Corduroy Orange

I’ve made a couple of batches of these lately and everyone I’ve served them to has agreed that they’re very good, though the folks with whom I work insisted upon calling them muffins instead of cupcakes. Truth be told, I’m not sure where the muffin-cupcake line is drawn, but in my mind once it’s got frosting on it, it’s a cupcake. Unfrosted, though, these could easily serve as breakfast muffins—but if I were cooking them for that purpose, I might ease back a bit on the sugar: using only 1 cup instead of a cup and a half of maple syrup.

If the maple syrup is a bank-breaker for you (as it would be if you’re trying to buy maple syrup in the grocery store), you’ve got two options: either buy your maple syrup in bulk (1/2 gallon or more) from a wholesaler or a producer, thereby getting a better price; or substitute brown sugar for the maple syrup. Under no circumstances should you substitute imitation maple syrup, which, quite frankly, is crap: maple flavored corn syrup, ick!

The cranberries are probably my favorite feature of this recipe. They steam in the batter and come out plump and sweet. A little shopping tip for you: stock up on cranberries now and freeze them right in their package, then enjoy fresh cranberries the whole year.

Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins with Apple Cider Buttercream

Yield: 30 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
~1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1 1/2 cups prepared winter squash
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup oil or melted butter let cool slightly

1 - 1 1/2 cups cranberries
Stir dry ingredients together. Stir wet ingredients together. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened but some lumps remain. Fold in cranberries. Fill baking cups about 2/3 - 3/4 full. Bake at 400F for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted into individual cakes comes out clean. Let cool and then ice with apple cider buttercream.

To Prepare Winter Squash:

Carefully peel your choice of winter squash (butternut, pie pumpkin, acorn, kabocha, hubbard, etc.; not spaghetti squash) and dice into small pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt, and spices and bake on cookie sheet at 350F for 30 minutes or until soft. Run through food processor, food mill, or sausage grinder. Drain overnight in cheesecloth if there is excessive moisture.

Apple Cider Buttercream:
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons dark rum
1/2 pound confectioner’s sugar (about 2 cups)
2-4 tablespoons apple cider (or enough to achieve spreadable consistency).

Cream butter with electric standing mixer. Add rum. Add sugar gradually, about 1/2 cup at a time, letting each addition combine with butter before adding more. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions. When all of the sugar has been added, the icing will be quite dry. Drizzle in apple cider until icing achieves a spreadable consistency. If you accidentally add too much cider, you can save the icing by adding more sugar to counteract the liquid. The icing will taste only vaguely of apples. If you want more apple flavor, substitute cider for all or part of the rum.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 9th, 2007 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.