This past Sunday, April 22nd, 13 of my heroes from the Great British Bake Off ran the London Marathon. A tremendous and impossible feat in my eyes – I can barely run 26.2 seconds, so 26.2 miles is superhuman to me and I am humbled. I’m much more of a 26.2-minutes-on-the-elliptical kinda gal. I don’t want to run with one foot unless my other foot is being gently cradled and carried in a circle. Literally, my work out routine starts and ends with me re-watching part of an episode of #GBBO while sweating out on the most gentle cardio-equipment. Hopefully, my cardiovascular system doesn’t realize I’m watching six British people make suet puddings whilst I exercise. I feel like it would somehow take my over-all health less seriously (“I’m sorry, she’s watching what? While I’m pumping away like an idiot? Nope. Shut it down. Shut it all down.” – my heart). While I enjoyed the marathon vicariously through their twitter feeds, it did serve as a reminder that if you are a home baker and 80% of your diet is white flour, you should probably learn to outrun it.
You can see in the tweet above the #bakersdozen looking fab before their run – (Back to front) Alvin, Ian (Or as I call him, ‘Other Mat’), Michael, Mat (‘Other Ian’), Tom in a hat, Sexy Selasi, Chetna, Kate, Richard, Jane with her eyes closed, Frances, Beca and Enwezor. As a whole, they were running for Great Ormand Street Hospital Children’s Charity, which is a wonderfully worthy cause.
Frances, Selasi and Enwezor also ran for other deserving organizations. Frances was running for Macmillan Cancer Support, Selasi was running for World Vision, and Enwezor was running for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. You go, you magnificent marathoners!!
From Marathons To Muffins
Meanwhile, while the #bakersdozen were being their best fitness selves, I was baking muffins – but they’re matcha muffins, so they’re green. That makes them healthy, right?
After finishing my second technical bake, Mary Berry’s Florentines, I had all of these fixings left over – chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, tons of mixed peel, dried cranberries, and Demerara sugar – all just crying out “bake me!!!” All of those elements could add great taste and texture to many bakes, but I got it in my head that a spongy sweet muffin would be just the thing. Now, the matcha element was just a stroke of genius.
We know from Series 7, Episode 1, that Ms. Mary Berry is not the biggest fan of matcha powder. Poor Michael used it in his mirror glaze showstopper, and she dismissed it as “grassy,” but I’ve found the “grassiness” to be less of a flaw and more of a feature. The earthy, green tea powder goes perfectly with the creaminess of dairy and a touch of sweetness. The fascinating flavor just needs to be presented in a way that speaks to you. For me, it was in the form of a delicious, piping hot matcha cookie served at the Alamo Drafthouse as part of the special menu for the Wes Anderson animated flick, Isle of Dogs. These cookies where so flipping delicious that the inspired a mission. Matcha officially has to be in everything. I started voting with my dollars, jamming on matcha lattes, boba teas, matcha baked goods, and just straight green tea like it was going to cure me of something (And who knows – maybe it will!). Now I had to complete the circle and do a matcha bake of my own – Cranberry, Nutty, Peel-y Matcha Muffins! Yeah, the name needs work…
Now, there are many “basic muffin” recipes floating around the internets, but I had to go with the America’s favorite homemaking felon, Martha Stewart. She may fib a little about insider trading, but her recipes don’t lie! They can be a fussy at times and very particular, but she is a woman who knows time while spent, if you know what I mean (in prison). Her “Better than Basic Muffins” are one of her more simple recipes, consistently good, and super adaptable to whatever muffin your heart desires – including my Cran-Matcha-Walnut-Zesty Muffins. Nope, name still no good…
On Your Marks, Get Set… Bake!
Handle your nuts. There is a little prep with this one, but it’s all worth it. First I whiz up my blanched slivered almond in my little blender and put them through a medium sieve to make a 1/2 cup of ground almonds. Then I toast my chopped walnuts. You can put the walnuts in as they are, but I find that they don’t add much flavor un-toasted. What good are nuts if you can’t taste them, am I right?
(My mom will be so relieved when I make something without nuts in it.)
The most annoying step ever. I hate buttering and flouring muffin tins. They should just make butter in the shape of a muffin tin and invent a flour blower, but no you have to mush a half stick of butter into each little divot until it’s entirely misshapen then put a spoonful of flour in each hole and then shake it around like a mad woman dumping white powder all over myself and the floor so that my kitchen looks like outtakes from Wolf of Wall Street: The Martha Stewart Story. Now that I think about it, I could’ve just used a sieve and dusted it on… that is probably a way better strat. I never stop learning.
