Sunday, July 3, 2011

Walnut Muffins w/ Coffee Glaze

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This little beauty made my husband a very happy man!


When I saw started out making these, I wasn't really sure if it was a cupcake recipe or a muffin recipe. I adapted so many recipes to come up with this, that I had no idea what I was making. I was aiming for a 'muffin', but I didn't follow the usual 'wet bowl', 'dry bowl' method for muffins. I saw a recipe for muffins which called for the egg whites to be beaten to stiff peaks and folded in. It sounded good. This was a little more labor intensive, but well worth it.

The final result though was definitely muffin-like. It is dense (but not heavy), and has a nice crumb to it. And it has the unmistakable flavor of walnuts, which happen to be my husband's favorite! To intensify the nutty flavor, I decided to brown the butter. A good decision! And I made my husband even happier by pairing these muffins with a coffee glaze, and it worked just perfectly together!


My mother, who sampled one of these, said these were the best things to come out of my oven - ever! I don't know if that says a lot about the rest of my cooking, but it does say a lot about these muffins. I guess she's a coffee-walnut fanatic, too. And though I am not, I must still admit that these are G-O-O-D!

Keeping with my latest trend, this is a small batch recipe, and makes 6 muffins.

Walnut Muffins
Loosely adapted from Muffins Galore

Ingredients
100g walnut halves
75g butter
75g sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
75g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method
1. In a heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter, stirring it often. The butter will froth a lot. After a little while, the frothing will stop, and the butter will start turning darker. Soon you will notice there are tiny brown specks in the butter. Once the butter reaches this point, take it off the heat. You should be able to smell the nutty aroma of the brown butter. It should not smell burnt.
2. Stir in the sugar while the butter is still hot. Set aside to cool.
3. In the meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir the flour and baking powder together. Retain 6 walnut halves for garnish, and chop the remaining walnuts very fine. Most of the walnuts were almost powdered, but I left a few chunky bits because I knew that's what would be popular here. Stir the walnuts into the flour and set aside.
4. Add the egg yolks and vanilla into the still warm butter-sugar mixture.
5. Stir in the walnut, flour and baking powder mixture.
6. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold the egg whites into the walnut batter.
7. The final batter will be quite thick, but soft and smooth.
8. Divide the batter into a muffin tray (6 muffins), and bake at 180 for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden and firm to the touch.
9. Allow them to cool in the tray for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
10. Spread over the coffee glaze, and garnish with a walnut half.


Coffee Glaze
Ingredients
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp instant coffee
1 tsp butter, softened
150g powdered sugar
Method
1. Heat the milk and coffee together until the coffee has completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
2. Add the butter, and stir until the butter has melted.
3. Add the sugar and stir until you have a smooth glaze. If you want a thicker glaze, like the one I've used, you can add more sugar until you get the consistency you want.


Theses muffins are only mildly sweet, and need the sweetness of the glaze. The coffee and walnut flavors go really well together! 
While the texture and consistency is perfect for a breakfast muffin, I know my family would gladly eat these for dessert!
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60 comments:

Three-Cookies said...

The coffee glaze sounds amazing, and light on butter. I want to try this

Maris Callahan said...

Certainly good recommendations form those that have tried them so I am bookmarking this. the glaze does look amazing!

Cajundelights said...

These look absolutely heavenly and I would love 6 of them right now! Love the glaze, too! Thanks so much for stopping by and for your nice comment. Have a wonderful holiday!

ping said...

What gorgeous muffins! And that glaze ...... mmmmmfff .... to die for!

Unknown said...

Marsha,
These are super adorable and I love that glaze and the color of the glaze!!!
J

Nami @ Just One Cookbook said...

Hmm!  This little muffins will make me happy too!  Coffee glaze?  That's awesome!!!  You make everything so easily Marsha.  If I have the same baking skills, this will be my breakfast everyday with a cup of coffee.  How perfect... Your husband is a lucky guy! ;-)

sharizat shakmanova said...

mmm these look good! the glaze wraps the muffin perfectly with the gentle folds making the entire presentation very unique! and you've pleased the critics: a husband, a mother and self, which in my case are the toughest critics ever! :)

The Capitol Baker said...

Oh WOW, those look delicious!!

theprocrastobaker said...

I adoreee coffee walnut cake so am pretty sure I would absolutely love these little gems, I have never had the infamous thing that is browned butter however and am dying to try it, everyone seems to be besotted with the stuff! i like the fact this is a small batch, so so useful as its only me and my ma, so I might well give these beauties a shot thank you :)

Lizzy said...

Oh, wow, these sound and look amazing!  Your description has my mouth watering...mmmmm.

Heidi @ Food Doodles said...

Those look so delicious!  The glaze makes them look amazing!  And those flavors sound sooo good :)

theharriedcook said...

I spent a lot of time licking the bowl in which I made the glaze, and so I can tell you that the glaze IS fabulous :) Thanks for stopping by!! :)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Maris! :) Yep, good feedback from the critics :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Marguerite! No holiday for us here, but I hope you had a wonderful weekend! :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank youuuuuuu! :) 

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Jackie! :) I thought the color was really lovely too... I don't drink coffee, and even I liked it! :)

theharriedcook said...

