Muffins #2: Raspberry-Orange

As promised, I'm going to expound on the adventure that was the creation of my Raspberry-Orange muffins. I came across the recipe at Pittsburgh Needs Eated, but it originated in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours. I saw it weeks ago and have been salivating over her pictures of the muffins ever since, so you can imagine my excitement when my mom told me that she had bought my berries for me when she went to the store last night. Unfortunately, my writing is somewhat illegible and she had actually bought me raspberries and blackberries, as opposed to the raspberries and blueberries I had scribbled onto the list.

Anyway, I made do with what I had and decided to just make the muffins with orange and raspberry and do something different with the blackberries later on (see yesterday's post).



The recipe was easy enough to follow along with, however I felt that it was fairly messy; at least, my kitchen was a mess by the time I was done. As stated in the original post on Pittsburgh Needs Eated, she misread and added 1 scant cup each of both types of berries. I had 6 ounces of raspberries and used all of them, although I'm sure that I could have added a little more if available.



Instead of buttermilk, I used 3/4 cup 1% milk mixed with 3/4 tablespoon vinegar, and my honey had to be heated in the microwave to help it lose the characteristics of a solid object. Then, in the oven, they didn't rise as much as I expected them to, and they started to burn a little on the edges after 13 minutes or so; after I noticed, I turned my oven down to 300 degrees F for about 3 more minutes and then I pulled them out.



Overall, they were just too tart for me, but they sure do look pretty. I'm sure my mom will like them, but I think they're much too strong to eat in the morning, when you just want something to tide you over until lunch. However, if like tart things, and especially if you like raspberries, these are the muffins for you. My slightly modified version of the recipe is as follows.

Supertart Berry-Orange Muffins
Makes about 16 regular-sized muffins

1 orange, grated zest and juice of
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup berries of your choice, fresh or still frozen (I used raspberries)
(PNE recommended powdered sugar for decoration, which probably will help to counteract the tartness, if you're only using raspberries)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray 12 regular-size muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet. (I didn't read that part - maybe that's why mine cooked so quickly on the edges.)

Juice the orange into a large glass measuring cup; pour in enough buttermilk so that the mixture equals 1 cup. Whisk the eggs, honey, and melted butter thoroughly.

Next, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips in a large bowl; the sugar needs to be completely moise. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the sugar and zest. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and use a whisk or rubber spatula to stir, gently and quickly. The batter will be lumpy and bubbly. Stir in the berries.

Pour batter evenly into muffin cups, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until muffins are golden, springy, and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean (Mine only needed about 15 without the baking pan). If you are using the powdered sugar, add it to the muffins after ten minutes of baking. Cool for at least 5 minutes before moving the muffins to a rack to cool completely.