Orange Marmalade Muffins #MuffinMonday

These orange marmalade muffins bake up fluffy and tender. The yogurt and zest add an extra punch to the already flavorful buttery crumb.

Any good cookbook I've ever read always suggests reading the recipe through before starting to cook or bake. Wise advice for sure so I do try to comply. In the case of muffins, I've been baking them so long and so often that I make up my own recipes with ease.

I sit at my computer before heading into the kitchen. For 12 muffins, 2 cups of flour is about right. Are they going to be sweet muffins? Well then, I add some white sugar, brown sugar or honey or even jam (or a combination) to the ingredients list. What will I use to moisten the dry ingredients? Milk, melted butter, oil, yogurt, buttermilk? How many eggs? Usually one will do. Don't forget a leavening agent and salt. Even a sweet muffin needs some salt.

Finally, or sometimes initially, to be honest, what add-ins or flavorings will I use? Fruit in season, chopped candy bars or maybe leftover meat and cheese in the fridge. Any of these might motivate me to create a muffin recipe. This morning my inspiration came from a jar of homemade orange marmalade I bought at a weekend market a couple of years ago. It's been languishing, still sealed, in the cool pantry ever since, slightly darker than when I bought it but just as good.

The one thing I had not considered was a muffin pan. Much to my horror, I realized that I don't have one in the house I'm staying in right now! I was saved when I came across a set of 12 silicone muffin cups tucked into a kitchen drawer. That was close. It's also why my very first instruction for Muffin Monday recipes is to prepare your pan! Better to know before you start if job one is actually to go buy a muffin pan (or silicone cups.)

Orange Marmalade Muffins

Pump up the orange flavor in these muffins by adding a little tangerine or orange zest to your granulated sugar before mixing in the other dry ingredients.

Ingredients
2/3 cup or 132g sugar
Zest 1 small tangerine, minced or finely grated
2 cups or 250g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 113g butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup or 120g plain yogurt
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1/4 cup or 60ml good quality marmalade
1 large egg

Optional glaze:  2 tablespoons marmalade, slightly warmed

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin tin by greasing it or lining it with paper muffin cups. Or use silicone cups on a baking pan! These little miracles allow one to bake muffins, even if you actually don't own a muffin pan in your current location.

In a large bowl, rub your sugar with the tangerine zest to release the oils. I use the back of my silicone spoon against the bowl.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the sugar bowl and whisk to combine.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your melted butter, milk, yogurt, egg and marmalade.

Check out the gorgeous color of my butter, there on the left. All natural, from Jersey Dairy, made with the rich cream from Jersey cows. 

Pour your egg/milk mixture into your dry ingredients and fold until just combined.

Divide the muffin batter between the muffin cups.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Warm the extra marmalade briefly in the microwave and then brush it onto the muffins to glaze.

Remove the muffins from the pan (or silicone cups) and cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Check out all of the other lovely muffins my Muffin Monday friends have baked for you today!

• Flo's V8 Cafe Oat Bran Muffins from Simply Inspired Meals
• Morning Glory Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Tomato and Basil Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Orange Marmalade Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Orange Marmalade Muffins! 

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Blossom Tea Honey Buns #BreadBakers

Made with a fragrant tea mix of hibiscus, rose and orange blossoms, paired with ginger and apple, these blossom tea honey buns have a subtle floral note that goes excellently with a hot cup of tea.

Yesterday for Mother’s Day we hosted a backyard cookout. The menu included chicken, sausage and pork ribs, along with two substantial salads, garlic bread and my world-famous lentil burgers for the vegetarian contingent. My lentil burger recipe calls for 1 cup or 210g of uncooked lentils, which usually means buying a box or bag and dealing with leftovers.

Now that I’m back in the States, I am discovering the joys of the self-serve  bulk food department of my neighborhood stores. Not that we didn’t have bulk foods in Dubai, but I wasn’t allowed to help myself. It’s such fun to use the little scoop and measure out just how much I need for a recipe. I was able to buy exactly 210g of French lentils and now I don’t have a box in the cupboard with leftovers that are never enough for another recipe.

Another bonus of the bulk foods is the fabulous mix of teas and infusions available. They all sound and smell wonderful but I especially love the ones with ginger.

Blossom Tea Honey Buns

For these blossom tea honey buns, I used a Tiesta tea that my grocery store called Ginger Sweet Peach, despite the complete lack of peaches in the mix. You can use your favorite fruit infusion to make these buns.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons blossom tea or your favorite mix
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup or 60ml honey
1/4 cup or 50g white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 envelope (1/4 oz or 7g) active dry yeast
2 3/4 cup or 350g bread flour
1 cup or 110g whole grain rolled oats

1 egg, beaten, for brushing on buns before baking
Optional for decoration: honey and extra tea leaves

Method
First, brew your tea by adding 1 1/4 cups of boiling water to the tea mix. Steep for 5 minutes then strain and discard the tea mix. Check out that gorgeous color!

Add in the honey and butter and stir till the honey is dissolved.

Mix white sugar and yeast in a large bowl. When the liquid has cooled to a lukewarm temperature, add it to bowl containing the sugar and yeast. Leave to prove for a few minutes.

When the yeast starts to foam, mix in the flour, oats and salt.

Knead until you have a smooth dough ball. This is a soft dough but don’t be tempted to add more flour. The rolled oats will need that moisture as the dough is kneaded and then rises.

Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Put it in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Divide and form the dough into 10 balls and place them on a baking pan lined with baking parchment. Make sure to leave some space for rising. Since our theme is flowers, I made a last minute decision to make a larger bun out of two balls of dough so I could lay them out in a flower shape. So, as you can see in the photos, I only made nine buns out of mine.

