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On October 18th there was a fundraiser at Roy Thompson Hall. It was thrown by Willow, which is a Canadian non for profit organization raising awareness and support for breast cancer. Eat to the Beat is their major fund raising campaign and this year 60 female Chef’s from all over the city prepared  appetizers from locally grown and sustainable food items according to the theme. It was a lot of fun and I got a lot of great inspirations. Willow has raised 3.1 million dollars which is unbelievable, I will definitely be going next year.

Check out some if the highlights:

Bite Catering

These grilled cheese were really delicious.  Grilled Pear, Smoked Gouda and Crispy Prosciutto.

Al the Best Fine Foods

Chicken + Swiss Chard Terrine. Loved how colourful these were. All the Best Fine Foods

Whole Foods Market

Another grilled cheese, with 6 yr aged Cheddar, Parmesan and Kozlik’s Canadian Mustard.

Jayne's Catering

Loved these! They were little mini submarines made from pata choux, with lemongrass chicken and  kimchi. I got a lot of ideas from this one.

Great Cooks on Eight

These were my favourite. Duck confit on an apple chip topped with Quince Jam.

Stratford Chef School

Smoked Duck Breast on Sesame Cripsy with Cramberries and Sea Buckthorn.

Mushroom Soup. Unfortunetly didn’t get the name down..

Fondue Skewers. Also missed the chef for this one.

Tutti Matti

Wild Boar Stew

Cheese Cake Lollis

Macrons

The Cake Lady

These were just beatiful

Viva Tastings

Arctic Char on Radish

East + Main Bistro

Mushroom Ravioli with Tomato Cream Sauce

She Takes the Cake

Dolce De Leche Cakes

From the Farm Cooking School

Chicken Liver Pate with Apples, Tarragon and Calvados

AGO

Mini Smoked Meat Sandwiches

I like using blogs to research recipes because they are honest. Equipped with step by step photos and readers’ comments it is the safest way to find recipes off the internet. I found them the most useful in my quest for the perfect muffin recipe.

After reading a lot of blogs and  browsing through what felt like hundreds of different websites on the muffin topic I managed to put together a decent list of reliable sources that I thought were on to something. Their suggestions were more or less the same and their products looked good. I plan to use them as guides and will probably try out a few of the recipes. In my opinion, the best sites for muffin recipes are:

The List

http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-make-the-best-muffins/

http://bakingsheet.blogspot.com/2006/01/cooking-school-bakery-style-muffins.html

http://www.bakedperfection.com/2009/02/bakery-style-blueberry-muffins.html

http://www.slashfood.com/2006/01/08/tips-for-creating-a-bakery-style-muffin/

http://www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/muffinrecipes.html

http://bakingfix.com/thefix/?p=3343

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/quick-baking-tip-how-to-get-a-domed-muffin-top-143051

http://www.ilovemuffins.ca

The Conclusion

After completing my online research I concluded the flowing:

1. I need a recipe that uses either sour cream or yogurt

2. I need a recipe that uses a decent amount of baking powder as a leavening agent

3. I need the batter to be very thick

4. I need ingredients to be room temperature

5.  I need to not over mix

6. I need to bake at a higher temperature

7. I need to use butter

This will narrow down the recipe pool list a little I think.

Online research complete! Next, scour the city for the best muffin and stuff my face with as many candidates as possible.

I hate baking sometimes….

I find it incredibly heart breaking when you put a lot of prep work into a product that your certain is going to be amazing and it doesn’t turn out. I get really crushed and seriously second guess any talent I have as a chef.

With baking there is way more anticipation than I can handle, unlike with cooking where  results are usually  a lot faster.  You can see pretty quickly where there might be an error and there’s usually time to readjust, not so with baking. It’s a pretty strict science with a lot of variables from the equipment you use to the temperature of the room.

This is why I have struggled with muffins all my life and have been trying to bury this fact in a dark corner of my mind. Well no more I say, I am going to face my fears and  create the perfect muffin even if it takes me 200 tries, I vow to myself and to anyone else that cares I will figure out how to make the perfect muffin and share it with the world.

In order to do this I need to determine what makes a perfect muffin (thoughts here are appreciated so don’t be shy).

I have concluded that a perfect muffin for me is composed of the following.

Perfect Muffin Compostition

-More or less even colour of beautiful golden brown

- Well shaped top that  rises about 1 inch from the top of the muffin tin at it’s center

- Sides cascade down in a uniform slope to form a ”mushroom” like shape

- Top should be a little crispier with interesting toppping (oats, crumble, nuts)

- The body of the muffin and center of the top is light and soft

- Should stay soft all day long

- Not overly sweet

- More than one ingredient (eg. apple + pecan, banana + walnut)

Those are the conditions I am trying to meet, nay, going to meet. Positive thinking is half the battle.

The Plan

First and foremost my plan of attack is to do preliminary research i.e. eat a lot of muffins in the city and see if my perfect muffin is out there somewhere.  I can then use that as my golden standard and use it as a real life comparison.

Second, hit the books/internet. I will  do research on the web, read food magazines and cook books to find anything that is written about muffins. See what secrets I can uncover.

Third, start muffin trials documenting each version like a mad scientist

Fourth, create the perfect muffin and gloat a lot then go to the gym.

Onwards I go…