I borrowed this cookbook (Gale Gand's Brunch!: 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend's Best Meal)
from the library a few months back and have been using this recipe whenever I
want to make some muffins. I feel that the sour cream really makes the muffins
soft and moist. And since I still have some leftover sour cream from a
strawberry cheesecake I made over the weekend, these were my end products.
I top them with a few slices of mandarin oranges, walnut and a small dollop of whipped cream (flavoured with orange essence) so that they will look nicer. I managed to make about 24 mini ones, and 5 regular muffins with this recipe.
For the
muffins: (makes 18 regular muffins)
1 ½ cups
all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon
baking powder
1 teaspoon
baking soda
½ teaspoon
salt
½ cup (1
stick) butter
1 cup sugar
3 large
eggs
1 teaspoon pure
vanilla extract
1 teaspoon
orange extract
2
tablespoon orange zest
1 ¼ cup
sour cream
Optional:
1 cup
chopped walnut
- Preheat
oven to 375F (190C). Line muffin tins.
- Sift
together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a
bowl, and set aside.
- In the bowl
of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the butter on medium
speed until it is light and fluffy; then add the sugar and mix well.
- Mix in the
eggs, one at a time, and then mix in the vanilla extract, orange extract and
orange zest.
- Add a third
of the dry ingredients and mix until barely combined. Then mixed in a third of
the sour cream. Repeat until all the dry ingredients and sour cream are added
and mixed until just combined.
- Mix in the
walnut if you are adding them.
- Scoop the
batter into the lined muffin tins, filling them about ¾ full. Bake for 18-20min, or until an inserted cake
tester or toothpick comes out clean.
- When
cooled, decorate as desired.
Even though
the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, I only use about ¾ cup, and I find the
sweetness just nice for me. And I have a sweet tooth.
Speaking of
strawberry cheesecake, I have had a chance to bake one tray for a BBQ lunch,
but I did not manage to take any pictures. Let’s hope there are more
opportunities in the future for me to share the calories with everyone. =)