So hypothetically speaking, over the weekend you made the cinnamon honey scones I posted on Friday, and now you have a half-empty container of creme fraiche in your fridge. I promised a recipe to help you use the rest up and am delivering on that today with these better-than-box corn muffins. A standard 8-oz container of creme fraiche (the size most commonly available in the stores around here) will be just enough to make the full scone recipe and halve this muffin recipe!
And speaking of creme fraiche, thanks to everyone who commented and emailed to let me know that you can make your own at home. I’ve seen that tip in the Flour cookbook, which essentially requires combining heavy cream and a little buttermilk and then letting it stand until thickened. I haven’t tried it personally, mainly because the mixture needs at least 10 hours to thicken and I don’t usually think that far ahead 🙂 However, I’m putting it on my to-do list and will report back as soon as I’ve given it a go!
As you’ve probably guessed by now, I do 99.9% of my baking from scratch. I make an exception for two things: brownies and corn muffins. I’m sorry, but boxed brownies are delicious and so fast – I’ll never give them up. Boxed corn muffins are a much less frequent occurrence around here but I love them too; I think we ate them growing up so they have nostalgic value.
When it comes to homemade corn muffins, my gold standard has been Dorie Greenspan’s recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours. I’ve been making those muffins for years and they never disappoint! However, my leftover creme fraiche gave me the perfect excuse to stray and try an adaptation on the version from Flour. The muffin recipes I’ve tried from that book have all been phenomenal, and these were no exception.
These better-than-box corn muffins take a few more minutes to whip up than opening a box of mix, but it’s worth it! They are so tender while still retaining some of that crumbly texture you expect from a good cornbread. They’re also slightly sweetened, a must for me when it comes to cornbread. The melted butter, oil, and creme fraiche work together to give them great flavor and keep them very moist. Don’t ask me to decide between these and Dorie’s recipe – they’re both great in their own way 🙂 Fortunately, you can never have too many go-to corn muffin recipes, right?
Better-than-Box Corn Muffins
slightly adapted from Flour by Joanne Chang
2 3/4 cups (385 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (200 g) yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup (165 g) packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (240 g) milk, at room temperature (I used whole)
1/3 cup (70 g) canola oil
3/4 cup (180 g) creme fraiche, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the butter and brown sugar together in a small bowl until they form a thick paste-like mixture. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs together until broken up and well combined. Add the milk to the eggs, beating until incorporated, followed by the oil, creme fraiche, and then the butter mixture, incorporating each ingredient before adding the next. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold together just until they are combined (the batter will be thick).
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners, filling each about 3/4-full. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed with your fingertip, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes before removing them to the rack.
The muffins are best on the day they’re made – to refresh on subsequent days, reheat for 4-5 minutes in a 300 F oven. (If frozen, increase to 8-10 minutes in a 300 F oven.)
Makes 18-20 muffins
These sound incredible! I bet they are so much better than the boxed stuff. My family would go crazy for these!
I rarely bake corn muffins, but if I do I should try these.
Dorie’s recipe has always been my go-to, but this sounds interesting and I LOVE cornbread. Do you think I could substitute cream cheese for the cream fraiche?
@Allison C: I think you’ll have the best results with creme fraiche, but if you need to substitute I’d probably go with sour cream or buttermilk before cream cheese. I haven’t tried anything other than creme fraiche so let me know how it goes for you!
There’s nothing quite like a good corn muffin recipe.
These look phenomenal. I can’t believe they have creme fraiche in them! I love the stuff, and can only imagine how good it makes these corn muffins.
My favorite food ever! I must try these!
These corn muffins are beautiful! Maybe I can cheat on Dorie Greenspan’s recipe too…once in a while. 🙂
p.s. I kind of dig the flavour of box brownies! It must be the batter – so many great memories of bowl licking.
Oooh yum! I will have to try these once chili season is back upon us!
These look so dang delicious! Lovely recipe Tracey! Good corn muffins are the best 🙂
I’m pretty sure I could eat these for breakfast. They are stunning, Tracey! My mother-in-law thinks she can’t bake but one thing she does make from scratch is corn bread. I’m sure she would love these too!
Seriously yummy. I adore corn bread!
They look great! I love the idea of using the creme frache in there, bet it helps keeps them moist. In the past I ahve found corn muffins to be rather dry.
Corn muffins are my absolute favorite! I haven’t made it in ages but that’ll change very soon. I may just serve these alongside some homemade, comforting chili – YUM!
Nothing beats a good corn muffin. It’s great comfort food. I find this recipe interesting and I can’t wait to try it.
I gave up the box mix for corn muffins about 2 years ago. I found a recipe I liked, and it was so much better. But I love the idea of crème fraiche in there, going to have to try this one now too!
Fantásticas magdalenas.
Saludos
Blanca de JUEGO DE SABORES
My husband loves corn bread and turning it into muffins is genius!
Oh I love corn muffins. Especially with a little bit of honey drizzled on them mmmm 🙂
Good to know about these corn muffins! I feel like whenever I use creme fraiche I need two recipes to use it all up, so this is perfect for the next time I make those scones.
Corn muffins are the best 🙂 These look terrific!
I have tried out a bunch of recipes looking for an easy recipe that uses stuff that I always have around the house. I use on from Bake the Bread, Buy the Butter and I actually mix up the dry ingredients in my pantry so that it is as easy as a box mix when I am ready to make it. These look amazing but I never have creme fraiche around 🙂
Corn muffins are so amazing, this recipe sounds awesome!
i have seen recipes that substitute sour cream for creme fraiche, do you think that might be possible? i might try it out. i like moist corn bread and so rarely find it…love your recipes, thank you.
The box mix is always in my pantry because it is so useful. But I will have to stray and make these now instead.