Carrot Gingerbread Muffins

This recipe is essentially a gingerbread cake batter that gets shredded carrots folded into it. It is really more gingerbread cake than carrot muffin. I love the flavour of these, there is quite a large amount of ground ginger in the batter and it gives the muffins a spicy kick while the cinnamon lends its lingering warmth to the palate. These "muffins" have the texture of delicate soft fluffy cakes. I think these would be delicious with cream cheese frosting, although that would definitely take them out of muffin-land and into cupcake territory.

Carrot Gingerbread Muffins

Dairy,
Time: 1 hour

• 1/2 sup golden raisins
• 2-1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cu packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup fancy molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cups plain yogurt or buttermilk
• 2 cups shredded carrots
  

1. In bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves.
2. In large bowl, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars until light, about 1 minute. Beat in molasses and vanilla; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in flour mixture; stir in yogurt until combined. Fold in carrots and raisins just until combined. Spoon into paper-lined or greased muffin cups.
3. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool.

adapted from: Canadian Living Magazine Sept 2010

Raspberry Pistachio Teacakes

I like the name teacakes...it makes me think of something more restrained and elegant than a cupcake and yet more delicate and stately than a muffin. It is a cake and yet it can be eaten in the afternoon for tea, or even on the run if need be.
These teacakes, from Martha Stewart, cupcakes are made of ground pistachios in a tender cake batter that has fresh or frozen raspberries pressed into the batter before being sprinkled with more chopped pistachios. They bake into sweet little cakes with bits of raspberry peeking out from underneath the chopped pistachios. While still warm, the raspberries taste like a gooey jam filling and the cake is crumbly with bits of pistachio.

These are sweet nutty, salty, velvety cakes bursting with warm raspberry goodness. The batter takes minutes to make and makes a minimal mess because its all done in the food processor.

These also look so dainty and simple that they would fit right in at any afternoon tea party. They can be made as mini or regular sized cakes and look absolutely beautiful on a fancy tiered or glass serving plate.

Pistachio Raspberry Teacakes

Makes 12-15 standard muffins or about 36 mini

• 1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-2 containers fresh raspberries (I used frozen, the cakes took longer to cook)
• ¼ cup slivered pistachios, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners. In a food processor, finely grind shelled pistachios with the sugar and salt. Add butter, vanilla and eggs; process until smooth. Add flour; pulse until just moistened and combined (do no overmix).
2. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each ¾ s full. Drop raspberries into batter (4-6 per standard teacake; 2 per mini) and sprinkle with slivered pistachios. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown, about 28 minutes for standard cakes or 15 for minis. Transfer tins to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or room temperature. Cakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature in airtight container.

Adapted from:

Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins

I make this recipe quite often since they are just about my consummate blueberry muffin...plus chocolate. This is really one of my favourite muffin recipes, although it is one that blurs the line berween muffin and cake. It has juicy sweet blueberries, creamy white chocolate, and ground almonds in the batter. I like to add lemon zest because it enhances the blueberries while cutting through the sweetness of the white chocolate but this is optional. The ground almonds in the batter add texture and a impart a subtle flavour to the finished muffin, although some or all of it can be substituted with flour. Use chunks of white chocolate because white chocolate chips often melt into the batter....not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but the texture will be different. I also love the appearance of these muffins. Topped with sliced almonds, they form perfect little domes when baked, and practically scream "Eat me!" Nobody ever seems to refuse.

Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins

notes: These muffins are best served warm. It is important to sift the dry ingredients to get a light texture.

Prep time: 20 minutes Bake time: 20-25 minutes

Makes 12-16

Ingredients
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/3 cup ground almonds
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 3 eggs, beaten
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• ½ cup white chocolate chips or chunks
• sliced almonds, for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper baking cups.
2. Sift the flour, ground almonds, and baking powder into a large bowl and stir in the sugar (You can add about a 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest if desired, optional). Lightly beat together the milk, eggs, and butter, then gently fold into the flour with the vanilla extract.
3. Mix in the blueberries and white chocolate- the mixture should be quite lumpy so don’t be tempted to beat it.
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper baking cups until they are three-quarters full. Top each one with some sliced almonds then bake until well-risen and golden, 20-25 minutes.
5. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.

From: Piece of Cake by Maggie Mayhew

Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins were made to use up half a can of pumpkin puree. This recipe makes dense spicy muffins studded with raisins and pecans. They are great for a quick snack or breakfast. This recipe also works really well with shaped mini bundt pans.
Case in point, these adorable pumpkin shaped moulds. These are just sweet enough to satisfy a craving for baked goods while being wholesome enough for everyday. You could even slick them with a brown butter glaze or frosting but I don't because that would veer too far into cupcake territory, and sometimes you just don't need any adornment.


Pumpkin Nut Muffins

This recipe works well in shaped muffin pans, such as the pumpkin mini-bundt pan.

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin or cooked pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¾ cup milk
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line with muffin paper cups.
3. Beat the butter until fluffy.
4. Add the flour, sugar, pumpkin, egg, cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and milk. Beat until well combined.
5. Add the whole wheat flour, pecans, and raisins and fold until just combined.
6. Fill the prepared pan until each muffin cup is about two-thirds full. Bake in 375 degree F oven, 25-30 minutes until risen and golden. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Makes about 12-16 muffins.

Time: about 1 hour

From: Good Kitchen Magic by Carol Tennant

Lavender Blueberry Muffins

You put flowers in your muffins?!

This was my sisters reaction to my description of these unusual blueberry muffins.

Lavender is such a pretty flavour, fragrant and woodsy it makes a lovely aromatic addition to all kinds of baked goods. I had tried lavender in shortbreads and jams but never baked with it myself so when I found some dried lavender buds at one of the grocery stores I frequent, I knew I had to make something with lavender in it. Enter the lavender –blueberry muffin. I found this recipe on the Toronto Star recipe archive. It is a somewhat unusual combination, but lavender goes amazingly well with berries especially when it is accented with a hint of lemon. This recipe is a basic blueberry muffin heightened with the addition of lemon zest and lavender. I ground the lavender with the sugar in this recipe to make lavender sugar before adding that to the rest of the ingredients. I also used the tiny little wild blueberries that appear in the markets this time of year. These tasted a bit more complex than your usual blueberry muffin recipe. The lavender flavour comes through as a subtle aftertaste that is accented by the lemon zest in the batter.

I think my only problem with this recipe was that it uses a full tablespoon of baking powder, which gave a light texture and created nicely domed cupcakes but I think it also made them a little on the dry side.

Despite that these muffins taste fresh and springy and bright , and with a bit of butter and jam they make a great brunch. I really like the combination of blueberry and lavender and I think I will try using lavender sugar in place of regular sugar in other blueberry treats.

Lavender Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh lavender or 1 tsp finely chopped dried
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1. In food processor grind sugar with the lavender until lavender is finely ground.
2. In large bowl, combine flour, lavender sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. In separate bowl, beat eggs and stir in buttermilk, oil, lemon zest, and blueberries. Stir into flour mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Pour into lined 12-cup muffin tin. Bake in preheated 375F oven 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely before removing from pan.

Makes 12.