Zucchini and Orange Marmalade Muffins with Cranberry and Pecans

It's another courgette recipe but it's too good not to share. I saw this on Brown Eyed Baker and the flavour combination really appealed to me. As with my previous post on biscotti, this has a distinctively festive flavour with the orange, pecan and cranberry.  The muffins were quick and easy to put together and made for a substantial breakfast. You can clearly taste the tangy marmalade which pairs well with the cranberry and pecan. You can actually see bits of green from the courgette in the muffin not that it put anyone off. I brought this to a work breakfast do and they were a real hit. Definitely on the bake again list. I also experimented with coconut sugar rather than caster sugar and to be honest I couldn't taste the difference. I was worried that it would have a coconut taste but it didn't so I will definitely be using more of my coconut sugar in the future. I like to think that this is healthier for me as it has courgettes, coconut sugar, dried fruit and nut! 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month.

AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and co hosted by myself on alternate months. The letter this month is Z for Zucchini also known as courgette. 

Extra Veg challenge hosted by Jen from Jen's Food this month. The challenge is run by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle from Utterly Scrummy. These muffins are a great way to incorporate extra veg into your diet.

Simple and in Season hosted by Ren as courgettes are currently in season. 

No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. I used up the end of a jar of marmalade, an open pack of dried cranberries and a pack of pecans which I bought for something else. There was also 1 courgette left in the fridge which was exactly what I needed. 

 adding (strained) finely grated courgette 

 adding dried cranberries and pecan nuts 

 place a pecan nut on top of each muffin before baking 

 I love how you can see the green flecks from the courgette 

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker 

Makes 12 muffins 

185g plain flour

125g coconut sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 eggs

80mls vegetable oil

100g orange marmalade (I used 125g as that was all that was left in the jar) 

50g pecans, roughly chopped

120g dried cranberries

1 courgette, finely grated and strained well

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ground cinnamon.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and marmalade. Stir in the courgette. 
• Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix briefly.
• Add in the dried cranberries and pecans and stir until just mixed.
• Divide evenly between 12 muffin cases.
• Place a whole pecan on top of each muffin before baking.
• Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

Cranbery, Orange, Pecan and White Chocolate Mini Loaves

It's almost Christmas and I have one final Christmas recipe to share with you. I've baked a few other things but I may save them for next year! It's been a really busy month and I've not had a chance to bake as many homemade gifts as I'd like. I wanted something relatively quick and easy yet stunning. I'm not a huge fan of fruit cake so I decided to make this very festive cake using cranberries and orange. I added in some pecan and white chocolate for indulgence and a spoonful of marmalade in the middle. I made an orange glaze to go on top of the cakes and decorated it with a lightly toasted pecan nut. The cake was incredibly moist and orange was the predominant flavour. You can clearly taste the other ingredients when you got a bite of it particularly the marmalade centre. I think I'll have to bake this again after Christmas just because it's so tasty!

I'm sending this to AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and myself on alternate months. The letter this month is 'X' and Caroline is accepting everything Christmas related.

These mini loaves are also perfect for Treat Petite hosted by Kat from the Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is Christmas.

 marmalade, dried cranberries, oranges, pecan nuts, white chocolate chips

 half fill the mini loaf case with batter 

add a spoonful of marmalade

 cover with more batter 

 ready to be decorated 

 I poured orange glaze icing on top and placed a lightly toasted pecan nut in the centre

 Finished with a christmas ribbon for the festive touch 

Happy Christmas Everyone! 

Makes 19 mini loaves

For the cake

225g butter

350g caster sugar

450g flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

250mls milk

125mls fresh orange juice

zest of 2 oranges

4 eggs

170g dried cranberries

100g white chocolate chips

100g pecans, roughly chopped  + extra whole pecans to decorate 

Orange marmalade (optional)

For the glaze

juice of 1-2 oranges

150 -200g icing sugar

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy,
• Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. 
• In a large bowl, mix the milk and orange juice.
• Sieve the flour and baking powder into another bowl.
• Add in the milk mixture alternating with the flour mixture in 3 batches.
• Add in the orange zest, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips and pecan nuts. 
• Half fill the mini loaf case with batter.
• Add a teaspoon of marmalae on top.
• Cover with more batter until about 3/4 full. 
• Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• To make the glaze, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the orange juice until you get a spreadable consistency. You may need to add more juice or icing sugar depending on the consistency you want. 
• Spread a generous layer of glaze on top of the cake and decorate with a whole pecan nut which has been lightly toasted. 

