Monday 31 March 2014

Brown Sugar Lemon Mascarpone Muffins











Every now and then I get a spare half hour to myself that I didn't plan. A few moments in time where I'm not expected to be somewhere or be doing something. This is when I frantically go through a list in my mind, checking the options as to how I might use this gift of time. Should I read the school newsletter or iron a few shirts? Should I sit down and have coffee and read a magazine? Should I catch up on my emails or tweet the minutia of my life? But what I usually do is bake a batch of muffins.



Brown Sugar Lemon Mascarpone Muffins
slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is
Makes 12

285g cake flour
80g light brown suagr
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
60g unsalted butter, melted
250ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
225g mascarpone
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk to break up any lumps and aerate. Add the lemon zest and mix with a fork to distribute through flour mixture. Add the mascarpone and stir it through using the fork. The mixture will become crumbly. Ditch the fork and get your hands into the mixture and lightly rub the mascarpone into the dry ingredients like you would rub butter into flour for making pastry. Once the mascarpone is evenly rubbed in, set the mixture aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract and melted butter. Add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Do not over mix. The batter will be lumpy, but when it comes to muffin batter, lumpy is good.

Evenly distribute the batter among the muffin liners and bake for 16-18 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool a little before serving.

16 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great use of time to me! Love the simple flavors in these!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Marie. These flavours really are meant to meet up in a muffin, I'm sure of it.

      Delete
  2. Baking muffins is so relaxing and after, you can eat them with a tea or a coffee when they're still hot!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such perfect muffins! And I love the lemon-mascarpone flavor combo! Divine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So do I Liz. Lemon and mascarpone were made for each other.

      Delete
  4. Muffins win for me most of the time too! What a lovely recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Maria. "When in doubt, Bake." should be tattooed on my arm.

      Delete
  5. These appear to be the best way to use up a spare half hour to me! Lemon, brown sugar, and mascarpone - what's not to love!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. Anyhow, I see it as a community service.

      Delete
  6. What a great way to spend 30 minutes, I find my time in the kitchen very relaxing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice one, Jennifer. When you say cake flour... plain?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lizzy. I buy cake flour from the supermarket. It's Lighthouse brand and it's labelled "cake flour". It's a low protein flour which helps give cakes a light, tender crumb. Plain will be fine if that's what you have in the cupboard though.

      Delete
  8. I LOVE brown sugar in all types of baking and these muffins with their zingy citrus addition look fabulous! Karen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Karen. My son took some of these to school to share with his classmates. Apparently the kids thought they were "awesome".

      Delete