Awww.... thank you for the kind words, Nami! :) It is a fabulous breakfast muffin, and not too difficult at all! You should try it :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Sharizat! I love thick glazes that wrap the muffins like little blankets :) And yes, whew - pleased the worst critics! :D Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you! :D

theharriedcook said...

Thank you so much! :) Browned butter really took some of my desserts to another level... you should give it a shot! :) And since starting this blog, I have realized that small batch for a small family is best :) Thank you for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you for the sweet comment, Lizzy! :) Appreciate it :)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Heidi! :) I appreciate the thoughtful comment! Thanks for stopping by...

Inside a British Mum's Kitchen said...

My absolute favorite cake is coffee and walnut - so these are right up my alley!! Delicious!
Mary

myrna said...

Looks divinely yummy!  I like the combo=)

Briarrose said...

I must dub them...uber muffins!  These look wonderful....especially with that glaze.

Mike & Tammy said...

The muffins do sound very good. I like the coffee glaze topping. I am vey sure that your mom was just so excited at the intensity of the good flavor that she was trying to make a point of  just how delicious these muffins were. Blessings, xo Catherine

Catherine said...

I just posted a comment, but I did not realize I posted it under my daughter and sons account. Mike and Tammy. Blessings, Catherine

Frugal Antics said...

I definitely think those look like wonderful cupcakes.

Mary@One Perfect Bite said...

These look beautiful and they sound really delicious. Your instructions make it possible for anyone to make these. It is always a pleasure to visit here. I hope you had a great day. Blessings...Mary

Emilia said...

I need to make these muffins, I love licking the bowl when I am preparing sweets and the idea of coffee flavour sounds soooooooooooooo good. Not sure they will make it into the oven though, nor that the glaze will make it on the muffins :P

Joyti said...

Wow, what a luxurious muffin - the glaze is so thick and looks so deep and rich. I can see why your hubby would be happy with these beauties!

feedthebf said...

I'd definitely want to have one of these for breakfast!  I just adore anything coffee-flavored =)

theharriedcook said...

That seems to be the case with so many people I know! :) Thank you, Mary, for your thoughtful comment, and for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Myrna! :)

theharriedcook said...

LOL :D That's so sweet... I am sure my husband would agree! Thanks for the kind comment & for stopping by :)

theharriedcook said...

I guess you're right about my mom's compliment! :) Thank you, Catherine!

theharriedcook said...

Thanks to you, Mike & Tammy... LOL :D Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you for taking the time to stop by & comment, Kristen! :)

theharriedcook said...

Awww.. thank you, Mary! I really hope these get made more... Thanks for stopping by! 

theharriedcook said...

I was licking the coffee glaze up, and that was the best part. The walnut batter was pretty yummy too! :) So I know exactly what you mean! :) Thanks for stopping by, Emilia!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Joyti, for that very sweet comment! Thanks for stopping by! :)

theharriedcook said...

:) Then you must make these... They're so yummy! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Manu said...

Oh these would make ME a happy woman!  I am addicted to coffee and I love walnuts... hahaha  This would be the perfect breakfast for me!  Thanks for sharing such a yummy recipe Marsha!

Kitchen Belleicious said...

Umm... those little beauties would have made me happy too! If I were your husband I would have been in heaven that day- and I say that day because I am assuming they were so good that those muffins didn't last longer than a day! LOL! Love the coffee glaze- perfection at its best

Beth Hyzy said...

I'm not sure where I first tried the walnut-coffee combination, I think it was a Nigella Lawson recipe.  But I am a huge fan, these look amazing!

Terris @ Free Eats said...

Wow Marsha!  These are truly torturing me.  I was just about to head to bed and now I have an intense craving for these.  That glaze is stunning and sounds delicious with the walnut.  YUM!!!!!

Magic of Spice said...

I bet these were beyond good, and so pretty too...great photos :)

theharriedcook said...

I'm glad you like it, Manu! :) You sound like my husband - addicted to coffee and crazy about walnuts! :) This would be perfect for you! Thanks for stopping by :)

theharriedcook said...

They didn't last more than a few hours... it was a small batch though :) Thank you for your sweet comment! Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

I've never seen that recipe of Nigella's. I should look for that... I'm so glad you like this one! Thanks for stopping by & commenting :)

theharriedcook said...

LOL :D Glad I could help! :D It was a yummy treat, even for a non-coffee drinking person :) Thanks for stopping by and for the thoughtful comment!

theharriedcook said...

Thanks! They were good :) I'm so glad you like the pictures! :) Thanks for stopping by... 

VeggieNextDoor said...

That glaze looks so beautiful.  I can't believe it looks so creamy with so little butter!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you so much! It was a really easy glaze to make... I hope you try it and like it! :) Thanks for stopping by...

Sherri@FoodBasics101 said...

Can I just make the coffee glaze and eat it right out of the bowl? LOL!

jules said...

waaay better than a doughnut.  can't wait to try these and love the coffee glaze

kavi said...

i have tried this today.......its wonderful... thanks for sharing!!!

theharriedcook said...

Sounds like a great plan :) and it is that yummy! :) Thanks for stopping by, Sherri!

theharriedcook said...

I hope you try it! :) The coffee glaze is really yummy! Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

I am so glad to read this comment, kavi! :) Thank you for trying out this recipe, and I am so glad you liked it... and I am really glad you took the time to stop by & let me know! :) Appreciate it! :)

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