The Cornbread Gospels (24 page)

5.
Fill the muffin cups; this amount of batter will make them fuller than usual. If you like, sprinkle them with the streusel.

6.
Bake until the kitchen is fragrant and the edges and tops of the muffins are golden brown and a little crunchy looking, about 25 minutes. Let cool just a few minutes, then remove from the pan. Serve warm.

E
NOUGH FOR
1
BATCH OF BABYCAKES

This streusel has lots and lots of nuts, and is spiced lightly with cinnamon. How can you go wrong?

2 tablespoons cold butter, finely diced

3 tablespoons sugar, preferably unrefined (see Pantry,
page 356
)

1 tablespoon unbleached white flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup untoasted walnut pieces

Using your fingers, combine the butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl until crumbly. Toss in the walnuts. Divide this mixture among the unbaked muffins, sprinkling it evenly over their tops. Bake as directed.

M
AKES
12
MUFFINS

Cornmeal adds its characteristic toothsomeness to this simply wonderful cake-textured muffin, giving it a beautiful yellow color. These were devised for David Koff, aka Davio (due to a trip we took to Italy together in years past). He’s fond of ripe bananas, and adores crystallized ginger, and with this muffin, he got them both … Out of this world, these muffins, with a smattering of almonds, and just a bit of crunchy topping—an edible valentine for my then-new sweetheart on a gray, rainy February morning in 2003.

I hope you have an equivalent occasion on which to bring them forth, but if you don’t, try taking them sometime to an early morning meeting. Their effect could be remarkably persuasive.

The optional Aphrodite Butter can be made the night before.

Vegetable oil cooking spray

D
RY INGREDIENTS

1 cup unbleached white flour

¾ cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal

½ cup brown sugar or unrefined sugar (see Pantry,
page 356
)

2½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

A vigorous grating of nutmeg

S
TREUSEL TOPPING

2 tablespoons butter, melted or very soft

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons unbleached white flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

W
ET INGREDIENTS

⅔ cup milk

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 large egg

A
DD-INS

2 to 3 tablespoons diced crystallized ginger, or 1 to 2 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh gingerroot

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

½ cup sliced almonds, preferably toasted

F
OR SERVING
(
OPTIONAL
)

Aphrodite Butter (
recipe follows
)

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil.

2.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well. Set aside.

3.
Moving on to the streusel topping, cream the butter and brown sugar together in a small bowl, then add the flour and cinnamon. Using your fingers, blend to form a crumbly mixture. Set it aside, too.

4.
You guessed it: Combine and beat together the wet ingredients. (If you measure the milk into a 2-cup measure and add the butter and egg, beating with a fork, it’s one less dish to wash.)

5.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir until the mixture is not quite blended. Stir in the add-ins, with just a couple of strokes, so the mixture is just barely combined.

6.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, and divide the streusel crumbs evenly among the muffins, sprinkling a bit atop each. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot, with Aphrodite Butter if you like.

M
AKES ABOUT
1
CUP

Totally indulgent, pale pink, impossibly good, this pretty spread is romanced with rosewater. Thin it slightly and add more confectioners’ sugar, and you could use it to ice butter cookies: perhaps heart-shaped ones.

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, cut into quarters, at room temperature

4 or 5 fresh strawberries, stemmed and quartered

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature

¼ cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon honey

2 or 3 drops rosewater

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides of the work bowl. Transfer to a serving dish. Chill for at least an hour to firm up.

M
AKES
12
MUFFINS

Don’t let another Thanksgiving weekend go by without these muffins. On their own, they’re an excellent not-too-sweet addition to the breadbasket at the feast proper. But served with the luscious make-ahead cranberry-maple-bourbon butter, they’re perfect for brunch, or as a simple tide-over continental breakfast.

The ingredients of both the muffin and the butter offer a nod to the first Thanksgiving via corn: one contains cornmeal and the other, slyly, bourbon, also made from corn. It pays homage, too, to other native American ingredients: cranberries (both fresh and dried), maple syrup, and black walnuts.

