Mandarin Orange Muffins

I came to know about a food event known as, Muffin Monday Round Up, while surfing around for muffin creations. I decided to take part in this event, since I love baking muffins, and furthermore, it is hosted by Elena of Experiments, from Singapore.

Here's my entry for the event: Mandarin Orange Muffins.


I came across a blueberry muffin recipe from a Japanese-Chinese translated cookbook...Sweet Simple Dessert. I love the way the muffins look...very pretty, with nice and smooth domed tops. Most of the time, my muffins turned out to have very cracked tops :(

I followed the recipe but replaced the blueberries with mandarin oranges since I have been wanting to bake something with them. Instead of the usual "muffin" method where the wet ingredients are added to the dry ones, this recipe is based on the creaming method, i.e. cream butter with sugar.

I was rather satisfied with how the muffins turned out. The tops didn't crack that much as compared to my previous bakes. The texture is very soft and light, almost like cupcakes. The sweetness is also just right, with only a slight tang from the mandarin oranges.


Ingredients:
(makes 12 cupcakes)

200g plain flour
20g corn flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
50ml milk
2 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
110g butter, softened
160g caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 mandarin oranges, cut into small chunks

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degC.


2. Sift together plain flour, corn flour and baking powder. Set aside.


3. Mix yogurt and milk together in a bowl. Set aside.


4. Whisk butter still soft. Add in sugar and salt and continue to whisk till mixture turns light and fluffy.


5. Add the eggs, one at a time, and whisk until combined. Mix in the vanilla.


6. Add in half of the flour mixture, stir with a spatula until just combined. Add in half of the yogurt & milk mixture, stir until just combined. Continue to add in half of the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining yogurt mixture, and finally the remaining flour mixture. Stir until just combined between each addition.


7. Fill muffin cups to half full with the batter. Distribute orange pieces evenly among the cups. Spoon remaining batter on top. Decorate with one slice of orange on top, if desired.


8. Bake for 25 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.