Degustabox Review and a recipe

Christmas has come early this month in the form of my regular Degustabox. I look forward to receiving this surpirse food box every month and have set myself a challenge to bake something using at least one of the ingredients in the box. It is tricky sometimes as there's a mix of sweet and savoury food products, drinks, snacks and confectionery and of course the element of surprise where you just don't know what you are going to get! 

It's a no obligation monthly subscription which costs £12.99 including delivery. You get 9 to 14 surprise products and it's usually a good mixed selection of goodies. I have a special discount code for all my readers if you are interested in signing up a box for yourself or for a family memeber/friend You get a £3.00 discount when registering by using this code LRIQI which makes it just under a tenner for a goodie box including delivery. 

So what was in this month's Degustabox?

 1 packet of Barbeque flavoured pop chips. I've tried these before and I love the flavour and texture of them. They are not fried or baked but "popped" with a little heat and pressure.  

 1 box of Pukka clean green tea which has a hint of lemon. I love Pukka teas and this is no exception. It has a clean taste and feels refreshing with the hint of lemon.

 1 bottle of Eisberg Alcohol Free Wine - made in exactly the same way as regular wine with the alcohol removed. It also has less calories than regular wine. I'm saving this for Christmas day so I will update on the taste later. 

 4 cans of Gloworm which is a premium mixer to compliment selected spirits. It's sugar free and taurine free and is available in 4 flavours - Raspberry & Orris for Vodka, Cucumber & Apple for Gin, Pear, Spice & Lime for Rum, Ginger & Lemongrass for Bourbon. A great idea for a cocktail party! 

 1 pack of Kent's Kitchen meal kit which provides 3 clever pots with natural ingredients which you can store in a cupboard. Just add a few fresh ingredients and you have a ready made authentic meal. 

 1 bottle of Frylight Infuse Chilli - made with natural chilli extract, this spray adds a bit of spice to your cooking! I love the spray formulation as it's no mess and no fuss. You can add more sprays whilst cooking to increase the flavour.  

 1 jar of Bonne Maman Coarse Orange Marmalade - I love Bonne Maman jams and I've used this marmalade a few times. It's really zesty and zingy and I like the thick shred orange peels. This is the ingredient I decided to bake with this month, see below for the recipe.  

 2 packs of Choco Leibniz from Bahlsen. Butter biscuit wrapped in chocolate The caramel flavour has a caramel centre which is really tasty. 

1 pack of The Chia Co Oats + Chia - wholegrain oats and chia blended with fruits and coconut oil. Just add water to make a dairy free breakfast. 

For my recipe this month I decided to use up some leftovers and the Bonne Maman Coarse Orange Marmalade. I had some leftover chocolate chip panettone from making my tiramisu trifle and I thought it would be a good base for bread and butter pudding. I've made this previously with stale croissants and marmalade and it worked beautifully as it did here. In fact I think these are better than the croissant puddings. The chocolate chip panettone works really well with the marmalade and being baked in custard is a bonus. I'm sure Paddington Bear would approve of this recipe! 

 

 butter the slices of panettone and add a blob of marmalade on top. Pour over the custard mixture and bake. 

 Freshly baked 

 I served mine with custard but it would also work with cream or brandy butter if you're feeling particularly festive! 

