My mom flew down to visit me for my birthday!
I will reveal a secret.
For my birthday instead of a traditional cake with frosting or ice cream, I really prefer donuts from friends, my husband’s whiskey bread pudding, my own sticky toffee date pudding, my dad’s pineapple cake or an obscenely-dense store-bought poundcake made with creepy artificial flavorings and real butter.
However, today felt like an apple day. I associate apples with my birthday, the fall season, Thanksgiving, fruit picking for fun with my dad and apple orchards on my honeymoon. Around age 2, I used to ride a plastic trike indoors. It had a smiling red apple for a face. I found the image above from Creative Commons. Please ignore the foreign phrase. I can’t read it and I hope it doesn’t say, “Become a cannibal.”
Since I had apples in mind, I baked MrsHappyHomemaker’s Apple Pie Muffins to share with my mom and hubby on my birthday morning. With my addition of nutmeg to Crystal’s recipe, the scent will remind you of apple fritters.
I reduced the butter and used canola oil in its place. Also I did not have brown sugar or buttermilk so I made some substitutions recommended by Betty Crocker.
A third disclosure: I didn’t measure properly. I used an 8 oz plastic tumbler, a Chinese teacup and a plastic picnic spoon. That’s what was most handy, in the kitchen, at the time of my impulse baking. These measurements are my best guess. Cost: 25 cents each.
Dry items:
1/4 cup white sugar
3 TB molasses
2 TB cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup flour
3 TB powdered milk
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
Wet ingredients:
1/3 cup canola oil
1 TB heavy cream
1/2 cup water
1 TB rum
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 egg
Other:
1/4 cup chopped apples
1 TB unsalted butter
Steps:
1. Preheat oven for 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl.
2. Remove 2 TB of dry mix into a separate container. Cut butter into this small container of dry mix to make the streusel topping.
3. Combine the wet ingredients in third bowl. Combine first bowl of dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Add the chopped apples.
4. Place cupcake liners in cupcake baking pan for easy muffin removal.
5. Use cookie sheet underneath muffin pan to catch drips. Fill muffin wells 75% full. I used a soup ladle because the batter is runny rather than thick. Sprinkle streusel topping on raw batter. Bake for 35 minutes on the bottom-most rack.
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