Cranberry Spice Muffins. Also, I am a Boring Human.

There is something about initiating a discussion on muffins that makes me feel like the world's least interesting human. 

It probably doesn't help that I'm currently wearing a bathrobe and a t-shirt that says "Thomas Jefferson Still Lives" under that.  And that I'm drinking club soda.  And that I'm writing this on a Friday night.

But please don't let my lameness stop you.  This is a fine pastry specimen.  In fact, I referred to the batch I baked around Christmas as holiday stud-muffins. 

This probably does not help my cause much.  But hopefully it does something for the muffins.

The recipe is inspired by a blueberry spelt version in Nigel Slater's Ripe.  It's a wonderful base to use throughout the year and takes kindly to whatever berry-of-the-moment the season is hosting. And this is one of my favorite incarnations. So despite being past its seasonal prime, I deemed it worthy enough to risk a passé label.

It has the tender quality of a muffin masquerading as a biscuit and hints ever so slightly of eggnog.  The cranberries swing with the spices and offer up pleasing tart pockets.  Things might even teeter on the side of savory, if there wasn't a sprinkling of demerara over their tops. 

But the crunch from the sugar is a must.  If it were up to me, I'd make a demerara scattering mandatory across most baked goods.  They also freeze brilliantly.  Which means they can pretty much go wherever, whenever.

They are a real renaissance muffin.

Jefferson lives!

Cranberry Spice Muffins

Adapted from Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard by Nigel Slater

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

heaping ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground allspice

¼ to ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg (see note)

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ cup butter, softened

scant 2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup plain whole milk yogurt

1¼ cups cranberries (fresh or frozen whole)

a few spoonfuls demerara sugar

few spoonfuls rolled oats

Instructions:

Set the oven to 375 degrees.  Line 12 muffin cups with liners.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.

In the bowl of stand mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy, scraping down the sides occasionally (the mixture will want to cling to the side of the bowl, especially if you use the paddle attachment).  With the mixer running, slowly add the eggs one at a time; add in the vanilla and yogurt.

Add the sifted flour mixture in three or four swift additions with the mixer running (the flour does not have to be fully incorporated; you don't want to over-mix the batter).  Stop the mixer and fold in the berries.  Spoon the batter into the prepared cups (it will be very thick).  Scatter the tops with ½ to 1 tsp demerara per muffin and sprinkle on some oats.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.  Let the muffins cool briefly in the pan and then place on a rack to fully cool.

Makes one dozen muffins

Notes:

-I used sheep's yogurt, because I love it.  Any yogurt will do, but I prefer whole because it adds a little richness and the recipe does not use a lot of fat overall.

-I eyeballed the nutmeg measurement (I ground it for 10 seconds with a microplane).  This yielded a faint but tangible presence. Use your judgment and do more or less depending on your relationship with the spice.

-You can substitute the whole wheat pastry flour for another whole grain, like whole wheat or spelt.  The pastry flour will yield a lighter crumb, but I've also used other less delicate types with satisfying results. 

Nutmeg Spice Cake To Have and To Hold

It’s official, summer wedding season is on. I hosted an engagement party for two dear friends last week and I’m still recovering from my sister’s bachelorette Florida getaway the past weekend. Already, certain themes for this series of matrimony have emerged. Lifelong happiness? The need to shun sweets to squeeze into a dress?

No, for me the theme is ice cream. And cake. Paired with booze. This is entirely my issue. And I have to live with that.

In my defense, I hadn’t planned on my sister’s bachelorette dinner in Daytona being so dismal that it forced forgoing the final course: our party—instead—opting for a taxicab ride to the Winn Dixie for dessert, etc.. I hadn’t planned on washing down a gallon of ice cream with plonk at midnight on a beach vacation. Flash to me with a bottle of cheap Riesling in one hand and a tub of Rocky Road in the other.

On a more successful dessert fête, my friends’ engagement party on my patio featured a buffet of homemade ice cream, paired with a number of fizzy alcoholic beverages for an adult ice cream float fest that would have made Bacchus proud. And there was cake. Specifically, nutmeg spice cake with a rum meringue buttercream.

While cocktails + ice cream is good—and sometimes a necessity—booze with cake is better. This will forever be true for me. And it likely explains why I have such strong feelings about wedding cake. (Read: + open bar.)

I now sit with a leftover slice of cake and can’t help but think how mind-blowing it would be to wash it down with some brandy. The cake itself is like reincarnated eggnog. Each ethereal bite is a cakey reminder of the special occasion cocktail I hold near and dear to my heart.

With this dessert, two souls become one. It’s the perfect marriage of innocence and depravity, a fluffy, moist cake, wrapped in a meringue buttercream and tucked in with a nip of rum. It’s not overly showy, nor is it overly complex to create, but it’s a recipe worth hanging on to all the days of your life.

This cake is patient, this cake is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is nutmeg and rum together, in arguably their finest hour.

So I, Emily, take you, nutmeg cake, to be my pastry partner. And with this fork, I thee eat.

Nutmeg Spice Cake with Rum Meringue Buttercream

Adapted from Joanne Chang's cookbook Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup olive oil

1.5 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1-1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves, freshly ground

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Rum Meringue Buttercream

1.5 cups sugar

6 egg whites

1.5 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp kosher salt

4-8 tbsp dark rum (to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8 inch cake pans (if making a layer cake) or one 9 inch pan. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and oil for about 1 minute. On medium speed, slowly add in sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add eggs one at a time and beat until well combined.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Add about a third of this mixture to creamed mixture above and mix until just combined; add half buttermilk, mix briefly; scrape down sides of bowl to incorporate all of mixture. On low speed, add half of remaining flour mixture and then the remaining buttermilk. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined. Pour into prepared cake pan(s).

Bake cake in the middle of your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.

To make the buttercream, in a small heatproof bowl, whisk sugar and egg whites together. Place a small amount of water in a saucepan big enough to allow your bowl to fit in it. When the water is simmering, place the bowl with the sugar and egg whites over the water; ideally, the bowl should not be touching the simmering water. Whisk the mixture for 6-8 minutes or until the mixture is hot to the touch.

Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on medium-high speed for 6-8 minutes, until it becomes a light, white meringue. Turn the speed down to low and add the butter at 2 inch chunks and mix for 2-3 minutes. If the mixture looks curdled it will eventually smooth out, you may need to beat it for a few more minutes.

Add vanilla, salt and 4 tbsp of the rum and whip for an additional 1-2 minutes. Taste and add additional rum until desired, whipping briefly to incorporate.

Frost cake. Dust with additional freshly grated nutmeg. Eat cake.

Serves 8-12 (this depends on the size of your slices and the amount of spirits you've consumed)

Notes:

-The buttercream can be refrigerated for a few days if you aren't using it immediately; out of the refrigerator, beat for about 10 minutes before frosting. (Frosting may separate, but it will come together again.)

-If you happen to have leftovers of this cake, it will freeze brilliantly (even frosted), allowing you to eat it at midnight should that tickle your fancy.

-This is the stuff dessert dreams are made of. Nutmeg is also said to be an aphrodisiac. I'm just sayin' ...

-Ironically, the pastry chef that came up with this dessert at Flour was making it for a friend's wedding.