Almond Orange Muffins Recipes

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 18 muffin cup pan with paper liners. Set aside.
• Using a hand mixer on medium speed, in a medium bowl, beat the sugar and eggs together until pale and thick, about 2 minutes. Beat in the orange juice, olive oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, almond extract, and orange zest.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt.
• In batches, stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just blended. Stir in the almonds. Fill the cups with batter, 1/3 of the way full. Bake until golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Place on a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
• Using a hand mixer on medium speed, in a medium bowl, beat the sugar and eggs together until pale and thick, about 2 minutes. Beat in the orange zest and juice, olive oil, yogurt, vanilla, and almond extract.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and almond flours, baking powder, and salt.
• In batches, stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture until just blended. Stir in the almonds. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F Line a 12-muffin pan with paper muffin cups.
• Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a bowl.
• Stir in 3/4 cup wheat germ, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, juice, sugar and oil.
• Add dry ingredients all at once and stir lightly until liquid is absorbed; batter will be lumpy.
• Stir in orange zest and 3/4 cup almonds.
• Divide batter among muffin cups and sprinkle tops with remaining almonds and wheat germ.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Remove from pan and let cool.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3½. Line 2 x 12-hole muffin tins with muffin cases. Put the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and blend with an electric hand whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well between each addition. Add the flour, almonds, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix again, then add the orange zest and juice, and almond extract. Give a final mix to combine everything.
• Use 2 dessertspoons to divide the mixture between the cases. Bake for 22-25 mins, changing the tins over after 15 mins. Remove from the oven, leave to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Can now be frozen for up to 3 months.
• To make the icing, tip the butter into a large bowl and blend with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Add the icing sugar, cream cheese, almond extract and orange juice. Mash everything together first with a spatula (to avoid a mess), then go in with the electric whisk and mix until smooth. Add your food colouring and mix again until you have an even colour. (If you're using liquid food colouring, it will make the icing runny, so add a little more icing sugar.)
• Fit the piping bag with a large curved star point piping nozzle, then fill the bag with half of the icing and twist the end closed. To pipe, hold the piping bag directly above the centre of the cake and, applying a steady pressure, pipe in a swirl, working out towards the edge of the cupcake. When you reach the edge, swipe the nozzle to create a smooth finish - you can always cover this bit with leaves, so don't worry too much if it looks messy. When you have piped 12 cupcakes, empty any remaining icing from the bag back into the bowl with the reserved icing. Add a little more colouring to create a deeper shade (and a little extra sifted icing sugar if the icing gets too runny). Whisk again, then refill your piping bag and ice the remaining cakes. Can be stored somewhere cool for up to 1 day (the fridge is fine, just make sure that you remove 30 mins before eating).
• Before serving, add a few leaves, if you like: pinch off small pieces of green sugar paste or fondant icing and shape into leaves. Use a sharp knife to add detail, then stick onto the cupcakes. See tips, below left, for how to build your bouquet.