Mandarin Orange Muffins

First, clean and rinse the Mandarin Orange (1 cup) well. Then using a vegetable shredder, grate the orange rind. You will need 1/2 cup of orange rind. Peel to remove the skin, remove pith, seeds and break into segments. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the segmented mandarin oranges into small pieces.

Next, preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F) and place oven rack in center of oven.

Line a 12 cup muffin pan with muffin liners and set aside while we prepare the batter for the muffins.

Combine all the wet ingredients. Beat Egg (1), Buttermilk (3/4 cup) and Butter (2.5 oz).

Combine all DRY ingredients: In a large bowl mix together All-Purpose Flour (1 1/2 cups), Granulated Sugar (1/2 cup), Baking Powder (2 tsp), Ground Cinnamon (as needed), Ground Nutmeg (as needed) and Salt (as needed).

Then, add the WET egg mixture into the DRY flour mixture. Using a spatula, stir only until the ingredients are JUST combined. Do not OVERMIX.

Next, fold in the diced mandarin oranges.

Using an ice-cream scoop, spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups till 3/4 full.

Sprinkle the top with Granulated Sugar (2 Tbsp) and garnish with orange rinds. And we're ready to bake the muffins.

Place muffin tray into preheated oven.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of muffins comes out clean. And we're done!

Remove from oven and cool the muffins in the pan for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Then transfer the mandarin oranges onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

These muffins can be stored for a few days at room temperature and they freezes well too. As always, serve and enjoy!