Jumbo Blueberry Muffins

Instructions

1. 1

   Prep the pan

   Line a 6-cavity jumbo muffin pan with jumbo paper liners, or grease it very generously with softened butter or nonstick spray, including the flat surface between the cavities — these muffins dome wide and will spill over the edges a little. Don't preheat the oven yet; the batter rests first.

2. 2

   Whisk the dry ingredients

   In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for a good 20 seconds. The baking powder needs to be evenly distributed or you'll get lopsided muffins, and whisking is faster than sifting.

3. 3

   Combine the wet ingredients

   In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter and oil with the eggs until smooth, then whisk in the sour cream, milk, vanilla, and lemon zest. Everything should be at room temperature — cold dairy will seize the melted butter into little specks and the batter won't emulsify properly.

4. 4

   Bring the batter together

   Toss the blueberries with the tablespoon of flour in a small bowl so they're lightly coated. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and fold with a spatula just until a few dry streaks remain, then add the floured berries and fold two or three more times. The batter should be very thick, almost like soft cookie dough, and a little lumpy. Stop while it still looks underdone — every extra stroke trades tenderness for toughness.

5. 5

   Rest the batter

   Cover the bowl and let the batter sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. This hydrates the flour and thickens the batter so it climbs rather than spreads. In the last 10 minutes of resting, preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C) with a rack in the lower third.

6. 6

   Fill and top

   Divide the batter among the six cavities, filling each one right to the rim — roughly a heaping 3/4 cup per muffin. Mound it slightly in the center rather than smoothing it flat. Press a few extra berries into the tops if you like, then sprinkle each muffin generously with coarse sugar.

7. 7

   Bake hot, then low

   Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then — without opening the door — reduce the oven to 350°F (177°C) and bake another 26 to 30 minutes. The initial blast of heat sets the outside while the interior is still expanding, which is what forces the dome up. They're done when the tops are golden with no wet sheen and a skewer in the center comes out with moist crumbs but no raw batter.

8. 8

   Cool before unmolding

   Let the muffins sit in the pan for 10 minutes so the structure firms up, then lift them out onto a rack. Jumbo muffins are heavy and will tear if you rush them out hot. Cool at least another 15 minutes before eating — the crumb is still setting.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  If you only have a standard 12-cup pan, this batter makes about 14 regular muffins. Keep the 5 minutes at 425°F, then drop to 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes.

• 2.

  Frozen blueberries work well, but add them straight from the freezer without thawing. Thawed berries bleed purple streaks through the batter and release enough water to make the crumb gummy.

• 3.

  A full tablespoon of baking powder looks like a lot, but jumbo muffins need the extra lift to raise that much batter before the crumb sets. Check that yours is fresh — a spoonful should fizz vigorously in hot water.

• 4.

  An oven thermometer earns its keep here. Many ovens signal 'preheated' well before they actually hit 425°F, and a weak start means flat tops.

• 5.

  For a bakery-style bonus, swap the coarse sugar for a quick streusel: rub 1/4 cup flour, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons cold butter together until crumbly and press it onto the tops before baking.

• 6.

  Bake one pan at a time on a lower rack. Crowding two pans into the oven drops the temperature and kills the dome.

Equipment

• 6-cavity jumbo muffin pan
• Jumbo paper liners
• Large mixing bowl
• Medium mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Flexible spatula
• Microplane or fine grater
• Wire cooling rack
• Oven thermometer

Storage