Fresh Orange Muffins (with Raisins)

Okay, guys, I’ve got a new favourite! I made these orange muffins last week, and was so pleased with how they turned out. They have this delicious citrus-y taste, and the raisins really add to that. You can leave out the raisins as well if you don’t like them — these are just as good without them!

There’s nothing more to say about these, really. If you decide to make them, I hope you enjoy them just as much as I did. I am definitely going to make these again very soon, since they’re the absolute perfect little treat for a nice Spring day.

You’ll need… (for 10-12 muffins)

• 250 g plain flour
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• 200 g sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch of salt
• 120 ml sunflower oil
• 2 eggs (medium)
• 1 orange (zest + juice)
• 50 g raisins
• muffin tin (for 12 muffins) and, optionally, paper cases
• and an oven, of course! These muffins need to be baked at 180 °C (don’t forget to preheat your oven!)

So, let’s get baking!

1. Mix the dry ingredients together Firstly, you need to take a large bowl and mix together the flour, sugar, ground ginger, salt and baking powder. Baking powder tends to be a bit lumpy, so I always sieve it above the bowl so it gets distributed evenly throughout the mixture.

2. Mix the wet ingredients together The wet ingedrients basically means: everything else. Take a smaller bowl and mix together the sunflower oil and the eggs until they’re combined. Then you have to grate and squeeze the orange, and add all of the zest and juice to the wet mixture. Mix it together, and last but not least; add the raisins and mix them through as well.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients Create a little well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet mixture. Use a (wooden) spoon to gently fold everything together. Do not overmix — it is okay to still see little bits of flour. If you overmix the batter, your muffins will turn out too tough.

4. Divide the batter over the paper cases Divide your paper cases over the muffin tin (or grease it, if you don’t have paper cases) and then spoon the mixture into the cases.

5. Bake! Put the muffin tin into your preheated oven and bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, or until they’re golden on top and an inserted skewer comes out clean. When they’re done, take the tin out of the oven and let the muffins cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack and letting them cool completely.

And there you have it! Some absolutely delicious fresh orange muffins with raisins. They taste great when they’re still warm, but are just as good the next day. Enjoy!