Tall Bakery Style Muffins
By the QuiteRecipes team (Jamy & Kaïna) | Food Service Professional, Early Childhood Expert & Parents
Make bakery-quality muffins with impressive height and perfect texture. Tips and tricks to succeed your muffins every time.
The secret of bakery muffins is all in the dome, and this recipe goes after it. A thick batter and a hot oven push the tops into tall, golden crowns. They taste as good as they look, which is saying something.
🥄 Ingredients
- 🫗 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 🫗 1/2 cup sugar
- 🫗 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 🫗 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 🫗 1 large egg
- 🫗 1 cup milk
- 🫗 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
- 🫗 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 🫗 *Optional: 1 cup chocolate chips or fresh fruit*
Nutrition Facts*
*Nutritional information is an estimate and may vary based on ingredients, brands and portion sizes. Values are provided per serving.
👨🍳 Instructions
Preheat your oven to 200°C (high temperature needed for quick rise).
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, oil and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix briefly. **Important:** Do not overmix the batter; it should remain slightly lumpy.
Fill the muffin cups almost to the top to ensure a good rise.
Bake at 200°C for the first 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180°C to finish baking for about 15-20 minutes.
🎥 Video Tutorial
Tall Bakery Style Muffins
Video credit: embedded from YouTube. All rights belong to the original creator, who allows sharing on other websites.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
- ✕
Overmixing: The more you mix the batter, the more you develop gluten, which makes the muffins dense instead of light.
- ✕
Oven too cold: If the starting temperature is too low, the muffins will spread instead of rising tall.
🔄 Variations
Fruit muffins: Add fresh blueberries or diced apples with some cinnamon.
Crunchy topping: Sprinkle a little brown sugar on top before baking for a crispy crust.
🧊 Storage
- 📦
Keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container. You can reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave to regain the first-day softness.
💡 Chef Tips
The thermal shock technique: Starting at a high temperature (200°C) helps the baking powder react quickly, thus creating the characteristic "dome" of bakery muffins.
Batter rest: Let the batter rest for 15 minutes before baking; this allows the baking powder to start acting and gives taller muffins.
🔗 Related Recipes
About the Authors
This recipe and guide was developed, tested, and approved in our home kitchen and daily life. Jamy is a retired Food Service District Manager and Early Childhood Program Manager who spent his career overseeing multi-site restaurant operations, large-scale culinary production, and daycare menu management. Kaïna brings the ultimate real-world test: making sure it brings ease and joy to our kids on a busy weeknight.
Read more about our professional background and philosophy →