The best blueberry muffin recipe in the world

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Every so often Clemence Gossett, a fabulous baking instructor and co-founder of The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories in Santa Monica, sends one of her recipes out to her email list. Clemence's recipes are exactly my kinds of sweets: never fussy, always achievable and truly delicious.

Last year Clemence sent a message titled "The Muffin Method" detailing her general muffin philosophies and proportions. I make muffins all the time, so I kept it in my inbox. It took me a year, but I finally pulled it out this weekend to make some blueberry muffins.

I read the recipe three times before I started. I was confused. No eggs? Two tablespoons of baking powder? I'd never seen a blueberry muffin recipe like that. I wondered if Clemence had erred. Hah! I should have known better than to doubt a French baker. Clemence's recipes are well-tested.

These are the best blueberry muffins I've ever tasted. They're closer to cake than to health food - don't let the fruit fool you. But if you can't indulge in a sweet muffin or two (or seven, in the case of my nine-year-old) on a lazy Sunday, when can you?

If you're in southern California, do stop by the new Gourmandise School, in The Market at Santa Monica Place. The Market is Los Angeles's answer to San Francisco's Ferry Building, and Gourmandise is holding cooking classes just about every day in their gorgeous, brand-new, shiny demonstration kitchen. I'm trying to work up the nerve to ask Clemence if I can teach a class over the summer. Maybe a Trufflepalooza class, featuring black summer truffle recipes. What do you think? Would you sign up?

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The best blueberry muffin recipe in the world

by Erika Kerekes June-7-2011

Light, sweet and delightful: These are the best blueberry muffins I've ever tasted, hands down. Thanks to Clemence Gossett of The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• 5 ounces butter, cut into pieces
• 3 cups fresh blueberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 24-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.In a glass or ceramic microwave-safe bowl, put the sugar, milk, yogurt or sour cream, and butter. Microwave the bowl 1 minute on high, or until the butter is starting to melt and the bowl is warm. Whisk the mixture until you see little bits of butter floating in the mixture.Add the blueberries to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Pour over the milk mixture and slowly, carefully, fold together with a large spoon or spatula. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough. Streaks of flour are perfectly okay.Divide the batter among the muffin tins and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it and the tops are starting to turn golden brown. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove the muffins to a rack to cool completely.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 24 muffins