Cover the bun pan with a proofing bag or clean garbage bag. Leave to the buns to rise for 30 more minutes.

When dough has almost finished rising, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg.

Bake for 17-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown, turning your pan around halfway through so they will brown evenly. Remove the buns from the oven.

Optional: While the buns are still warm, brush them with some honey and sprinkle with a few tea leaves for decoration.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month’s Bread Bakers host is Mireille of Schizo Chef. She challenged us to bake with flowers. Check out all the lovely recipes:

• Apricot Orange Danish Pastry from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Basil Flower Mini Bread Rolls from Sneha's Recipe
• Butterfly Pea Flower Buns from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Eggless Gulkand Muffins from Cook with Renu
• Blossom Tea Honey Buns from Food Lust People Love
• Hibiscus Sweet Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lavender Brown Butter Banana Bread from The Schizo Chef
• Lemon Calendula Scones from Palatable Pastime

Pin these Blossom Tea Honey Buns!

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Cheesy Grilled Corn Tartlets #BakingBloggers

These cheesy grilled corn tartlets boast grilled fresh corn, melty Saint Félicien cheese and a pretty slice of tomato on top, baked up in a flakey puff pastry crust.

Growing up mostly in the United States, I was spoiled with ample sweet corn every summer. When the first ears would start appearing at farm stands and grocery stores, we would eat it often. Boiled briefly, embuttered, with a sprinkling of salt and black pepper.

What I didn’t realize until I moved overseas was that not every country feels the same way about corn on the cob as we do.

In France and Brazil in particular, corn is cow feed. The varieties they grew, at least when I lived there, were not sweet or juicy. An Australian friend once told me the story of serving up sweet corn on the cob to her French in-laws. They stared at their plates in horror, not even knowing where to start. At first she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then, thinking that the cob was the problem, she sliced the niblets off for them, but still they picked at the corn, just to be polite. Mais, non, people don’t eat cow feed! My friend and I had a good laugh but we both agreed that there is nothing better than good sweet corn, eaten right off the cob.

Now that I’m home in Houston again, that tradition continues. Just recently fresh sweet corn was on sale: six ears for only one dollar! After the high prices of imported sweet Australian corn in Dubai, I was in heaven. I bought 36. My husband and I ate sweet corn for days and, I tell you, friends, it was glorious.

Cheesy Grilled Corn Tartlets

Sweet corn is fabulous just on its own but if you want to get fancy, grill it on a grill pan or over a charcoal fire to add a smoky flavor, then cut the niblets off and use it in cheesy grilled corn tartlets. We ate these little beauties as a main course, alongside salad and green beans, but they would also be perfect for a special tea party or brunch.

Ingredients for 6 individual tartlets (4 in or 10cm)
2 small ears corn or sub 3/4 cup or 150g frozen niblets, thawed
150g strong flavored, melty cheese like Saint Félicien or Camembert
Small bunch green onions, finely sliced, plus extra for garnish - optional
1 ripe but firm large tomato
2 eggs
1/4 cup or 60ml cream
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
few grinds fresh black pepper
8 3/4 oz or 250g ready rolled puff pastry sheet

Method
Use a grill pan over a medium high heat to grill your corn on the cob. Turn every couple of minutes until there are some nice charred marks all over the cobs. I used two for the tartlets and ate two with butter. So good!

Set aside to cool.  When cool enough to handle, cut the niblets off of the cobs. Mince your green onions and set aside a small pile for garnish. Cut the rind off of your cheese, if it has one. Then cut the cheese into small pieces. Set aside a small pile for adding to the tartlets just before baking.

Slice your tomato into six circles and lay them out on paper towels to get rid of excess juice.

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C. Prepare your tartlet pans by cutting out little circles of baking parchment and placing them in the bottom of the pans. This will make removing the tartlets much easier.

Unroll your puff pastry sheet and cut it into six equal pieces. Fit the puff pastry into each pan. Press down on the pastry all around the edges and remove the excess.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk your eggs together with the cream, salt, corn, green onions and cheese. Give the bowl a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Put the lined tart pans on a cookie sheet. Use a measuring cup to distribute the filling relatively evenly in the six tartlets. Top each with a slice of tomato, then sprinkle on the reserved cheese.

Pop the tartlets in your preheated oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until pastry and filling are both golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Run the point of a knife or wooden skewer around the edges of the tartlets to loosen the crust. Carefully remove the tartlets from the pans.

Sprinkle on the reserved green onions for garnish, if desired, and serve warm or at room temperature.

This month my Baking Blogger friends are all sharing recipes that are perfect for a tea party. You can check them all out in the links below. Many thanks to our host this month, Sue of Palatable Pastime!

• Bacon and Scallion Mini Quiche by Palatable Pastime
• Cheesy Grilled Corn Tartlets by Food Lust People Love
• Choco Orange Brownies by Sneha's Recipe
• Chocolate Coconut Flour Cookies (Gluten Free) by Cook with Renu
• Chocolate Orange Shortbread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Creamsicle Cupcakes by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Fast and Easy Petit Fours by Our Good Life
• Lemon Coconut Squares by Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Mickey Birthday Cake Scones by Simply Inspired Meals
• Millionaire's Shortbread (Caramel Shortbread) by Caroline's Cooking
• Mini Rhubarb Muffins by Home Sweet Homestead
• Napolitaines (Mauritian Sandwich Cookies) by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Ploughman's Scones with Ham Filling by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Southern Cheese Spread Tea Party Biscuits by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Victoria Sponge Cupcakes by Cookaholic Wife

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

Pin these Cheesy Grilled Corn Tartlets!

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