Best fool proof muffin recipe please.

OK so I ALWAYS have a problem with muffins, cakes and bascially any baking that needs to rise. My muffins always turn out flat but they taste good but look like flat cakes. Dont ever rise above the tin or paper patties.
I dont over mix, dont make to runny or too dry. They just never work. Even with packet mixes. It's not my ovens because I used to be an apprentice chef in a kitchen with a new oven and they still didnt rise.
So. Can I please have your best most moist yummy muffin recipe!
I want to make some mixed berry (frozen berries) and chocolate button
muffins.

Only mix gently until just mixed through.
Get new Baking powder and always seal up the packet (use a peg).
Alison Holst recipes- easy and fast and work. Crunchy Lemon a fav and
also fruit/choc ones. Banana Chip good.
Get books:Marvelous Muffins and More Marvelous
Muffins.They are not super moist or dry(add sour cream to centre of
a fruit one) but to be eaten fresh on the day.
I can make these muffins super fast.The kids actually came to go:
no thanks not muffins in our lunches today.Can we eat it now - hot.

I second that - have never had a problem with the Alison Holst recipes and the kids started making them when they were quite small.This one could easily be adapted to mixed berries and chocolate buttons and it has always been failsafe.It is different from other muffins in that the butter is rubbed in so the texture is cakier than most.
BAKING – RASPBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

2½ cups self raising flour , 100 grms butter, 1 cup caster sugar, 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, ½ cup white chocolate bits,1 cup milk, 1 egg, icing sugar for dusting:Rub butter into flour and add sugar, raspberries and chocolate.Mix thoroughly.Add milk and beaten egg mixing gently until just combined.Bake at 190oC for 20 minutes then stand for 5 minutes before turning out.Dust with icing sugar before serving.

jjt4lma, here's a recipe that I really recommend.It makes chocolate-lovers' dream muffins - it's easy and really foolproof in that it doesn't seem to need mxing quite as carefully as most muffin recipes, although I'm not suggesting that the mixture be beaten or mixed too enthusiastically.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS
3 cups plain flour(450g)
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp cocoa
1½ cups brown sugar(360g)
½cup each ofdark chocolate dotsandwhite chocolate dots – or chocolate buttons, quartered
120g butter, melted
1¼ cups milkor1 cup natural unsweetened yoghurt+½ cup milk
2 x 60g eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 5cm muffin pan.
Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a bowl.Add the brown sugar and dark and white chocolate dots.Mix, then add the melted butter, milk (or yoghurt and milk) and eggs and mix well.Three-quarters fill each of the muffin moulds.
Bake at180°Cforapproximately 20 minutes.Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before turning out.

I agree with both lynkyn and greerg re Alison Holst's muffin recipes and with greerg re the muffin she posted at #3 - it too is very easily made and produces a lovely moist, light (and yes, cake-like) muffin.:-))

I just made the muffins jjt4lma, thanks for the recipe :)

We didn't have any cocoa so I used milo instead and they still came out chocolatey.

I'm not the best at muffins but these really were fool-proof.

I agree, Alison Holst muffin recipies always work.But quite a few of hers use self raising flour, so make sure you use this otherwise they definately won't rise.