Magdalenas – Spanish Lemon Muffins
Magdalenas are the Spanish breakfast classic: airy, scented with vanilla and with the characteristic belly that splits open as they bake.
That belly is not an accident, it comes from two things that go together. The batter rests for half an hour in the fridge, and from there it goes into a properly hot oven, at 200 °C. The shock of temperature makes the surface split quickly and the batter shoots up through the crack.
Without the rest, or with a lukewarm oven, they rise flat: they taste the same, but they do not look like magdalenas.
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Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 60 g sugar
- 60 g all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 35 ml milk
- 40 g butter
- Vanilla extract
Method
- 1
Beat the egg with the sugar until well combined.
- 2
Add the flour with the baking powder, alternating with the milk, the melted butter and the vanilla.
- 3
Let the batter rest for half an hour in the fridge. This step is what defines the belly: cold batter going into a hot oven is what makes it split.
- 4
Divide between paper cases and bake in a hot oven (200 °C) for about 10 minutes. The oven has to be preheated and genuinely hot.