Best Blueberry Muffins in Boston
The Ritz-Carlton's Blueberry Muffins
This recipe came to The NY Times by way of Marian Burros in a 1985 article about the famous muffins served at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Boston. The hotel has been serving blueberry muffins since it opened in 1927, but in 1971, then pastry chef Charles Bonino set out to develop a better recipe. One of the city's best-known department stores, Gilchrist's – long since closed – was renowned for its version, so Mr. Bonino bought dozens of the muffins over the years and would analyze and try to replicate them. He was never totally happy with the results, even if the guests were.
Gunther Moesinger, the pastry chef who succeeded Mr. Bonino in 1982, again made more changes, swapping out shortening for butter, increasing the eggs and blueberries and reducing the baking powder. This recipe is an adaptation of Mr. Moesinger's recipe which results in a plump, crusty-topped muffin. They're best eaten the day they are made.
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt, optional
5 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
5 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 or 5 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
Additional sugar for topping
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix all dry ingredients together. Stir in eggs, milk and butter; do not overmix. Carefully stir in berries.
Grease the top of large muffin tins. Insert paper cups and spoon batter to the top of the paper cups. Sprinkle generously with sugar.
Reduce heat to 400 degrees, place muffin tins on middle shelf of oven. Bake about 25 minutes, until muffins are golden brown. Remove from muffin tins and cool.
Yield: 15 to 16 large muffins.
Jordan Marsh’s Blueberry Muffins
This recipe came to The Times in a 1987 article by Marian Burros, "The Battle of the Blueberry Muffins." Two years prior, Ms. Burros wrote about a recipe for the muffins attributed to the Ritz-Carlton in Boston. The hotel had adapted a recipe used by Gilchrist's, once one of city's best-known department stores. After it ran, one reader wrote in to say that the best blueberry muffins in Boston were not from the Ritz-Carlton, but from the Jordan Marsh department store.
She sent along the recipe, with a description of how she picks wild blueberries: standing in a pond in the August heat and plucking berries from bushes along the bank. This version has a lot more sugar and butter and fewer eggs than the Ritz-Carlton muffins. The recipe also calls for mashing a half cup of berries and adding them to the batter. This produces a very moist muffin, one that will stay fresh longer.
FMM: I've seen pictures of these muffins in the Internet and they have flat spreading tops. It may be due to the amount of sugar in the recipe or too much liquid.
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries, washed, drained and picked over
3 teaspoons sugar
Preheat the oven to 375.
Cream the butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder, and add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk.
Crush 1/2 cup blueberries with a fork, and mix into the batter. Fold in the remaining whole berries.
Line a 12 cup standard muffin tin with cupcake liners, and fill with batter. Sprinkle the 3 teaspoons sugar over the tops of the muffins, and bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.
Remove muffins from tin and cool at least 30 minutes. Store, uncovered, or the muffins will be too moist the second day, if they last that long.
Yield: 12 muffins
