Confession: if I find myself at the end of a rainbow, I still look for the pot of gold, just like I did when I was a kid. Wishful thinking, I guess.
Now that these Irish soda bread muffins are all gone – gobbled up in a flash – I think I’d be equally okay with finding another basket of these at the end of a rainbow. Okay, fine, maybe the muffins alongside a 5 1/2 quart round soleil Le Creuset french oven with even just a handful of gold pieces thrown in. What, I can’t be specific about the pot?!
But I digress. Irish soda bread muffins. Yes, yes.
I adore my Irish soda bread this time of year, but a couple of days ago, I was craving something a little different. So these muffins came into being.
With their caraway seeds, raisins (currants would have been better, but I was out), and a just-right, subtle amount of sweetness, I was actually surprised by how much these muffins resembled little versions of the real thing. Except they’re moist and spongy, and sport a cute paper liner, and boast a crunchy coarse sugar topping.
These are more dense than your typical muffin, which had me a little worried when I first pulled them out of the oven. But they were just perfect. A muffin-bread hybrid in the best possible way.
I say take a couple, slather them with butter, and then go find a rainbow. I’d like to think it’s never too late to wish for something extraordinary at the end.
I adapted these muffins from King Arthur Flour. Have you visited their website and browsed their recipes? If not, go, go! They’ve got a gazillion on their site. I could get lost for hours in a big ol’ puff of flour.
Currants, caraway seeds, and orange zest dot these these Irish soda bread inspired muffins. A dusting of coarse sugar along the top gives them an irresistibly sweet crunch.
3/4cupwhole wheat flour(or substitute more all-purpose flour)
2teaspoonsbaking powder
1/4teaspoonbaking soda
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/3cupgranulated sugar
1cupcurrants or raisins(I used half regular raisins and half golden raisins)
1teaspooncaraway seeds
1large egg
1cupGreek yogurt(plain or vanilla yogurt is fine too)
1/2cupvegetable oil
2teaspoonsorange zest
Demerara or other coarse sugar for topping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-cup, standard-size muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, currants/raisins, and caraway seeds.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, vegetable oil, and orange zest.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and gently combine with a large spoon, mixing just until the batter comes together. The batter will be very thick.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing evenly between the 12 cups. I used an ice cream scoop which made quick work of it.
Sprinkle coarse sugar over the top of each muffin.
Bake for 18 – 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and tip each muffin in their pan to help the steam escape and avoid soggy bottoms. Let cool for 5 minutes, then move the muffins to a rack to finish cooling enough to serve.