When I received my package with dried Morel mushrooms from MarxFoods to cook for the Annual Morel Challenge, I was delighted to discover four samples of different sugars: vanilla sugar, demerara sugar, granulated honey, and coconut sugar. I've decided to do a sugar tasting for my family and what better way to serve those unique sweeteners than on top of freshly baked vanilla bean muffins! As these gorgeous vanilla beans from Madagascar were also included in my package from MarxFoods, this was a perfect plan.
We tasted a little bit of each sugar first and then sprinkled a generous amount of each sugar on top of the muffins ready to bake. The result was fabulous and each of the sugar toppings was unique and delicious in its own way.
Vanilla sugar is a sugar mixed with vanilla bean powder and is essentially a vanilla scented powdered sugar. This sugar made a pretty white topping and infused the muffins with the extra vanilla which was excellent.
We sprinkled extra vanilla sugar on top and we thought these muffins tasted like beignets!
Demerara sugar is an unrefined brown sugar that features large crystals and a sweet flavor with hints of molasses. This sugar was terrific as a topping for muffins creating a lovely crunchy texture and a very pretty golden color.
Granulated honey is dried honey that has been broken into tiny granules. The crunchy texture of the topping and the flavor of honey in combination with vanilla flavor was amazing.
Coconut sugar is a natural sugar made from the sweet sap of the flower buds on the coconut palm tree. It does not actually have a taste of coconut at all, and instead has a sweet nutty taste. It come in large lumps and has a soft texture. This was perhaps the most interesting sugar to observe in baking. It melted on top of the muffins, creating dark brown specks and a special taste reminiscent of the burnt caramel of the top of Crème brûlée. This was perhaps our favorite of the four sugar toppings!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2/3 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 Vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, seeds reserved
2 teaspoons vanilla yogurt
vanilla sugar
demerara sugar
granulated honey
coconut sugar
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla seeds. Fold the flour mixture in to mix well, and then mix in yogurt.
Place equal portions of batter into a greased 12-cup muffin tin. Sprinkle each muffin top generously with your choice of sugar (vanilla sugar, demerara sugar, granulated honey, and coconut sugar, and/or other type you may have). Bake on 400°F for about 15 minutes or until the muffin tops are golden.
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You all have a chance to win 2lbs of fresh Wild Morel Mushrooms! All you have to do is enter a comment on MarxFoods blog about what you would like to make with morels. The deadline to enter is midnight on April 28th! There will be a winner selected for every 200 entries so please spread the word about the contest as it increases your own chances of winning!
CLICK HERE TO ENTER
