Tea Muffins

These are the kind of muffins your great-grandmother would have whipped up for afternoon tea without even glancing at a recipe.

Simple, buttery, and just barely sweet, they let the raisins do most of the talking with little bursts of fruity sweetness in every bite.

The batter comes together in minutes with pantry staples you’ve probably already got on hand, and they bake up golden and tender in under half an hour.

Perfect split open warm with a pat of butter or a smear of good jam.

Kitchen Tips

• Cream the butter and sugar thoroughly before adding the wet ingredients. That’s what gives you a light, tender crumb instead of a dense puck.
• Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. Stir just until the dry ingredients disappear, then stop. Lumpy batter makes better muffins.
• Soak the raisins in warm tea for 10 minutes before folding them in. They’ll plump up and add a subtle tea flavor throughout.
• Swap raisins for dried currants if you prefer a smaller, more evenly distributed fruit.