Heat wave baking continues…

Okay, it’s not quite a heat wave in Seattle. Things could always be hotter, I guess. 90 is pretty hot, IMO.

I can’t believe Summer 2014 is winding down. Many schools have started their first day. It’s only a matter of time before cooler temperatures and rain start to come in.

In fact, as I was writing this, I heard some thunder, which is just CRAZY!!

Days are already getting shorter. Berries may become harder to find, both in stores and in the wild. I’ve just finished taking days off. We didn’t go to Chicago as planned, just a small road trip and overnight stay on the Olympic Peninsula, with my husband. Sort of the honeymoon we never had. Enjoyed it as much as I could. We even had a hot tub in our hotel room!!

I do miss Lulu y Vicente y la familia!! Los Extraños! Maybe next time!

The original recipe utilizes 2.5 tablespoons of almond paste, and 1 and 1/2 cups of raspberries. I had some leftovers of both. In fact, I had 5 Tablespoons left of almond paste. So I thought, why not just add it all? Since I also had 2 cups raspberries, I added it all. But I knew that these extra additions would mean possibly that the bottoms would be not as firm. And I was right.

If you add the etxra almond paste and raspberries, be prepared for more tender muffins that might not stand up as straight, and extra baking time with extra domes. But I like big domes on a muffin, and don’t we all need a little tenderness?

If none of that bothers you, do as I did! 🙂

Doesn’t almond and raspberry sound like a great combination? (I was also going to add some ginger, but I thought that I’d better quit while I was ahead. So crystallized ginger will have to be for another time.)

Almond Raspberry Muffins (12 muffins, based on this recipe)

ingredients

2 cups All-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed tightly

2 1/2 Tablespoons almond paste (I doubled this-I added 5 Tablespoons! I don’t necessarily recommend it, unless you want/don’t mind more pronounced domes on muffins, and more tender muffins, simply because it creates more that you have to divide between 12 muffin molds. Baking time may increase somewhat, too! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 1/2 cup fresh raspberries (I used 2 cups and of the frozen variety! Again, I’m not necessarily recommending it, it’s just what I did, simply because I’m not going to keep a plastic bag with half a cup of raspberries in it. In hindsight, this really may affect the muffins negatively, because there is more of a likelihood that some of the raspberries will end up on the bottom of a muffin, causing that muffin to not have a sturdy bottom. Which you may need and want, so that when you remove it from the muffin tin and serve it on a plate, it will stand up straight! Then again, maybe you can just intentionally put the raspberries in the muffin molds first, and just serve them upside-down, and call them upside-down raspberry almond muffins–there’s an idea!)

2 Tablespoon turbinado sugar

method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift and whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

In a food processor, add the sugars, and almond paste and process until fine and well blended. Add butter and pulse until combined. Then add eggs, one at a time, pulsing until incorporated. Add buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice. Pulse until blended.

In bowl with flour mixture, make a well and add the buttermilk mixture. Stir until moist. Gently fold in raspberries. Let batter stand 5 minutes. (Since I was using frozen, I decided to let batter sit for five minutes before adding raspberries.)  Spoon into muffin tin that has been greased and floured, or sprayed with baking spray containing butter and flour. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar on each muffin top. Bake for 20-22 minutes. (ovens vary), or until  muffins spring back when touched lightly in the center. Remove muffins from pans and place in wire rack to cool.