Sunday 24 February 2013

and Orange and Date Muffins

New Cookbook

The other weekend I headed home to help my sisters hold and run a garage sale. I took a few things down myself but ended up heading home with more things. One of the things I brought was a new cookbook. Well it is a lot more than a cookbook. It is a general guide to all things handmade. 

Reader's Digest

The basis of my cooking choice was simple. I had to be able to find all of the ingredients in my kitchen and since I  had a lot of oranges already, I wanted to use some of those.

Orange and Date Muffins

Preparation: 15 mins
Baking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1/2 cup pitted and chopped dates
  • 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 whole orange, chopped, seeded and puréed

Method:
  1. Preheat oven to 200 C. Grease (or line) 15 muffins tins, each 7cm in diameter. 
  2. Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together in a bowl. Add the dates and toss to coat.
  3. In a large bowl (or stand mixer bowl), beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg, orange juice and puréed orange.
  4. Fold in the dry ingredients - do not over mix.
  5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20mins, or until goldern on top and risen.
  6. Turn the muffins out on a wire rack to cool.
  7. Serve warm or cool.


Ingredients

Cut up oranges

Purée in a food processor

Chop up dates

Mix dates into dry ingredients. Remember to always sift your flour.

Add butter and sugar to mixer bowl.

Beat until pale and creamy.

Juice orange/s. I had one huge orange which made 1/2 a cup of juice.

Add egg, orange juice and puréed orange to butter mix.

Then mix.

At this point the orange mixture may not look the best. 
But don't fear. It will all turn out.

Stir in flour mixture in 2 lots. This helps to reduce the lumps.

Now it's looking better.

Add mixture to the cups.

Flatten the mixture out a little with the back of
a small spoon. This helps to judge levels.

Straight out of the oven!

I love the cafe style cases.

But I only had 12 so the last 3 went into normal ones.

We ate those ones.

Bitten in to. YUM!

Verdict:
These light little muffins were very delicious. The puréed orange and orange juice gave it a lovely colour and there was no need for milk or any other liquid. The dates (I used medjool) added a great extra dimension to the muffin. It was a little bit of sweetness in the citrus mix. I think it's a great alternative recipe to the much loved orange and poppyseed one. 

Will bake again!

Unitl next time.
Love, love Elle.

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