Until I read a reader’s request in a hundred-year-old magazine, I never thought about whether muffins should have a flat top:
Tell me why my muffins are flat on top?
Here’s the response:
Muffins Flat on Top
We could no be hired to tell you how to make muffins that are not flat on top, because the test of the perfect muffin is a flat top. It is like cake, it should be flat as the floor on top, and if it is not there is something wrong with either the making or the baking. To be sure, we often have hummocky muffins and hummocky cake served to us in places where they ought to know better – and they even taste good, yet we eat them with inward grief. We congratulate you that you have achieved that by-no-means easy or common task, the flat-topped muffin. Long may you continue to make them and no other kind.
American Cookery (June/July, 1923)
I’ve made various types of muffins a half dozen times across the years for this blog. I clicked through those posts and was appalled to discover that my muffins do not have flat tops.
Oh dear, I make hummocky muffins. Maybe the person who responded was writing about English muffins, but somehow I think not. When you make muffins, do they have a flat top?
When I did this post I also learned a new word. “Hummocky” means a rounded mound of earth, knoll or a pile of ice, ridge.
Ah! I thought that the only real difference between muffins and cupcakes was that muffins were “hummocky” and cupcakes were flat! Now I have to rethink my definitions!!
I wonder if you hit on something with that idea. Has there been a change in our use of/definition of muffin? If they were referring to a cupcake – or as others suggest an English muffin then it should be flatter. Of course it does also sound a bit tongue in cheek and perhaps the column was generally written that way and their readers of the time would have been familiar with and taken it that way. Sadly my muffins And cakes tend to be hummocky.
Hmm. . . I don’t think that the column generally is tongue in cheek. Usually the advice seems pretty straight forward, but this one does have a certain tone and edginess to it.
As long as a muffin or cupcake tastes good, I’m generally happy. 🙂
Well, I’ll continue to make hummocky muffins I guess! Never saw a flat-topped muffin in my life unless it was terribly wrong. I think your English muffin guess was probably right. Don’t want those to be hummocky!
A hummocky English muffin won’t be good. 🙂
I also have never made a flat-top muffin, but I have made muffin tops inspired by a Seinfeld episode.
Now I’m curious. . .
I think the person responding had their tongue firmly tucked in their cheek, after using it to taste their own hummocky muffin.
Definitely after they taste their hummocky muffin. You won’t want it to go to waste.
It almost sounds like they are mocking her in the response, but perhaps it is because my brain is clouded with all the snarkiness of the current day. A flat topped muffin (if not English muffin) would seem to mean something did not rise to the occasion!
This response does have an unusual tone. Not sure why they question seems to have irritated the person who wrote responses. Usually this column just has the typical cooking advice.
Good grief, I would think my recipe failed if my muffins were flat on top, maybe even pitch out my baking powder and buy new! I mean, why is a little too much waist on the body, in pants that are a bit too snug, called a “muffin top” if they aren’t supposed to have puffy tops? Seriously, think about it. I’m speaking as one who passed muffin top *ahem* awhile *ahem* ago, lol.
Good point – I often see tags on pants at the store that say something about how the pants will look great and get rid of the wearer’s muffin top. But I am generally disappointed when I actually try the pants on.
Well I had no idea this was a problem. Should it be…probably not.
Some things just aren’t worth worrying about. 🙂
No one has ever talked about the top of my muffins, never once! People can eat muffins or not, but if they complain about their appearance, they’ll never get another from me.
Okay, this made me laugh!
Hummocky muffins are the least of my concerns. I often don’t use paper liners when I make muffins, so I tend to worry about the muffins potentially falling apart when I take them out of the pan. Over the years my family has definitely eaten some muffins that didn’t look great.
Ok. Geek that I am I looked this up online. The main question (for modern cooks) seems to be Why don’t my muffins have domed tops? King Arthur Flour website says that if you overmix your muffin batter you will get dense flat-topped muffins. I think a successful muffin is high and light. Like yours in the photo. 😀
Good to know that King Arthur says it’s good for muffins to puff up – and it’s also good to know how to get flat-topped muffins in case I even want them (though dense muffins don’t sound good).
Some great replies to the problem of should a muffin be “hummocky” or not what a great word 🙂
Agree- great comments, and that “hummocky” is a fun word.
Maybe its a matter of style – 100 years ago women also were expected to be flat-chested.
LOL – love it.