Cupcakes are familiar to people since ancient times. For example, in ancient Rome, the dough was made from barley puree. Nuts, raisins and pomegranate seeds were added there. Now, in connection with the relative cheapness of sugar, muffins began to be done differently. Dried fruits and nuts remain the main feature of this type of baking. However, in most cases, biscuit dough is used for these flour products , less often - shortbread dough . And in exceptional cases - yeast. Many pastry chefs because of the simplicity of cooking love to bake almond muffins. Recipe with photos of these little masterpieces today is not difficult to find. Even a novice cook can handle this type of baking. So go for it! And we will help. In this article you will find a selection of foreign recipes, as well as some secrets about how to make a delicious almond muffin.
General rules
As already mentioned, most often these confectionery products are baked from biscuit dough. It has its secrets. To make the dough tender and grow well in the oven, egg whites should be separated from the yolks and beat thoroughly in foam. Knead quickly, but at the same time carefully. So that the dough does not settle, when mixing, move the spoon all the time from top to bottom. Cupcake in the oven can not be disturbed. It is advisable not to even open the door for the first half hour. Put cupcakes in an oven preheated to two hundred degrees and bake - depending on the size of the product - from forty minutes to an hour. Readiness is checked by a match. If the speck comes out dry when piercing the dough, the oven can be turned off. But do not rush to immediately pull out the form from the oven. A homemade cupcake is very fragile when hot. It can be removed from the mold only when it has completely cooled down.
French cupcake
It comes out moderately moist, airy and gentle. The number of ingredients is given for a shape of 15 centimeters in diameter. Beat with a mixer three eggs (this recipe allows you to not separate the proteins from the yolks). Add to them 110 g of softened butter, one hundred and fifty grams of powdered sugar and a bag of vanillin. Whip on. Mix flour (40 g) with a pinch of salt and half a spoon of baking powder. We change the whisks in the mixer to special nozzles for the dough (spirals). We begin to pour in the flour mass. Add 90 g peeled ground almonds. If you do not have this ready-to-eat ingredient, pour nuts over boiling water. After that, it is easy to remove the bitter skin from almonds. Add a spoonful of milk to the dough. Beat until fluffy. Lubricate the mold with oil and sprinkle with flour. Pour the dough. The French cupcake is baked in the oven, heated to 180 ° C. After a quarter of an hour, the form should be covered with foil. After this, the product must be baked for another twenty minutes.
Italian recipe
In large supermarkets you can buy peeled almonds, crushed to the size you need: “petals”, large or small pieces, or ground to a flour condition. If you do not have the opportunity to purchase a finished product, you will have to tinker with nuts. Pour 150 grams of whole almonds with boiling water, peel it after 10 minutes, and then detail with a plastic bag and a kitchen hammer. Now we begin to knead the dough. Italian almond muffin is made using original technology. Beat the equal amount of softened butter and sugar (150 g each) until smooth. Add three yolks. It is important that the eggs are pulled out of the refrigerator ahead of time. Continuing to beat, pour two tablespoons of Amaretto liquor. It remains to add one egg - also at room temperature. Beat until lush. Add almonds. Whip again. Right above the bowl with this magnificent mass, sift 100 grams of flour. Gently mix. Lubricate the form with oil, sprinkle with flour and spoon the dough. Bake an almond cake for about an hour at a temperature of 170 degrees. When it has completely cooled, we decorate it with glaze, which we prepare from the remaining three proteins.
English muffins: recipe with photo
Beat six chilled eggs with 1.25 cups of granulated sugar. The mass should double in volume. In another container, beat three hundred grams of oil. We connect both masses. Pour two cups of flour portionwise. Mix gently. Add to the dough an incomplete glass of detailed peeled almonds and three zest. Lubricate the form with oil and sprinkle with flour. We spread the dough, smooth it with a knife. Bake for about an hour at 190 degrees. Sprinkle the finished product with icing sugar, decorate with whole toasted nuts and dried apricots.
Torta Tal-Marmurata - recipe from Mallorca
It uses a dough like sand. For him, we take one hundred grams of butter from the freezer and chop it together with 200 g of flour. In this crumble add two tablespoons of sugar and an egg yolk. Add some water to knead a smooth dough. For the filling, beat three proteins into a strong foam, and mix two yolks with 100 g of sugar. We connect both masses. Carefully add 200 g of ground almonds, half a bar of grated chocolate, a handful of candied fruit and a pinch of cinnamon. We cover the bottom of the form with dough, forming the sides. We fill the basket with the filling. Such an almond cake should be baked for about 40 minutes at 180 ° C. If the top of the product begins to burn too much, it is recommended to cover it with foil. Decorate the finished baked goods with marzipan and pour over melted chocolate.
Homemade cupcake from Valencia
The procedure is just lightning fast - immediately turn on the oven, heat to 170 ° C, and grease the form with oil. Two hundred grams of flour are mixed with a handful of almonds, two tablespoons of baking powder, 176 g of sugar and a pinch of salt. Introduce three beaten eggs, a glass of olive oil. Squeeze the juice of a large orange, and peel three into the dough. Knead and shift into shape. Bake an almond cupcake for about an hour. The dough should rise - keep this in mind when filling out the form.