Friday 3 February 2012

Orange Muffins



If you're not familiar with the University of St. Andrews, you're probably not aware of the tradition of third year students adopting first years as their Academic Children. Simon and I have five children in total (and Simon has an extra son who is technically my Academic Step-Son, but let's not get into the legalities of that...) and this is part of the spread we put on for them at our Raisin Party. 


Fizzy juice, Haribo sweets, sandwiches, Smarties, crisps, muffins,
biscuits and party blowers - what more do you need at a children's party?


The main things you need to know about Raisin Weekend are that the academic mother invites her children to a tea party, then sends them to another location where various academic dads get together to have a party in the evening. Then, the next day, the mother dresses her kids up in ridiculous outfits (mine were bearded fairies) and the father makes them carry an awkward, large object (Simon tied our kids together with a length of plastic we found in our utility cupboard) to the university squad, where all the kids have a foam fight with shaving foam.


But that's not the point of this post. The point is ORANGE MUFFINS. Our kids loved them and they were the only item that we didn't have leftovers of. I used this recipe here, so apologies for the American measurements. But since we only have two mixing bowls in our kitchen and one of them is generally used for serving salad in, it helps to measure things in cups! I'll translate for those Brits reading this blog.


I've made these muffins twice and they're one of my favourite things to bake as they're really easy and I don't think anything can really go wrong with them. A few reviewers on the original website complained that they weren't sweet enough because of the low sugar content but I think the orange juice gives them the perfect sweetness. I used freshly squeezed orange juice so I'm not sure what different juice from a carton would make.


Orange Muffins


Makes: 12, technically. I have one muffin tray and one cupcake tray and the mixture filled both trays perfectly, which makes me think it wouldn't quite make 12 large muffins. So 6 big and 6 small.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes


Ingredients

2 cups (250g) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking (bicarbonate) soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (100g) white (granulated) sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2/3 cup (160ml) orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed rather than from a carton
1/2 cup (113g) melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup (40g) chopped, broken up walnuts
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup (55g) packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions

1. Preheat oven. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, white sugar and grated orange peel in a bowl. Stir in orange juice, 1/2 cup melted butter, eggs and chopped nuts.






2. Pour into 12 muffin cups.






3. Blend 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. This should make a crumbly mixture suitable for sprinkling on top of each muffin. 




4. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C or Gas 4) oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.


Suggested Variations
- Zap one of these in the microwave for 15 seconds then drizzle maple syrup on top and eat for breakfast.


— Rachel

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