11. Cranberry Orange Muffins

In two previous posts I have talked about going through several different options of what to bake, one for a friend’s potluck and another for the Daring Bakers’ November Challenge.  In both of those posted I listed a few ideas that I had. Me being the over preparer that I am, I made sure that I had some of the ingredients on hand so that if I changed my mind back to something I previously crossed-out, I could still make the dish.

That is where these glorious cranberries came from. I bought them originally to make a crostata with for either of the two previously mentioned purposes, but I went a different way. My mother is not a fan of cranberry sauce, so that crossed out a simple cranberry relish with thanksgiving dinner. So, what to make? Immediately, I thought of cranberry orange muffins.

I think these muffins are like those warm hugs you wake up to on Thanksgiving morning or Christmas morning and have for breakfast before the big feast later. For me however, they have just been wrapping me in their tart yet sweet warmth before I head to the office for work.

On a slightly ironic note, as I was updating my top 100 list and checking off my two previous accomplishments, what do I see as one of the items on my list? Cranberry orange muffins! Sometimes, I go to my list for inspiration regarding what to make and other times I am simply inspired by something I want to taste. These muffins where inspired by the fact that I just wanted to taste cranberry orange muffins, but low and behold, they are on the list too. Yippee!

Cranberry Orange Muffins
(Completely transformed and adapted from the Barefoot Contessa’s Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins)

Ingredients
12 TBS butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar + 6 tsp orange zest sugar*
4 Large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 vanilla extract
8 oz sour cream
Juice of 1 orange
Zest of 2 oranges (1 for batter and 1 for orange zest sugar)
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz fresh cranberries

Method
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place 12 jumbo muffin cup liners into jumbo muffin pans.

3. With an eclectic mixture, like a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, cream butter and sugar with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.

4. Lower mixer speed to low and add eggs one at a time.

5. Then add vanilla, sour cream, orange juice and orange zest increasing the mixers speed and scraping down the bowl when needed.

6. In separate bowl combine and mix well the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

7. With mixer back on low slowly add flour mixture until just blended well; do not over mix.

8. Fold in fresh cranberries, making sure the batter is mixed well.

9. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop two nearly two full scoops into each liner. Top off any muffins that are not filled to 1/2 inch under the top of the liner.

10. Gentle tap pan on counter to spread out batter or use the back of a spoon.

10. Spoon orange zest sugar on top of each muffin.

11. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Then for another 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Be sure to rotate and turn the muffin pans.
*Orange zest sugar is just the zest of one orange mixed with approximately 1/2 cup of sugar. Shake to mix and let the mixture sit for a few hours to mingle and get friendly.

10. Honey Spice Cake

Over Thanksgiving I wanted an additional something sweet to go along with our dinner. My mom bought a peach praline pie from a kid selling pies for a school fundraiser. I wanted something that would be a gentle opposite to the pie and offer some different texture and flavor. Come to find out, the pie was horrible, HORRIBLE! I never thought something could be too sweet nor have too much sugar; I was wrong. The pie tasted like syrup, pure simple syrup with peach juice. But at least the money went towards a good cause. As for my cake, oh honey, it saved dessert.

I choose to make this cake because 1) I could cross off another item on my top 100 list and 2) it was a simple cake and did not need frosting. Let me let you in on a little secret. Lean really close and promise not to tell anyone. I generally do not like cake frosting. Gasp! Shhhhh! Want to know an even dirtier secret? Lean closer. My favorite part of the cake is moist crumbs that are left behind on the cake board after the cake is sliced, served, and long gone. Those moist crumbs are like jewels to my palate. Excuse the drool… But I digress.

I tend to over prepare my pans; I have a fear of cakes sticking.

This cake truly celebrates the natural flavor of honey. I choose to use Orange Blossom honey because I like the flavor better then clover honey. If you have never had it, you are missing a treat. This cake does not need any frosting; it is great just sliced and eaten plain. Next time, I think I may sprinkle a few pecans in the pan, just to give a little gentle crunch and textural difference to the cake.

I nearly doubled the spices as called for in the original recipe and still did not really taste them, but I like to think the cake tasted better overall just because they were there. So, if you are expecting a honey SPICE Cake, this is not it. This is a HONEY spice Cake :-)

HONEY SPICE CAKE

(Originally from Second Helpings Please, Revised Edition and adapted from Mel’s Sweet Treats)

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

1 lb. or 16 oz. orange blossom liquid honey

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup cold tea

zest of one orange

Method

1. Beat eggs and sugar.

2. Add oil and honey and blend well.

3. Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with liquid.

4. Pour into a prepared bunt pan.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6. Once cake is placed in the oven immediately reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for 1 hour.

7. Let cake cool in pan and remove when it is still slightly warm. Let it cool completely before covering.