At Harrowsmith headquarters, we often receive emails or Facebook queries from our community for long lost recipes. Readers, who fondly remember an orange and chocolate muffin that definitely had sour cream in it ask, “do you have a copy lying about in your galley?” Or, what about that savoury solstice pie with prunes and red wine? The details are often vague, but thanks to those who have kept archives of Harrowsmith’s legacy and former Food Editor Darlene King’s magic in the kitchen, we have been able to unearth a few for you. If you’ve been fondly remembering a casserole or treasured jam recipe from issues past, we suggest posting your Lost and Found ad on our Facebook page. Or, email jules@moongate.ca with the recipe that you’ve been craving. We’ll get our secret team of Nancy Drew detectives on the case!
Karen Kerva, a former pastry chef, asked us if we might remember an orange and chocolate muffin recipe from 25-30 years ago. “It was the best muffin I had in my life. Do you still have the recipe? I recall this muffin was the muffin to end all muffins. Crazy breakfast option!” Facebook follower Paula Lessard of Canning, Nova Scotia found it in her archives in Issue #71. *And, it should be noted that she stared at Issue #2!”Each winter I go through every issue as I dream about planting my garden. I need all the help I can get and the old issues are treasured. I have almost all of the old Harrowsmith and Harrowsmith Country Life magazines–years of hunting old bookstores. I’d be happy to look up recipes for your readers–it gives me an excuse not to dust.”) and sent the long lost to us.
It does look like a marvellous muffin (and in turn, I’ve sent the long-lost recipe to my mom to bake when I next visit!)
Orange & Chocolate Muffins
This classic combination of orange and chocolate translates well into a muffin. Bits of chocolate melt and merge with the orange flavour, making this muffin developed in our test kitchen, a fast favourite. Great with fresh hot coffee, tea or cocoa.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sweet butter
- 1 cup sugar
- Grated peel of 2 oranges
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, preferably a fine eating chocolate, chopped into small pieces.
Method
Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Continue beating while you add orange peel and one egg at a time, then sour cream and orange juice.
Measure all dry ingredients and chocolate together, add these and fold lightly into batter. Fold only until blended then fill greased muffin tin.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until done.
Yields approximately 10 muffins.
Jules Torti’s work has been published in The Vancouver Sun, The Globe & Mail, travelife, Canadian Running and Coast Mountain Culture. With experiences as a canoe outtripper, outdoor educator, colouring book illustrator and freelancer, she is thrilled to be able to curate, write and read about the very best things in life.
