Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel for #MuffinMonday
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
- 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
- Preheat oven to 392°F
- Line 12 x cup muffin pan with paper cases.
- Soak cherries in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, slivered almonds, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cherries.
- In a small measuring cup, combine buttermilk, oil and egg with a whisk.
- Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined (do not overmix).
- Spoon evenly among the lined pans.
- Combine the the ingredients for the streusel in a small bowl and sprinkle over the muffins.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when tested.
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/
Link to Muffin 101: http://bakerstreet.tv/
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I hear ya – I’m a total photography novice and now that it’s dark all the time, I’m super unhappy with the quality of my photos too. Plus I’ve been way too busy to do any research on the subject and buy/create lighting solutions. Sigh. You’re right though – even if you’re unhappy with the final product, at least you tried! I think these photos and muffins look fantastic! Cherry and almond is a delicious combo and that streusel looks divine!
Thanks, Nancy! I’ve got a pinterest board on the topic of food blogging/photography if you’re interested. Beats having to start from scratch with the research! I appreciate your comment 🙂
lovelypantry recently posted..Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel for #MuffinMonday
Me too! The issue isn’t that we don’t get enough sunlight but I’m never home at the time we do. Makes it so difficult! Cherry and almond is an unbeatable combination! So glad you could join us today 🙂
I’m totally with you. Its difficult but I guess I love a challenge! lol! Thanks Anuradha!
lovelypantry recently posted..Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel for #MuffinMonday
I think the pictures look pretty good! I too am struggling with nighttime lighting. I make two sweet things a week-max, a breakfast item and a dessert, maybe! So most of my food that I want to blog about is dinner.
Anyways I love a streusel topping and your muffins look great!! And I love that they’re seasonal.
Have a great week!
You can do it, Shiloh! Glad you like the muffins 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
lovelypantry recently posted..Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel for #MuffinMonday
OMG right…hate the lack of natural light. Gorgeous muffins.
We gotta work with what we have, Kayle! I shall blog on!
Thanks much 🙂
lovelypantry recently posted..Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel for #MuffinMonday
Whatever you are doing, Lyn, it works! I think these photos are great and I love the almond cherry combination. I almost always have almonds in the freezer so now I am on the lookout for dried cherries!
Thanks, Stacy! I’m trying 🙂 Hope you find the dried Cherries!
lovelypantry recently posted..Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel for #MuffinMonday
Sunlight is definitely an issue but your photos look great here! And I love that you used dried cherries and turbinado sugar (my favorite!).
Thanks, Chung-Ah! Turbinado will never run low in my pantry 🙂
lovelypantry recently posted..Cherry Almond Spiced Muffins with Almond Streusel for #MuffinMonday
Muffin Monday sounds like a great idea. There’s something comforting about muffins and something sad about Mondays so they would brighten the day.
Suzanne Perazzini recently posted..Banana, Chocolate, Cranberry & Coconut Muffins