Tía Paca's infallible cupcakes

There is no recipe for muffins more foolproof than Aunt Paca's traditional muffin recipe. This is demonstrated by all the people who have left proof of it in our cooking group: if you enter, you will see all the comments and photos of the muffins they have made, commenting on how wonderful these fluffy muffins are with a touch of lemon. Fluffy, tall and very easy to make, without a doubt a recipe to save.

The recipe is called that way for a very simple reason: it is the lifelong recipe of Jesús Martínez's family, whom I would like to thank first for bringing that recipe to our community, because I can certainly assure you that of the hundreds of recipes shared there, that is the one that has been repeated the most times and has received the most admiring comments. And secondly, I am grateful that he has given me permission to share it here on the blog. Thank you!

I chose this recipe to test the Kaiser WMF muffin pan , a new pan that surprised me with its lightness: I had heard so much about the benefits of the Kaiser brand, a German brand with a very high quality non-stick coating, they told me... But when I held the pan it was really light and I thought it might not have enough body to bake properly. That's why I needed to try it.

And the recipe has risen wonderfully and the dough has baked as evenly as possible! Apart from rising perfectly in a recipe that requires a high initial temperature, the base of the muffins has not burned at all. So the test has been completely passed, I am very satisfied with the mould, and with great joy I can tell you that I highly recommend taking advantage of these German moulds that are so well priced.

Ingredients

• 350 g of wheat flour
• 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil
• 100 ml sunflower oil
• 250 ml of milk
• 3 eggs
• 200 gr of sugar
• 1 pinch of salt (1/4 teaspoon)
• 1 sachet of 16 gr baking powder ("Royal")
• Zest of 1 lemon

Preparation

1. In the KitchenAid bowl with the whisk attachment, or in a standard bowl with the whisk attachment, add the ingredients in the following order:
2. Add the eggs and sugar (do not separate or beat any of the egg).
3. Add the zest of one lemon.
4. Add both oils in a stream, little by little.
5. Add the milk, little by little, allowing it to mix with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Add the flour, a pinch of salt and the yeast, all previously sifted.
7. Mix until the mixture is well integrated, cover with film and leave to rest in the refrigerator, at least half an hour and up to 12 hours (you can leave it overnight in the refrigerator if you want).
8. Preheat the oven to 250°C and remove the dough from the refrigerator.
9. Place the cupcake liners into the muffin mould and fill them up to 3/4 of their height.
10. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar on each one (not too much, so the top can rise).
11. Bake for 5-8 minutes after placing them in the oven at this high temperature and with the mould in a low position in the oven (1/3 of the way up), so that the top rises. Then lower the temperature to 185°C and bake for approximately 15 more minutes (it can be up to 20, depending on how well they have cooked in the first 5-8 minutes after placing them in the oven).
12. When they look done, remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.

Grades

• *I have tried the recipe with 200 ml of olive oil (instead of mixing 100 ml of olive and 100 ml of sunflower oil), and they also come out great.
• **If you don't want to add so much sugar, the recipe has been tested with 180 g of sugar and both in sweetness and fluffiness they come out great too.
• You will see that the first part of baking is at a very high temperature to encourage the muffins to rise. Don't be distracted! They should only be at a high temperature for 5 minutes, then you have to lower the temperature or they will burn.
• In this baking in the photos I applied some sugar to the top, but it is definitely not enough if you like that look: if you like those muffins with sugar on top, add a little more or apply sugar moistened with a drop of water.