Citrus-Raisin Sunshine Muffins

Befitting its name, these sunny yellow muffins are sure to bring a little sunshine to your morning breakfast.  They also have that wake-you-up flavour as described by Greenspan, the happy result of the orange and lemon combination.  Definitely something worth waking up early to prepare especially when today is a holiday and I could have slept in.

Also, nothing beats the smile that I get from Little Missy when she wakes up to the smell of something baking in the oven.  Someone should seriously think of inventing an alarm clock that diffuses the aroma of fresh bakes.  I swear, they would be the best selling alarm clock in the world.

Again, this muffin recipe is adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  I have bookmarked so many of her recipes, and am currently working my way through them.  Maybe I should also jump on the "Tuesdays with Dorie" bandwagon.

You will need:

1/2 cup sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange

2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup fresh orange juice

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp pure lemon extract

115 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

3/4 cup moist, plump raisins

Preparation:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 190 deg Celsius.  Butter or spray a muffin pan (approximately 12 molds) or if you want to minimise wash-up just like me, use paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan / cups on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange is strong.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the orange and lemon juice, lemon extract, melted butter and eggs.  Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend.  Don’t worry about being thorough – a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Fold in the raisins. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.