It's That Time Again!

Time for another Royal Foodie Joust! As I've said in the past, Jenn the Leftover Queen (who has recently become a Mrs!! Congrats!) hosts the monthly Royal Foodie Joust over at the Leftover Queen Forum. Last month's winner, Elle, chose Raspberries, Lime and Almonds for us to play around with for this month's challenge. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to make, and since one of my favorite co-workers is leaving soon (his going-away party was today) I figured I'd make him something yummy for work tomorrow.

I decided on Raspberry and Lime Muffins with Almond & Cardamom Streusel, and boy, am I glad I did! These muffins made my house smell divine, I'm tellin' ya. Here's the recipe:

For the Muffins:

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-1 cup sugar

-1 tbsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp salt

-2 eggs

-1 cup of milk

-1/2 cup vegetable oil (I actually used olive oil, since we were out of veggie oil, and there's hardly a noticeable difference in taste)

-1 tsp lemon extract

-Juice of 1 lime

-1 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries

For the Streusel:

-2 tbsp flour

-5 tbsp sugar

-1/2 tsp cardamom

-2 tbsp softened butter

-1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. Line or grease muffin cups. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, with the exception of the raspberries. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moistened. Gently fold in the rasperries. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the streusel. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with the muffin batter, then spoon modest amounts of the streusel mixture on top. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, serve warm.

I sampled these babies, and boy, are they good! The streusel adds a nice crunch to the top layer, and the muffins are tender with a nice crumb. I like that they're not overly sweet, since the streusel does contain quite a bit of sweetness already. And the cardamom adds an interestin depth that isn't overpowering, but is still present. All in all, a pretty delicious muffin that's good... well, anytime!

~Mehgan~