Holiday Baking – Recipe for Almond Orange Muffins

Winter morning. Warm Sunlight. Warmer Muffins.

Wake up to the aroma of freshly baked orange almond muffins… just out of the oven! What a thought! Just made real.

My inspiration to bake comes from my kid who loves anything pulled out of the oven. His love for these treats make me all the more adamant to bake clean-good stuff than feed him lard-loaded bakes from the local bakers! Not to mention the ever-increasing junk that comes with it (read synthetics, preservatives, colors, and many things gooey and weird).

Here is a simple recipe that wont take too much time or effort. Within half hour you will find a batch of warm, soft, orangy, fuzzy, crunchy, yummy, cupcakes ready.

Big Batch of Almond Muffins with Orange Juice & Peels

My ingredients are always approximates and keep changing everyday but to help you get the idea, here is the closest measurement.

Ingredients for Orange Almond Cupcakes:

• Flour – 1 1/2 cup
• Baking Powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Oil – 3/4 cup
• Sugar – 3/4 cup
• Eggs – 3
• Salt – 1 pinch
• Vanilla Extract – 1 1/2 tsp
• Almond Extract – 1 tsp (optional)
• Orange or Lemon Juice – About few tablespoons or as per taste
• Crushed Almonds – a handful
• Dried orange peels – a handful (optional)

How to make Almond Orange Cupcakes:

• Sieve flour and baking powder together. Keep aside.
• Whisk eggs well.
• Add vanilla essence, almond essence, sugar, oil, salt, orange juice and mix well.
• Add almonds and dried orange peels.
• Add flour to the wet mixture. Mix gently.

To make Orange Almond Cake:
Grease your baking dish with oil or butter and dust with flour. Pour the cake batter immediately. Bake for 30-40 mins at around 170 degrees centigrade or until the toothpick/knife comes out clean.

To make Orange Almond Muffins:
Spoon the batter into cupcake moulds and bake for 15 mins at around 170 degrees centigrade or until the toothpick/knife comes out clean.

Crusty Muffin Top with Craters – An Invitation by Itself

My Notes:

• These cupcakes were born out of available ingredients in the kitchen. Anything that could seemingly fit in the taste meter was popped in. Orange, almonds and vanilla is a good combination. So it works. If you substitute orange juice with lemon juice, you get Almond Lemon Cake or Cupcake.
• The sugar can be adjusted as per taste. I generally use minimum quantity of sugar in the bakes. I do not believe in icing unless the occasion demands embellishment.
• Orange peels are the secret behind many tasty cakes. Follow the link for a quick and easy way to make dried orange peels that can be added to Christmas cakes, chocolate cakes, etc.
• The almond essence is not required unless you need heavy almondy taste. Since most of the available almond essences in the market are synthetics, it is really not needed. Go more on real almonds.
• Some people like their cupcake crust crunchy and browned. For this, you can leave them in the oven for a few minutes extra.