Phew! I can’t tell you how glad I am that the blog is finally up and running again. From Friday till Sunday evening, all I did was fret about the fate of bakerstreet.tv
It was a bittersweet moment really. Sweet because it was a bandwidth issue: meaning the site had more page views that it could handle (so yay!) Bitter because the hosting service provider [Bigrock.in] didn’t extend any kind of help to increase the bandwidth temporarily or aid in moving the site in any way while I attempted an effort to switch servers.
It seemed eons but we finally figured out a slow and painful process to get the site up again. Scary. I do take regular back-ups, but not necessarily every time the blog is updated with a post. And while my main concern was to recover all the data, I was hoping it would be up and ready by Monday. Blog gone and missing #MuffinMonday – that would have been disastrous.
But things worked out fine in the end – I’m glad I didn’t have to miss a Monday because today’s recipe is a real treat. It originates from Mark and Bruce’s The Ultimate Muffin Book. I’ve baked quite a few treats from this book and I totally recommend you also try the Daiquiri Muffins, Quiche Lorraine Muffins, Rice Pudding Muffins and Roasted Garlic and Barbecue Ham Muffins.
I made tiny changes to today’s recipe, I used brandy instead of cointreau and gave a little extra stuffing of orange marmalade in the centre. Hop over to the recipe for more variations and changes you can make in this very adaptable muffin.
- 21/4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour or spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (regular or low-fat)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup orange marmalade (see Note)
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 3 tablespoons Brandy or (Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease or line a 12 hole muffin pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until uniform. Set aside.
- In a food processor, blend the buttermilk, sugar, marmalade and lemon zest until the mixture is smooth (about 20 seconds)
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the eggs, melted butter, brandy, and lemon juice. Process until smooth.
- Pour the liquid mixture over the flour mixture; stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Fill the prepared tins three-quarters full. (See note 1)
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the muffins are pale brown with rounded, cracked tops and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes and serve warm.
Muffin Monday: Round Up
Happy Baking!
I posted a Devil’s Food Cake just before the site crashed. It is a lovely recipe, and I’m linking it just in case you missed it.
These orange marmalade muffins look irresistible.
I’m glad you were able to get your site fixed because I would not want to miss a single one of your fabulous muffin mondays!
Aw.. Thanks Renee! :)
feels so good to bake along all of you this week:) we loved these muffins. your extra stuffing in the center must have tasted lovely:)
gosh…. these are brilliant!! orange marmalade, brandy…damn…the backlog of muffins to make is increasing.. am still hung up on your last week’s cappuccino muffins.. and now they are these..!!??!
PS–good to know everything is alrite.. had trying coming to the site over the weekend for the coffee muffins..and was wondering what the matter was!! the travails of super-stardom!!! ;)
These look and sound delicious… however… I’m wondering if there’s a substitute for the brandy. For religious reasons, I never bake with alcohol. Could one perhaps use 2 tbspns orange juice and 1 tsp orange extract?
Thanks for any suggestions – can’t wait to try these!
Hey Debbie! You can eliminate the alcohol completely if you like. There’s really no need to substitute it but if you want, you can use some freshly squeezed orange juice.
Happy Baking!
A
I’m glad you’re back! These muffins sound incredible.
I was wondering where your site was. That is frustrating. Happy to have it back and that I’m baking along this week:)This was a great recipe, An. Thanks for hosting this every week. Everyone’s muffins look fantastic:)
Orange marmalade muffins sound and look delicious! This would be a perfect start to any day!
Website problems are so frustrating! Glad you got it figured out so you could share these tasty muffins with us!
Oh he**! I hate those blog issues with the host, seriously its a nightmare every single time… So happy for you that the problem was solved after all! I can imagine how much u must have been fretting. =I
Your brownies by the way, look super sweet. Feel like having one or two, or maybe even all of them. =)
I’m sorry to hear that you had website problems, but glad you were able to get them fixed in time for #MuffinMonday. These muffins look beautiful. I really enjoyed working with this recipe this week. Happy Monday!
What delicious looking muffins! I love the white fences around each one.
Wow! I LOVE the sound of these! I can taste the citrus…mmmmm!
