Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel for #MuffinMonday

Nov 5, 2012 by

Hi folks! It’s the start of the start of a brand new week and I’m happy to be joining #MuffinMonday today. It has been a rough couple of weeks and I’m doing all I can to get back into the kitchen more often for blogging purposes. One of my biggest challenges of course, is this season of limited natural light which is ideal for food photography. It’s a common complaint. But I’ve decided that no matter what, I will be taking photographs. If I’m not happy with the result, then at least I tried. For a long time, I refused to do my shoots after dark, even with the equipment that I had. The result just wasn’t pleasing to me. I’ve since then tried to come up with solutions to give me decent images after dark or with low lighting. So todays photos are my first with a weird and wacky temporary set up. I laugh about  it because its nothing like the bright home studio with windows from floor to ceiling that I often day-dream about.

Today’s recipe is from Taste.com.au and is filled with nutty goodness. I made my substitutions based on what I had on hand. I  had some dried cherries that I wanted to use and wouldn’t you know, I had just enough to make this recipe. I also wanted a streusel topping instead of crumbling crushed nuts on top.

Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel

 

 

Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel for #MuffinMonday
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
A dense, nutty muffin with chunks of cherries and an almond streusel on top
Author:
Recipe type: Muffin
Ingredients
  • 1 Cup Dried Cherries
  • 2 Cups Self-Raising Flour
  • ¾ Cup Brown Sugar
  • ½ Cup Slivered Almonds
  • 2 Tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • ½ Tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • ¾ Cup Buttermilk
  • ½ Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Egg, lightly whisked
  • For the streusel:
  • ¼ Cup Almond Flour
  • ¼ Cup Unbleached, All-Purpose Flour
  • ½ Cup Turbinado Sugar
  • 5 Tbsp Cold Butter, diced
  • ½ Tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 392°F
  2. Line 12 x cup muffin pan with paper cases.
  3. Soak cherries in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, slivered almonds, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cherries.
  5. In a small measuring cup, combine buttermilk, oil and egg with a whisk.
  6. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined (do not overmix).
  7. Spoon evenly among the lined pans.
  8. Combine the the ingredients for the streusel in a small bowl and sprinkle over the muffins.
  9. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when tested.
Notes
This recipe yields 12-15 muffins

 

The first thing I noticed was that the streusel was very crumbly but also delightfully crunchy due to the turbinado sugar. I like crunchy, so thats ok.

 

Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel

 

Because the streusel has ground almonds, the nutty flavour was heightened.

 

Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel

 

My greatest delight about this muffin, is the burst of tart  flavour if you are lucky enough to sink your teeth into a piece of cherry. Its not too sweet, not too tart but certainly perks you up a bit.

 

Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel

 

Have an amazing week!

 

 

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week. 

Link to the Muffin Monday page: http://bakerstreet.tv/muffin-monday/

Link to Muffin 101: http://bakerstreet.tv/muffin-monday/muffin-101/

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Bavarian Apple Torte for #SundaySupper

Sep 23, 2012 by

Sunday Supper!!! I’m so glad to be participating again! Sunday Supper has got to be one of my most favourite communities. There’s a lot of fun and support amongst the members behind the scenes. Each Sunday has a unique theme and sometimes, a member gets to host! Don’t miss out on the Twitter chat at 7PM EST. Recipes and ideas are shared all day long, so feel free to jump in at any time using the hashtag #SundaySupper.

Today’s theme is “Autumn Apple Party” where we use wonderful crispy apples as an ingredient in our meal creations. My choice is Bavarian Apple Torte! I made this lovely dessert last year and I was very happy to re-visit the recipe as it was greatly enjoyed. I came across this recipe via Laura Calder’s whose version was titled Easy Pastry Shop Apple Tart. It was super easy and super tasty so here I go again! We have such a talented bunch of contributors this week (and every week)! So many awesome apple recipes to drool over!

Let’s start with mine! Oh so good…such sticky caramelization of the apples on top… I used Gala apples. They are my absolute favourite to bake with.

 

Bavarian Apple Torte

 

5.0 from 5 reviews
Bavarian Apple Torte for #SundaySupper
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
A simple tart made with royal gala apples and cream cheese
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: German, French, European
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • Tart Shell:
  • ½ Cup Butter
  • ⅓ Cup Sugar
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla
  • 1 Cup Unbleached Flour
  • Cream Filling:
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla
  • 8oz Cream Cheese, Softened
  • ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
  • Topping
  • 3 Royal Gala Apples, peeled and thinly sliced
  • ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
  • ½ Tsp Cinnamon
  • ¼ Cup Slivered Almonds
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F
  2. Tart Shell:
  3. Cream the butter and sugar. Add vanilla and combine. Add flour and mix until a smooth dough is achieved. Press into the bottom of a pie-dish or an 8-inch spring form pan lined with parchment paper. Give the edges about an inch in height. Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven.
  4. Cream Filing:
  5. Beat egg, vanilla, cream cheese and filling until smooth. Pour on top of the tart shell.
  6. Topping: In a small bowl, add cinnamon, sugar and almonds. Add apple slices and toss so that the apples are nicely coated. Arrange the slices in top of the cream cheese filling in a circular fashion. Spread any remaining almond/cinnamon/sugar mixture over the apples slices.
  7. Bake until the apples are tender and golden for about 40 minutes

 

Royal Gala Apples

 

I tossed the apple slices in batches and it just so happened that I had a few slices left over to munch on while waiting for this little tart to bake. The almonds are totally optional. I didn’t mind the extra crunch to this very special dessert.

 

Apple slices tossed in sugar, cinnamon and almond slices

 

As with all baked apple dishes, your kitchen will smell wonderful. I couldn’t wait to dive into this apple torte. My husband loved it! I think he exhibited great self-control when I asked him to wait a few minutes while I took some photographs. Bless his patient little heart!!! 🙂

 

Bavarian Apple Torte

 

The perfect dessert for Sunday Supper!

 

A delicate, creamy, crunchy bite!

 

Check out the apple dishes prepared by my fellow food bloggers! Apple lovers will have a GRAND time going through this amazing lineup!

 

Soups, Salads, Starters and Breads

Main Meals

Sides

Desserts

Beverages

We’d also love to feature your apple recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers!

 

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