Cranberry and Corn Toaster Cakes

By Mariealicerayner @MarieRynr
    

When the kids were growing up we often popped across the border into the US to go shopping, especially when the Canadian dollar was almost on par.   We got a lot of bang for our bucks then!  Food in American was always a lot cheaper and we got tons of bargains.   We would come home with our car boot absolutely bursting!  

One thing I always loved to pick up was the Thomas's Toaster Muffins.  They came in several varities but my favorite ones were always the Corn Toaster Muffins  I am a big fan of corn muffins!  

I found this recipe recently on Serious Eats.  It looked delicious and very similar to the Thomas's Toaster Muffins I had so enjoyed.  I just had to print it out and give them a go.  

I was not disappointed.   They were fabulous!  Not too sweet, with a hearty texture . . . and just the perfect size for popping into the toaster.  Perfect eats for those mornings when you are rushed and don't have a lot of time to spend.  The kiddies will love them too.  

The hardest part for me was fitting my muffin top pan into our oven.   Obviously North American ovens are a lot larger!  We had to use the Toddster's pliers to bend one of the ends up so I could slide it in with ease!  They worked a charm, and in my opinion it was an improvement on the original design!  

*Cranberry Toaster Cakes*
Makes 13  Printable Recipe  

Tasty little muffin tops that you can just pop into the toaster to heat up.   Easy peasy. 
10 TBS unsalted butter, softened127g of granulated sugar (2/3 cup)1/2 tsp salt2 large free range eggs255g of fine polenta (1 1/2 cups cornmeal)140g plus 2 TBS plain flour (1 cup plus 2 TBS all purpose flour)2 1/2 tsp baking powder6 fluid ounces milk (3/4 cup)125g fresh cranberries (1 1/4 cups)  
  
You will need several muffin top pans for this. In the UK, you can use yorkshire pudding tins, which are slightly larger.   Alternately you can just bake them as muffins, in which case you will need to bake them longer. 
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.   Butter your tins really well and set aside.Cream together the butter, sugar and salt until light and creamy.   Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  
Whisk together the flour, polenta and baking powder.  Stir into the creamed mixture along with the milk, stirring to just combine.   Fold in the cranberries.  Fill your muffin top cups until almost full.  Smooth over the tops with a damp spatula. 
Bake in the preheated oven until set and golden brown around the edges.  This should take about 15 minutes.   Allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Repeat with the remaining batter until all have been cooked.  
  
When done, stack, placing a piece of parchment paper in between each, wrap tightly and freeze.   When you want to have one for breakfast, just take one out and pop it into the toaster to toast.  Serve warm with softened butter for spreading!  Delish!