I am so glad that Baker Street is up and running again too! These little orange marmalade muffins would be delightful for a morning tea! Lovely!
Glad your site is up and running again! These are such lovely muffins! (P.S. Do you have any room in #MuffinMonday? :) )
Of course! And I’d love for you to join us! Will email you details for next week. :)
I’m so glad your website is ok my friend :D
And welcome back with such gorgeous muffins :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Good to hear you’re back up… how scary. What a gorgeous recipe. I wonder if I could make it with mandarines since I have so many in the back yard.
Wow.. what a scary experience!! Once of my worst fears and it reminds me to back up my stuff now more often. Glad you didn’t miss a beat!! Love the marmalade in these muffins. :)
This looks like a delicious recipe! Glad everything ends well:)
computer problems – UGH! I’m so glad you got it resolved even though it does appear to have been a royal pain. However, congratulations on it being because of too many page views for your host to handle! Well, you did it to me again – another muffin to convert into a quick bread. I have a jar of homemade orange marmalade in the fridge just waiting for this. Now all I need is a kitchen and an oven. :) Fabulous recipe!
Yikes! I totally understand your sweat. When my blog was down for half day, I didn’t feel like I was alive. I’m thinking about switching hosting server and I haven’t made up my mind because my blog down time is going to be horrific… Thought of it make me shivered!
Glad you made it to MuffinMonday! :D And your muffins are always delicious and smiling to us – or more like luring to us. ;-)
I love orange flavoured muffin/cake. These look so nice!
So glad you were able to figure out the blog issues and that you are back up and running!! These muffins sound so incredible. I love citrusy muffins!!
Oh I’m so glad that you’re back! I got the bandwith exceeded message and figured you were hard at work on it :)
I LOVE muffin Mondays! These do not dissapoint. I’m so pleased to hear you were able to fix all your tech issues and bring us a tasty treat.
this muffin sounds super delicious, such a refreshing way to start a morning!
Well I am glad your back with this glorious muffin. Wish I was enjoying one right now.
Yes, it wouldn’t be Monday without a new recipe from you! Another winner, my friend~
Yumm-o! These sound great.
Aren’t computer issues a pain in the neck? I don’t know what I’d do if I were on my own dealing with techie problems.
Yumm Yummmmmm Yummm! I love oranges. And you have taken this #Monday Muffin to the next level. Brandied Orange and with Marmalade? Can you see me drooling? I want 1 or okay or maybe 3 for breakfast. Hopefully I can find time and join in #Monday Muffins bake away. Hugsss
Yikes!! That sounds like my worst blogging nightmare. So glad you got it up and running again, especially since I’d hate to miss these yummy muffins!!
not just any muffins- marmalade muffins- orange? WOW! They look amazing and moist and delicious.
So glad your site is back up and running again! That is scary to lose everything, even temporarily.
On a happier note, your muffins are beautiful and I am sure the brandy added just the right warmth and earthiness! This is an after-dinner muffin (You have just invented a new category of muffin!) and probably should be served with espresso, don’t you think?
Glad you were able to sort the site issue out! I came here during that down time and saw the bandwidth exceeded comment…must have been a panic for you!
Love your photos by the way, and it looks so delicious!!
Love the pictures. But I’m a sucker for anything on black. Sorry to hear about your blog problems – really stinks your provider wasn’t more helpful. Glad you’re up and running again!
Yummy muffins! So beautifully photographed as always!
Glad to see your site up and running again! I visited a few times when it was down, and I could imagine how frustrating it was for you!
Love the idea of an orange marmalade muffin – so creative! These look mouthwatering!
Muffins with brandy?? Yes, please!!! These look and sound awesome.
(p.s. the only kind of OK technical issue is a bandwidth technical issue!)
These muffins look awesome::)
I love orange marmalade and these muffins look great Anu!
I’ve had a few scares like that myself, and every time I totally freak out! Even when I remind myself it’s just a blog – still doesn’t help!
This muffin is something that I must try, orange marmalade and brandy should be a terrific combination
delicious muffins…. me too had the same issues some time back with my blog reaching its bandwith due to traffic and the the blog was down for some hours…. it is sweet but not so sweet as well with you trying to get the blog running and up again.