Orange muffins

It's been far too long since I last baked muffins. The inspiration to use orange zest came from the cookbook "Meidän keittokirja", but the recipe for the dough is what I always use for muffins. The recipe for frosting is adapted from Joy of Baking. So yes, quite a mix of everything. My original plan was to cover the top of each muffin with the frosting, but after decorating two muffins, I realized there wouldn't be enough of it. That's why the rest of the muffins just got a small dollop of frosting in the center, and some got a few extra dollops. They're still cute though :)

You will need:

• 150 g butter/margarine (room temperature)
• 1.5 dl sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3.5 dl all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1.5 dl milk
• zest of one orange

And for the frosting:

• 50 g butter/margarine (room temperature)
• 1 dl icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 1 tbsp milk

Prep time: about half an hour
Baking time: 15-20 minutes per batch
Makes 14 large muffins

What to do:

• Beat the butter and sugar together using a hand mixer, until light and fluffy.

• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Finally, add the orange zest and fold it into the dough with a spatula (or a spoon).

• Evenly fill the muffin cups with the dough, about 3/4 of the way. Bake at 200 C for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the frosting:

• With a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft and fluffy.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the icing sugar and vanilla sugar.
• Add the milk and beat on high speed for about 5 minutes, until the frosting is light and fluffy.
• Add more milk or icing sugar, if the consistency isn't quite right.

• Decorate muffins with frosting. I used a frosting syringe for the purpose, with a tip that looks like this: