I'm always a little bummed that, because school is quite far away from home, I don't get to go home for Easter (unless it coincides with Spring Break). You can imagine how happy I was, then, that my professor invited me, along with a few other students, to her house for Easter dinner. Needless to say, I volunteered to bring a dessert.
Then the question became that of what in the world I would make. I needed something Easter-y, creative, and (most importantly) tasty. I was surfing around on my food blog haunts and came to one of my favorite blogs, Baking Bites, whose author, Nicole, mentioned Cadbury Creme Egg Muffins. Hmm, I thought. An interesting concept--a little piece of Easter nestled in thick muffin batter can't be all that bad.
The muffins came out beautifully! The muffins had a very pleasant vanilla flavor, sweet enough to satisfy my raging sweet tooth but not so sweet as to overshadow or villainize the sweet egg nestled inside. Now, I deviated from Nicole's approach because I wanted a little something-something to round out the muffin, so I whipped up a chocolate glaze and drizzled it over the top. The combination was perfect, and the muffins were a huge hit!
A quick note: Even if the creme eggs are not available, this is a great all-purpose muffin recipe, and one can mix in blueberries, raspberries, chocolate chips, or anything else. This has gone in my recipe file forever!
Adapted from Baking Bites.
Makes 12.
280 grams (2 cups unsifted) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
12 mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
1/2 recipe chocolate glaze, below
** Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. **
1. Grease or line one 12-cup muffin tin.
2. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla.
4. Whisk in milk until combined.
5. Add dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix until just combined.
6. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about two-thirds full). Place one mini egg in the center of each unbaked muffin and press down almost, but not completely, to bottom. If desired, use a knife to pull a bit of batter over the egg.
7. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until muffins are golden.
8. Cool completely before gobbling.
Adapted from Allrecipes.com.
Makes enough to glaze 24 muffins or one large Bundt cake.
3/4 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Combine first three ingredients in small, microwave-safe bowl.
2. Microwave on high for 45 seconds; stir.
3. Microwave on high for another 45 seconds; stir.
4. If necessary, continue to heat for 15 seconds at a time. (I didn't have to!)
5. Stir in vanilla.
6. Spread glaze while warm over muffins or cake.