Whisk me away! Melt the stick and a half of butter, then transfer it to a small bowl. Whisk together all of the wet ingredients – eggs, milk (half & half is what I had on hand), almond extract – and then add your matcha power. I suppose I could’ve also done the matcha in the dry ingredients, but it is so fine, and this guarantees that it is evenly distributed throughout your mixture. Plus, look what a pretty green it makes (or you can think ‘Exorcist’ but that is much less appetizing).
Muffin Vesuvius. Sieve together your dry ingredients – flour, ground almonds, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt – into a large bowl. Martha recommends to dig a well into your dry ingredients and then pouring your wet mixture into the crater, and it’s best to do what Martha says (she’ll shiv you). Then gently mix your ingredients together just until all of the flour is soaked up. You’ll already see bubbles forming from the baking powder and you don’t want to squish those. Carefully fold in all of those wonderful Florentine fixin’s – your toasted walnuts, peel, and cranberries – until they are well distributed.
Scooping time! Scoop your green batter into your muffin tin until each cup is about 2/3s full and no more. I know, you’re a glutton like me, and more batter means more muffin, but they are impossible to get out of the tin when there is too much of a muffin top and you end up breaking your muffin to bits. Top your batter with a pinch of the Demerara sugar. This turns out to be the perfect finishing touch.
Get baked and have a lie down. Bake in a 375° F oven for 15-20 minutes, and check your muffins using a tooth pick. If the toothpick comes out clean, they’re baked!
Martha decrees that after you take your muffins out of the oven, they are to be loosened and laid on their side to cool in their tin.
The result?! These Matcha Walnut Cranberry Mixed Peel Party Muffins are a hit in the Gullickson household. The matcha and the citrus peel perfectly compliment each other for a very vibrant, herby flavor that is not overpowering. The zing of the cranberries and texture of the walnuts just taste like breakfast to me – so good. The best part, I think, is the crispy Demerara sugar on the top. It just sort of melts in the oven and cracks over the the muffin, so the tops look golden and appetizing. They’re pretty little green muffins! But what to call them?
Recipe: Cranberry and Walnut Matcha Muffins (With Mixed Peel)
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Better-Than-Basic Muffins
Ingredients
3/4 C (1 1/2 Sticks) of Butter Melted, plus more for tin
2 Large Eggs
1/2 C Half & Half
1/2 Tsp Almond Extract
1 Tbs Matcha Powder
1 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour, plus more for tin
1/2 C Ground Almonds
2 Tsp Baking Powder
3/4 C Granulated Sugar
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 C Chopped and Toasted Walnuts
1/4 C Lemon Diced Peel
1/4 C Orange Diced Peel
1/2 C Dried Julienned Cranberries
2 Tbs Demerara Sugar
- Preheat and Prep. Preheat your oven to 375° F, then butter and flour your standard muffin tin.
- Whisk wet ingredients and matcha. In a small bowl, whisk together your butter, eggs, half & half, and almond extract. Then whisk in your tablespoon of matcha powder.
- Whisk together dry ingredients. In a large bowl, sift together your flour, ground almonds, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt.
- Combine the wet and dry. Fold your wet mixture into your dry until they are just combined.
- Mix in your Fixin’s. Gently fold in your walnuts, diced peel and cranberries.
- Fill your tin and add Demerara sugar. Scoop your batter into your tin until each of the wells is 2/3 filled, then sprinkle the batter in each well with a pinch of Demerara sugar.
- Bake. Bake your muffins for 15-20 minutes until you can poke them with a toothpick and they come out clean. The tops should be well risen and slightly golden green.
- Cool. As soon as you can handle, turn each of the muffins on their side in the tin to cool.
The Bake Dork Blog 
Hello me dear, I love reading your posts, not only very interesting but full of humor and a good way to start my day. Thank you for that 🙂 Being a recipient of your muffins I can attest to the fact that they taste delicious. I have never used Matcha powder in anything and you have inspired me to look for it the next time I go to the store. Thank you for that too 🙂 Enough of me waffling, looking forward to reading more of your wonderful posts as time goes on. Becoming a favorite thing to do now, along with a cup of tea.
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Awwww! Thanks, Denise!!! You can add a table spoon of matcha to just about anything. I just made raspberry jam matcha scones with candied lemon peel and they are so good. It’s a great ingredient!
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I will remember that. Thanks Lisa 🙂
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