Vegan Orange Sunshine Muffins
Moist dairy-free semolina based muffins bursting with fresh orange juice and grated orange zest with whispers of dusky cardamum and floral vanilla.
Yesterday the sun returned for the first time in two months to the chill northern Norwegian town of Tromsø where my sister landed years ago. It peeked between the peaks of the nearby mountain, lingered a moment and dipped below the horizon coquettishly. I suppose there was a great celebratory roar that spanned the city, a clinking of beer bottles and a chomping of Solboller (the traditional cardamom infused donuts that are eaten to celebrate the Return-of-the-Sun) I am not a big fryer of food and so I opted to make orange infused muffins with a sun-rise motif instead.
In a few short months my sister’s town will change from the land of constant twilight to the land of the midnight sun, where the sun never dips below the horizon. Truly Bi-Polar conditions.
Perhaps I went a bit mad when decorating my muffins. I was imagining the sun rising from a sliver of lemon, through a half moon of mandarin, to a wedge of naval orange. Use any citrus you have handy or skip the sunrise motif all together. To be truthful I adored the taste of thinly sliced orange on top of the muffin but my son did not. He ripped off the decorative citrus and dropped it unceremoniously onto his plate before eating. He did manage to eat four in one sitting so I would say they were still a hit.
The willful sun sulked under the horizon through nights and nights. Braiding her longings tightly into a rope and securing a bone hook at the end she spooled her snare over the edge of the world trying to hook the golden ball and with force pull the fire and light back- to banish the cold. She cajoled and flattered the sun. She left tempting tidbits just out of reach- insulting and teasing in turn, flirting and commanding and finally pleading for the sun’s return.
At long last the recalcitrant sun returned. In it’s own time. And she felt the cold Northern light splash her arms and face.
She preferred her tea strong and sweet – this light was neither tea nor honey. – but it greened the world in a lace of tender growth – and her Woodcutter returned.
The days grew longer, stretching, transparent and fragile thin as bone china, until she was sure they would shatter. The moon became the stuff of memory. The constant light invaded her sleep – pressing between closed lids, insistent, buzzing like cicadas.
Before she slept she would shutter the windows, pull the curtains and seal her eyes with wax and honey.
-Excerpt from The Woodcutter and the Troll, Johanne Rosenthal
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
-The Beatles
You’ll note that the recipe is quite similar to my moist and floral Orange Upside-Down cake.
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I am really citrus obsessed from my sharp yet creamy Lemon Curd:
To my light as a cloud Lemon Mousse:
to these silky Orange Rosemary Truffles:
Check out my new Aquafaba page! For tips, tricks and to see all of my Aquafabulous recipes.
These are celebratory muffins and therefor are on the sweet side. If you know someone who is scared of vegan baked goods these are a great starter as they are moist and flavorful and just might win over Uncle Snarky. or Auntie You-can't-bake-without-eggs.
Makes 12 muffins.
- 1 1/2 cup semolina flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground clove s or cardamum. optional
- zest from two oranges
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup non-dairy yoghurt plain or vanilla
- 1/4 cup aquafaba , lightly whisked
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange blossom water optional
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 2-3 citrus of your choice sliced into thin half circles. optional
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Lightly grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan. Or line the cups with liners as I did.
Heat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
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Place all of your dry ingredients into a medium bowl and give them a good stir.
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Whisk your aquafaba in another medium sized bowl and add the rest of the wet ingredients, whisk again until well combined.
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Pour your wet into the dry and stir until combined but not more. The secret to moist muffins in not over mixing.
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Fill each of your muffin tins to about 3/4 fill. Place one citrus slice on each unbaked muffin, if using. Place in oven and bake 25 minutes. The muffins are great straight from the oven but you will note an increasing orange flavor if they are wrapped up and served the next day. These muffins will keep moist, well wrapped, for at least two days.
What an honor to have helped inspire this post and recipe. We have been eating our fill of “solboller” (aka jam-filled donuts), but I would gladly trade them for your orange sunshine muffins. Please, please, please serialize “The Woodcutter and the Troll” in your blog!
Of course you inspired this post, you have always inspired me.
Aw shucks. Maybe you’re just dazzled by my legs and (formerly) yellow hair.
Those legs! They launched a thousand ships.
You are my sunshine, Johanne. You and your photos and your honey-laced tongue. Oh how well you write. Thank you for another sublime visit.
Oh my sweet one. Thank you. Although I need to toss that ball right back in your court as I found your writing inspiring for all of my adult like. XOX