What diehard foodie doesn’t have a collection of old cookbooks that have been sitting on a bookshelf gathering dust? I have a wonderful library of Mexican cookbooks, from the smallest 20 pages to the largest of up to 1,000 pages long. As a newlywed back in the 80’s I had no use for cookbooks. I would just call my Mom and ask her for recipes. As the years went by and my Mom cooked less and less, it was my turn to cook for her whenever I had the chance. This recipe for Mantecadas de Naranja is adapted from one of my oldest Mexican cookbooks in my collection. It’s very much like those cupcakes they sell at the Mexican panaderias.
It reminded me of my Mom, because her favorite thing to snack on was an orange. The orange peel! She could not eat the actual orange because she was diabetic. To this day I think of her every time I zest an orange or just enjoy a large navel orange. I too snack on the peels now….and now I understand why she enjoyed them so much.
Mantecadas de Narnaja-Orange Zest Cupcakes
Equipment
- 6-8 paper cups for cupcakes
- cupcake pan
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup warm whole milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/3 cup candied orange pieces chopped small(optional)
- 6-8 cupcake paper cups
Instructions
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 6-8 paper cups or you can grease the muffin pan with some shortening.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, yeast and salt. Set aside
- In another bowl, using a hand held electric mixer, whip eggs. With mixer on medium, mix in the oil, vanilla, milk and orange zest. Mix in the sugar.
- With the mixer on low/medium speed, gradually mix in the flour(dry ingredients). Do not over mix. Let the batter stand for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Divide the batter into prepared paper cups or greased pan. If adding the candied orange pieces, add a few to each mantecada. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center and mantecadas are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Sprinkle with granulated sugar while they are still warm.
If you would like to prepare the mantecadas topped with the candied orange peel, follow the instructions to the point up to where you fill the paper cups. Then to each one, you will add a tablespoon of candied orange peel. Bake as directed.
Aimee Flores
Hi! I’m first generation Mexican American too and looking forward to making your recipe for our school’s multicultural potluck. They look delicious!!!!
Sonia
Thank you Aimee!