Orange and Poppy Seed with Cream Cheese Icing Mini Muffins

So I'm loving baking now. I am not sure where this crazy obsession has come from but it's something I'm definitely going to pursue.

I've not worked out the calories for these mini muffins yet, but they were a massive hit.

I got the recipe from the Taste website.

I will be testing out layered cakes and playing with fondant in the near future. I'm loving YouTube and all the "free" lessons you get on there. Can't wait to see how my decorating skills match up :)






For decoration I made some "Orange Zest Candy"
- finely julienne some orange zest
- 1 cup of water and 1 cup of caster sugar in a pot
- bring to the boil and make sure sugar is dissolved
- put zest in and let simmer for 20 mins
- put on a baking tray lined with baking paper and put in the oven for about 20 mins 


Orange and Poppy Seed Batter

Ingredients

• Melted butter, to grease
• 1 tbs poppy seeds
• 185ml (3/4 cup) milk
• 375g (2 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
• 155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 125g butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 2 tsp finely shredded orange rind
• 60ml (1/4 cup) fresh orange juice
• Icing sugar, to dust

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Brush twelve 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity non-stick muffin pans with melted butter to lightly grease. Combine the poppy seeds and 60ml (1/4 cup) of the milk in a small bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the poppy-seed mixture along with remaining milk, butter, egg, orange rind and juice, and stir with a metal spoon until just combined (do not overmix).
3. Spoon the batter among prepared muffin pans. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Remove from oven and turn onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature dusted with icing sugar.

Cream Cheese Icing:

Ingredients

• 60g cream cheese, softened
• 30g butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3/4 cup icing sugar mixture
• Juice of one lemon (I added this in myself)

Method:

1. Place cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until pale. Gradually add icing sugar mixture, beating until combined.