A large bowl of leftover chocolate chip panettone (I forgot to weigh them)
Butter  and marmalade for spreading
300mls double cream
150mls milk
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons caster sugar (i used less as there's sugar in the panettone)

• Place the cream and milk in a pan and bring to a boil. 
• Remove from the heat.
• Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. 
• Pour the cooled cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking as you go.
• Grease a baking dish with butter. 
• Spread butter and marmalade on pieces of panettone and arrange them with the spread side facing upwards as shown. 
• Pour the custard mixture over the panettone and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes or until soft. 
• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown.  
• Serve warm with custard or cream. 

Disclaimer: I was sent a Degustabox for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review or to create a recipe. All opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

Marmalade Chocolate Croissant Pudding

There was an opened pack of stale croissants at work sometime ago that was about to be binned. It was only a few days old and I thought it would be a shame to waste it, perhaps I can make something with it. I love bread and butter pudding and have not had one for a long time. So I decided to turn these stale croissants into marmalade chocolate croissant pudding. It's really simple and a great way to use up stale croissants/brioche or bread.

I sliced the croissants in half and spread a thick layer of dark marmalade on each side. I placed them marmalade side up in a dish and sprinkled some dark chocolate chunks on top.Then I soaked it in the custard mixture for about 30 minutes before baking. The result was amazing. The buttery croissant combined with tangy marmalade and hints of dark chocolate was absolutely divine. The eggy custard held it all together and even though we were completely full after dinner, we managed a hefty portion as it was just so good. I'm tempted to buy fresh croissants and leave them for a few days just to make this again!

I'm entering this to the No Waste Food Challenge as I used up leftover croissants for this recipe. This month it's hosted by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... on behalf of Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary

 spread marmalade on croissants which have been sliced in half 

 sprinkle over some dark chocolate chunks 

 soak in custard 

 fresh from the oven 

 yum! 

3 stale croissants, sliced in half 

150mls double cream

75mls milk

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons caster sugar 

Dark marmalade 

50g dark chocolate chunks

• Place the cream and milk in a pan and bring to a boil. 
• Remove from the heat.
• Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. 
• Pour the cooled cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking as you go.
• Prepare the croissants as shown.
• Pour the custard mixture over the croissants and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes or until soft. 
• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt Cake

I probably have too many cake tins but I just couldn't resist buying this Nordicware Jubilee Bundt tin to add to my collection. I've had my eye on it for a while and when it was on a special offer I decided it was a sign and I just had to buy it. I have quite a few of their Bundt tins and the cakes always turn out beautifully. The tins are well designed, solid and non stick if you spray it liberally with cake release spray before baking. 

The recipe on the back of the tin was for this orange marmalade cake so I gave it a go but added in an extra layer of marmalade in the middle of the cake. The result was an absolutely stunning cake in appearance and absolutely phenomenal in taste. It was light, bright and refreshing and the marmalade glaze was divine. I think the extra layer of marmalade in the middle of the cake added more flavour and moisture to the cake. 

 You have to rub the orange zest into the sugar which intensifies the orange flavour

 my beautiful bundt tin

 half fill the bundt tin 

 add a layer of marmalade 

 fill with the rest of the cake batter

 making the marmalade and orange glaze

 how pretty is that? 

 view from the top 

Recipe adapted from Nordicware

For the cake

375g plain flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

350g caster sugar

zest of 2 oranges

225g butter

1/2 cup (125ml) buttermilk

4 eggs

1/2 cup (125ml) orange juice

For the glaze 

1/2 cup marmalade

1/4 cup orange juice

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Measure out the sugar in a large bowl and add the orange zest to the sugar. Gently rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers - this helps to release the oils and creates a more intense orange flavour. 
• Cream the butter with the orange sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. 
• Combine the buttermilk and orange juice in a jug.
• Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.
• Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients and mix well. 
• Pour half the batter into the cake tin.
• Add a layer of marmalade as shown -make sure you don't touch the edges as the marmalade will burn.
• Cover with the remaining cake batter.
• Bake for approximately 60 -70 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the glaze by heating the marmalade and orange juice in a small saucepan over low to medium heat. Stir frequently until you get a thick, sticky glaze. 
• Pour the glaze on the cake before serving.