This is a recipe for a simple muffin, loaded with citrus flavors from calamansi and poppy seed. Great for breakfast or as a snack.
Have you ever heard of calamansi? Well, I did by chance…years ago, I was looking for a dwarf orange family tree, and bump into this nice tree which at the time looked like a mandarin orange tree. After a few months I noticed that the fruits were tiny, they looked like the little cuties, but much smaller. I thought that the farmer made a mistake when placing the tag…It was then that I looked carefully at the tag…it said calamansi or calamondin.
After a lot of search in the internet I learned that calamansi is a cross between mandarin orange and kumquats, which are slightly elongated. This fruit is very popular in Philippines and Malaysia and grow throughout Southeast Asia.
These little orange like fruits are like orange, starts off as a green and turns orange-yellow as it matures on the tree. Apparently you can use it either way, green or orange-yellow. The juice is tart, like lemon, although much more fragrant.
I have been using calamansi to marinate chicken, pork…the same way I would use lemon. This time I decided to bake some muffins and substitute the lemon juice for calamansi juice.
They came out nice, they had a hint of an exotic aroma…but one thing I would change next time baking these muffins it to add a bit more of the calamansi juice.
This is a super simple recipe, no need for any especial gadget…just a couple of bowls and spatulas…I hope you will try this recipe one day.
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons calamansi freshly squeezed juice
- 120 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons yogurt (I used non-fat, but feel free to use any kind)
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Fit mold with 9 medium size paper muffin cups.
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another large bowl, whisk the melted butter, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and calamansi juice together until well blended. Pour the flour mixture over the wet ingredients and, with the rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough, do not over mix. Stir in the poppy seeds.
Scoop the batter into the muffins cups.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a wooden stick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature, or freeze for future enjoyment
If you enjoy this citrus dessert, you might want to check on Tangerine Chiffon Cake or Lime Pudding Cake.
Did you know that calamansi like all the other citrus is rich in vitamin C? In spite of the orange color, the fruit is very sour, although the peel is sweet, resembling a kumquat.
