Orange, Walnut, and Rosemary Muffins

Are you currently living in a winter wonderland? Feeling snowed in? Blue? Well, try these muffins for a nice pick-me-up! The combination of orange and rosemary will have your senses perked up in no time!

I used to think oranges were a summer fruit since they are so sunny and happy. It was a little shocking to find out they are best in winter (at least here in North America.)

I love what Eat the Seasons says about oranges: "Oranges provide seasonal eaters with a taste of sun in the middle of winter. [They are] fabulous [in] desserts where they form a heavenly match with chocolate."

 

Amen.

Orange, Walnut, and Rosemary Muffins (adapted from The Kitchen Prep)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar (Erika's Extras - I used organic sugar. Worked well.)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 eggs
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
6 tablespoons canola oil (Erika's Extras - I used grape seed oil bc I didn't have canola. Worked fine but I think I would have preferred canola.)
Zest of 2 oranges - save 1 teaspoon for icing
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish

For Icing:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
3-4 teaspoons freshly squeeze orange juice (Erika's Extras: Used the oranges you just zested.)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and walnuts.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, oil, orange zest, and chopped rosemary.
4. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and mix until just combined. Do not over mix, there will still be some small lumps. If your mixture looks a bit dry, add 1 tablespoon at a time of milk or almond milk until moistened.
5. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into liners. Bake for 16-18 minutes until tops are slightly golden and firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool on a baking rack for about 30 minutes or until completely cooled. Spoon icing over top and decorate with a small sprig of rosemary.

Icing:
1. Sift powdered sugar into a small bowl.
2. Add zest and juice and whisk until smooth.
3. Drizzle or spoon over muffins.

4. Add a sprig of rosemary on top of the icing of each muffin.

Bake well and prosper!

Rosemary Orange Honey Fig Cake

This cake was extremely fun to make for many reasons. Top 4 reasons:

1. My roomie found this recipe and wanted to be my baking assistant for it (and he was very good. I might hire him!) ;)

2. We used figs that our landlord gave us from his tree! Thanks Charlie!

3. I had an excuse to buy a springform pan!

4. Raw honey, figs, butter...all glistening in a saucepan. See below.

Lovely, right?

I also enjoyed that this recipe used orange zest and rosemary together. It smelled great and reminded me of the Buttered Rosemary & Orange Nuts recipe.

I've also seen a lot of shares online via pinterest, facebook, etc about fig cakes. And I can see why. Fig cakes are so cheery and a perfect dessert to transition from summer into fall.

My roomie and I will be enjoying this all weekend long. (We even left a couple of slices for our landlord.) 

Have a good weekend! Bake a cake! With Figs!

Rosemary Orange Honey Fig Cake (from seriouseats)

Ingredients

Baking spray
2 1/2 cups (about 12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (about 5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons grated zest from 1 orange
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup honey (I used raw)
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter
12 figs, stems trimmed and quartered lengthwise
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup honey (I used raw honey)

Instructions
For the Cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 9-inch round springform pan with cooking spray. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Pulse sugar, rosemary, and orange zest in food processor until no zest strands remain and rosemary is coarsely chopped (see note above).

In large bowl, beat butter, oil, and rosemary-orange sugar on medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add honey and beat just until incorporated.

Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Increase speed to medium and beat mixture just until combined, 20 to 30 seconds. Add vanilla and beat once more, just to combine, about 10 seconds.

Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until cake tester inserted in cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating cake halfway through baking. Transfer cake to cooling rack set inside baking sheet and cool in pan 10 minutes.

Release springform and invert cake onto cooling rack; remove bottom of springform. Invert cake once again and cool completely, about 1 hour.

For the Figs and Assembly: Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and cook until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add figs and season with salt and pepper. Cook until figs soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in honey and remove from heat.

With a knife (serrated is best), slice about 1/8 inch off top of cake. Spoon figs and any released juices on top of cake. Serve.

Bake well and prosper!

Potpourri - Buttered Rosemary & Orange Nuts

Ok. So, this isn't exactly a dessert. It DOES contain sugar, but I mean, seriously? Could I pull this off as a dessert at a bake sale? Exactly. Thus I have made a new entry idea for my blog: Potpourri. If I make something that isn't a dessert, but that I just HAVE to share with you, I'll label it as a Potpourri Post. (Say that 5 times fast.)

Well, I saw this recipe on Framed Cooks yesterday and I was so enraptured with it that I HAD to make it right away. Also, I had lots of nuts that needed to be used, so it was very much a win-win situation. Further side note: I know the sister of the author of Framed Cooks.

Anywho... these mixed nuts are so lovely! I have decided that they will be my afternoon snack every day this week. I hope you enjoy them too! 

Buttered Rosemary Orange Nuts (from Framed Cooks)
2 cups salted mixed nuts (Erika's Extra: I used raw nuts and added sea salt to them)
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons orange zest

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When melted add the mixed nuts, sugar, rosemary, and orange zest. Stir just until the sugar is melted and everything is well-combined, which will take about 2 minutes.

2. Pour onto a piece of parchment paper or nonstick foil and let cool before serving. This will keep for at least a week...if it lasts that long!

Bake well and prosper!