your own whims.

Master Muffin Recipe

1 stick sweet unsalted butter, softened*

1 cup sugar (brown or white)*

2 eggs*

2 cups flour*

2 teaspoons baking powder*

Half teaspoon salt (optional)

Half cup milk*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, mashed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, grated zucchini or bananas.

Only six ingredients* are essential. The rest are adjustable according to your preferences.

Preheat oven to 375. Line a 12-count muffin tin with muffin liners or coat with baking spray. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating gently after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter mixture, starting and ending with flour, careful not to overbeat. Stir in vanilla extract and cinnamon. Stir in fruit/vegetables. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Can be used as a quick bread, or top with glaze made from confectioner’s sugar and citrus juice to make an easy breakfast cake.