Friday, May 17, 2013

Marmalade muffins + moments of stress in the kitchen

Marmalade muffins / Muffins de geléia de laranja

I was talking to my father about my mother the other day and I remembered something she used to do when my brother and I were little: every time she made a cake she would let us lick the bowl, which was something we both enjoyed very much (I might have told you that already but I’m not sure – 936 posts will do that do one’s mind). :) She was a fabulous baker and baked very often, not only because she loved it but also because she wanted my father and I to have something tasty in our lunch boxes.

Licking the bowl is a sport I still practice – in fact, I’ll gladly try most doughs and batters before actually baking them. What I did not expect was that this habit would actually save me a great amount of stress after a baking session: Sunday morning and I set out to make muffins. I chose Delia Smith’s marmalade muffins because I love anything marmalade and wanted to give that beautiful book a try. The batter was ready in no time and soon the muffins were in the oven. While they baked, I started making the bed and all of a sudden it hit me: I hadn’t added any sugar to the batter!!! O_O I ran back to the kitchen, grabbed the recipe and read it again – no, there was no sugar in it. It wasn’t my mistake. Then I remembered how good the batter tasted and felt instantly relieved: the marmalade alone would be enough to sweeten the muffins. Phew.

These muffins are not too sweet – obviously :) – and the marmalade topping make them even tastier. I’m a sucker for marmalade but I believe these could work with other preserves, too – apricot comes to mind, or maybe raspberry paired with lemon zest.

Marmalade muffins / Muffins de geléia de laranja

Marmalade muffins
slightly adapted from the master Delia Smith (mine was bought here)

225g chunky orange marmalade
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
finely grated zest and juice of 1 large orange
whole milk, if necessary
1 heaping tablespoon almond meal
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
50g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

To finish the muffins:
2 heaping tablespoons orange marmalade

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 1/3-cup capacity muffin pan with 9 paper liners and fill the remaining cavities halfway up with water.
Place the marmalade in a small bowl and give it a good stir to loosen it up. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Zest and juice the orange, then measure the juice – you’ll need ½ cup (120ml); if you don’t have enough juice, make it up with some milk.
In a small bowl, whisk together the zest and juice (and milk, if using), almond meal, egg, vanilla and melted butter. Pour these ingredients into the flour mixture and lightly whisk with a fork – do not overmix or your muffins will be tough. Fold in the marmalade. Divide the batter between the muffin liners and bake for 18-20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack and cool. You can serve these muffins warm or at room temperature – before serving, spread the extra marmalade on top of each muffin.

Makes 9

3 comments:

  1. Lovely muffins, I like the marmalade topping!

    ReplyDelete
  2. orange marmalade there you said that and you nailed me!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The marmalade reminds me of sunshine. Lovely way to start the day.

    ReplyDelete

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