This fresh ginger recipe created a lot of buzz a few decades ago. Many of my baking colleagues told me that I just had to make them. “They’re so gingery,” many said. “You’ll love them,” some added.
Well, I happen to just love ginger in just about any form—fresh, dried and powdered, candied, or in ice cream. And in Hawaii it’s available year round.
The recipe for Marion Cunningham’s Ginger Muffins comes from her Breakfast Book.
I got a bonus buying this volume because it also includes her Supper Book.
About Marion Cunningham
For many years, Marion assisted James Beard in his cooking classes. When Knopf editor Judith Jones asked Beard if he could recommend someone to revise and modernize the 1896 Fannie Farmer Cookbook, he recommended Marion. Marion jumped at this opportunity. The job was a work for hire. She was given a lump sum and no royalty. As time wore on, Marion ran over budget as the project took much longer than expected, and she paid out of her own pocket to complete the recipe testing and writing of the manuscript.
The book was a huge success, and Judith then served as editor for the many other cookbooks that Marion would write—with advances and royalty!
Marion’s The Breakfast Book, first published by Knopf in 1987, features the recipe for “Bridge Creek Fresh Ginger Muffins.” It’s absolutely terrific and deserves all the accolades it receives.
The Recipe
Makes 16 muffins
A 2-ounce piece of unpeeled fresh ginger
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons), with some white pith
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk (240 grams)
2 cups all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Grease the muffin tins.
Cut the unpeeled ginger into large chunks. If you have a food processor, process the ginger until it is in tiny pieces; or hand shop into fine pieces. (You should have at least 1/4 cup. It is better to have too much ginger than too little.) Put the ginger and 1/4 cup sugar in a small skillet or pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar has melted and the mixture is hot. Don’t walk away from the pan—this cooking takes only a couple of minutes. Remove from the stove and let the ginger mixture cool.
Put the lemon zest and 3 tablespoons sugar in the food processor and process until the lemon is in small bits; or chop the lemon zest and pith by hand and then add the sugar. Add the lemon mixture to the ginger mixture. Stir and set aside.
Put the butter in a mixing bowl and beat for a second or two, add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the buttermilk and mix until blended. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat until smooth. Add the ginger-lemon mixture and mix well.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tins so that each cup is three-quarters full. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.
A Few Details before Plunging Forward
The number of muffins this recipe makes is sixteen. Sixteen is an unusual number for muffins. Standard-size muffin tins have 12 cups. There are 6-cup muffin tins also, so one of those pans could accommodate 4 muffins. I use a USA muffin pan, and I can fill those 12 cups with all the batter. If you have just one 12-cup regular muffin pan, save the remaining batter until the first muffins are baked and out of the pan. Then bake the remaining four muffins.
Here’s what 2 ounces of fresh ginger looks like. The coin is there for a size comparison.
3. The chopped cooked ginger
Make sure you stay with the pan as you stir and cook the ginger. Remove the pan from the heat when the cooking’s done. 4.The Lemon Zest
5 Cooked Ginger and Lemon Zest
The Muffin Batter
Once the eggs are beaten into the batter you’ll see a curdled mess. But have no fear. Everything witll smooth out once the dry ingredients are mixed in. 7. The smooth batter
Here’s the completed batter. The lumpiness comes from the ginger and lemon zest. The batter itself is completely smooth. 8.Muffin Batter in the Pan
Each muffin cup is about 3/4 full of muffin batter in this USA pan. Next stop, the oven.
9. Bakes Ginger Muffins in the pan.
The Muffins in a Basket.
Happy Baking!
Love The Breakfast Book. It’s where I first learned of James Beard’s cream biscuits. Another repeat recipe is the buttermilk muffins rolled in melted butter then cinnamon sugar. Taste just like doughnuts.
Loved Marion. Must make these.