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal

1 cup unbleached white flour

⅓ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ to ¾ cup dried cranberries

½ cup black walnuts (or English walnuts or pecans), toasted and chopped

1 egg

1½ cups buttermilk

⅓ cup mild vegetable oil

Cranberry-Maple-Bourbon Butter for serving (optional;
recipe follows
)

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil. Set aside.

2.
Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Toss them together well, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar with your fingers. Set aside.

3.
Combine the dried cranberries and walnuts in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the dry cornmeal mixture over them and toss well. Set aside.

4.
Whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and oil in a small bowl or large glass measuring cup.

5.
Pour the egg mixture into the cornmeal mixture and, working with as few strokes as possible, combine the two. When they are moistened but not quite incorporated and the batter is still far from smooth, stir in the meal-dusted cranberries and nuts.

6.
Scoop the batter into the prepared tin and bake until the muffins are golden brown, slightly crusty around the edges, and test clean with a toothpick, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve, hot, straight from the oven, with the flavored butter, if desired.

Cranberry and orange, a time-honored holiday combination, appear in cranberry relishes and quick breads galore. But see if their goodness in this sweet muffin with its exquisitely sticky glaze doesn’t just knock you out. Follow the above recipe, but add the grated zest of 2 oranges, preferably organic, when you add the cranberries and nuts. After the muffins are in the oven, juice the 2 naked oranges. Place the juice in a small saucepan, add ¼ cup sugar, and boil quickly until syrupy, no more than 5 minutes. When the muffins come out of the oven, brush them, while hot, with this sweet, sticky glaze. Yum!

M
AKES ABOUT
1⅓
CUPS

This butter is all parts festive. It can be made several days in advance and left to firm up in the fridge. Or, it can be quickly done while the muffins bake—though its texture will be much softer, bordering on drippy. That is not necessarily a drawback … the better to soak into you, my little muffin.

The maple extract intensifies the flavor, but it is not strictly necessary. Use a natural extract, not an artificial one; the latter will taint the whole thing.

½ cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

⅔ cup fresh cranberries

2 teaspoons bourbon

1 teaspoon natural maple extract (optional)

½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Buzz until all is well combined, pausing to scrape down the sides of the work bowl. Transfer the butter to 1- to 2-cup containers (preferably glass, to show off the color) from which you will serve it with the muffins. Refrigerate it for a bit, just to firm it up slightly.

M
AKES
12
MUFFINS

I made these for my neighbor Carroll, who loves the combination of sweet potato and corn. They are luscious, with a cinnamon-spice-and-everything-nice caress and small hidden treasures of medjool date pieces and pecans. Picture-perfect for a fall brunch; dreamy served with really good coffee. Next time you bake or steam sweet potatoes, remember this recipe and fix an extra sweet potato. Because the sweet potato keeps them so moist, I once FedExed a dozen, carefully wrapped, to a friend for his birthday.

Vegetable oil cooking spray

D
RY INGREDIENTS

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup unbleached white flour

¾ cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

W
ET INGREDIENTS

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

⅓ cup dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly, or mild vegetable oil

1⅓ cups cooked mashed sweet potato (about 1 medium-large sweet potato)

S
TREUSEL TOPPING

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

3 tablespoons brown sugar

¼ cup unbleached white flour

2 tablespoons oatmeal (rolled oats)

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Freshly grated nutmeg

A
DD-INS

½ cup pitted, chopped dates, preferably medjool

⅓ cup chopped toasted pecans or walnuts

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil.

2.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well. Set aside.

3.
Now combine the wet ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking everything together.

4.
Moving on to the streusel topping, cream the butter and brown sugar together in a small bowl, then add the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon,
and nutmeg to taste. Blend with your fingers to form a crumbly mixture. Set it aside, too.

5.
Combine the add-ins in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of the dry mixture and toss well.

6.
Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until not quite blended, then add the dates and pecans, with just a couple of strokes, so the mixture is just barely combined. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin. Divide the streusel evenly, sprinkling over the tops of the muffins.