Why Muffin Batter Is So Much Better The Next Day

Most grocery stores and even fast food windows sell muffins, but if you want muffins baked with love, well, you're going to have to do that in your own kitchen. Whether you love poppy-seed muffins or chocolate chip, the best way to ensure that your cakes turn out light, airy, and nicely rounded on top, is to let the batter rest before use.

Jerrelle Guy, author, artist, recipe developer, and founder of the blog, Chocolate for Basil, explains that "allowing the batter to rest for 30 minutes, or even overnight in the fridge gives the starches in the flour time to hydrate and relax, resulting in a tender crumb and higher, more domed tops." So, to get those gorgeously puffed lids on your muffins, you should make the batter a day in advance and stick it in the fridge covered with plastic wrap. This requires a bit of planning if you're making them for an event or gifting them to someone, but the results are well worth it.

Letting your muffin batter rest overnight isn't the only hack you can use to create those rounded, sky-high domes. Jerrelle Guy explains that the perfect muffin batch requires several steps. "First, make sure you're filling the muffin tins nearly to the top," she explains. No ⅔ or ¾ of the way here, folks — if you want lift you're going to have to give your muffin batter a height advantage.

Guy adds that you should avoid cramming your muffins together. Instead of filling every muffin holder in the tin, just use every other one so that hot air is evenly distributed between the cakes, giving them plenty of room to rise. Guy also notes that temperature is important — "baking [your muffins] at a higher temperature — 425 degrees Fahrenheit — for the first five minutes, then lowering the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for the remainder of the time will help." The high heat interacts instantly with the wet ingredients, causing them to steam and expand, giving your muffins a fuller finish.