As a family we aren't fond of baked goods piled high with frosting - you know the kind that is double the height of the cupcake, muffin or cake and as you sink your teeth into it you can actually feel your teeth rotting away - either that or you are inches away from delirium from a pure sugar rush!
Personally, every time I go into one of those gourmet cup cake stores and buy one of those ultra-sexy-metallic-frosting-looking cupcakes that I wouldn't know how to bake or frost in a million years, I always wonder after 2 bites why I don't ever remember the promise I made myself the last time I was there - that that would be the last time I walk into one of these stores.
However, as time dulls my senses and my memory vanes (blame it on growing years..ya right..) and there's always one school party or the other that beckons me to walk into such a store yet again, and I find myself in the same position, regretting the $10.99 I've just shelled out for 2 cupcakes, thinking of all the carbs-calories-fat I've just consumed in this enormous 3-in-one combo.
My kids at this point have slithered away from their respective mounds towards some sponge-bob/bionicle inspired play area in the corner of the store while I'm left to finish my sin-in-a-paper-cup as well as theirs!
It is therefore that when I do end up baking for breakfast, I tend to lean more towards the bready-muffiny concoctions that have some sort of fruit and little else by way of embellishments. Some thing that will be wonderful with soft butter, pots of fruit preserves and hot cups of coffee & tea. These days my hours belong to Dostoyevsky & M.C. Beaton. How blissful!
Today the boys and I pull up a recipe on file from Williams & Sonoma - one of their raspberry cake recipes and start tinkering. The clocks ticking so off we go, scrap this, scrap that, add some lemon zest and I think we have an idea of where we're heading...the rest will follow....
Gather the ingredients -1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 cup sour cream, 1-1/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup unsalted butter, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 3 eggs, zest of 1 lemon, 12 oz fresh raspberries & 1 tbs powdered sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F
Lemon: Zest the lemon using a fine vegetable grater or zester.
Butter: In a pyrex cup, melt the butter and set aside. This should take about a minute or so.
Place 2 mixing bowl on the counter top - one large and one medium sized.
In the larger mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir to blend.
In the smaller bowl, crack 3 eggs, discarding shells and add the sour cream & vanilla extract.With a hand beater/blender, beat for about a minute or so till well blended.
Add the the egg mixture to the flour mixture and with the hand blender, beat for about 2 minutes till the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the melted butter and lemon zest. Stir with a spatula till well blended.
Line the muffin pan with the liners. Spoon some of the batter into the pan till each cup is about half filled.
Place a raspberry in the center of each cup. Evenly spoon the remaining batter over the raspberries till each cup is about 3/4 filled.
Decorate the top of each muffin with raspberries. We decided to use 3 raspberries per cupcake so the kids could polish off the remaining with whipped cream.
Bake for about 20-23 minutes or until the tops are a beautiful golden brown and the toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the muffin.
Allow the muffins to cool for about 10 minutes.
Place on a platter and dust some powdered sugar over the muffins. To dust the sugar, place about a tbs of powdered sugar in a sieve and lightly tap over the muffins.
These are absolutely delicious served warm with soft butter and pots of raspberry & strawberry preserves.
The lemon zest is lovely with lending a citrus aroma to the sweetness in the muffin and the tart from the raspberries. The texture is moist and bread-like than a crumbly cake. What a wonderful way to use fresh berries while they're still in season!
Recipe for
Breakfast Raspberry, Lemon & Sour Cream Bread Muffins
Makes 12 medium bread-muffins
Preparation time - 15 minutes
Baking time 23 minutes
Shopping list -
1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1-1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
12 oz fresh raspberries
1 tbs powdered sugar for dusting
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F
Lemon: Zest the lemon using a fine vegetable grater or zester.
Butter: In a pyrex cup, melt the butter and set aside. This should take about a minute or so.
Place 2 mixing bowl on the counter top - one large and one medium sized.
Method:
Place 2 mixing bowl on the counter top - one large and one medium sized.
In the larger mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir to blend.
In the smaller bowl, crack 3 eggs, discarding shells and add the sour cream & vanilla extract.With a hand beater/blender, beat for about a minute or so till well blended.
Add the the egg mixture to the flour mixture and with the hand blender, beat for about 2 minutes till the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the butter and lemon zest. Stir with a spatula till well blended.
Line the muffin pan with the liners. Spoon some of the batter into the pan till each cup is about half filled.
Place a raspberry in the center of each cup. Evenly spoon the remaining batter over the raspberries till each cup is about 3/4 filled.
Decorate the top of each muffin with raspberries. We decided to use 3 raspberries per cupcake so the kids could polish off the remaining with whipped cream..smiles..
Bake for about 23 minutes or until the tops are a beautiful golden brown and the toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the muffin.
Allow the muffins to cool for about 10 minutes.
Place on a platter and dust some powdered sugar over the muffins. To dust the sugar, place about a tbs of powdered sugar in a sieve and lightly tap over the muffins.
Enjoy!
