Everything old is new again
By esther on Thursday, March 1 2007, 16:04 - Breakfast of champions - Permalink
Perfect timing! A muffin craving just in time for Elena's from Experiments Muffin Monday!
Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book makes reading about breakfast feel like eating breakfast. Everything is soft, warm and inviting. Probably one of my favorite recipes is her Last Word in Nutmeg Muffins. The simplicity of the recipe makes it one of those things that you don't necessarily have to get up early to make. For the longest time we just made them straight up. The soft creamy nutmeg crumble left nothing else to be desired.
But then we started thinking like little scientists and our desire to one up got the better of us. What else could we add? My mom and I went through a whole gammet of ideas: apricots, rolled oats, dried cherries, figs, etc... In the end we decided not to mix anything in the batter for fear of weighing it down. The winning combination was coarsely grated coconut on top and turbinado sugar for the sides.
The sugar dusted sides resulted in two delicious surprises. First, the sugar on the tops of the muffins crystallized and was the perfect additional crunch to the toasted coconut. The sugar coated muffin bottoms almost caramelized to form a sticky sweetness. They tasted like doughnuts, little joey bag o doughnuts
as we called them, but even better.
Nutmeg Crunch Muffins
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 whole nutmegs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup skim milk
5 Tbsp. melted butter
Grate fresh nutmeg and combine with flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat egg in smal bowl and then stir in cream, milk and butter. Blend well with a whisk.
Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture until there are no streaks of flour left. Be sure not to overmix.
Butter the insides of a mini cupcake pan and then dust with turbinado sugar. Fill each cup 3/4 full. Top with coursely shredded coconut.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 400 F or until tops are rounded and coconut is toasted.
Let muffins cool almost completely in the pan and then remove. If you remove them too early the sugar bottoms will crumble.
Makes about 2 dozen.
Comments
Oh, my! Those muffins look amazingly tasty, although I have to say I find the amount of nutmeg a bit intimidating - it seems like even small amounts give such a definite tang. I guess I'll have to try them to find out! :P
yes! you should try them. i don't find the nutmeg to be overwhelming at all; i may have even put a little extra in. the only thing intimidating about these beauties is all the nutmeg grating that goes into it. watch out for the fingers!
These look great. Love the combo of flavors. BTW, I am tagging you for the "5 Things Meme".
This is just about the most elegant looking muffin I've ever seen! Between the upscale looks and the intrgue over the sheer amount of nutmeg, I believe I'm going to make them and pass them off as dessert at my next dinner party. I can't wait to try them!
esther your dishes and photographs look fantastic! you and your mom are a great team! hope you are enjoying the fantastic winter weather! salinda