Spiced Apple Crumb Muffins

November: Autumn’s end, winter’s almost.

Thoughts of gingerbread and holiday leisure linger temptingly in the not-so-distant future but the last of all leaves hold on for dear life and refuse to fall.

November: A month in between two seasons. These muffins: A bridge.

Hearty and wholesome, these muffins stick to your ribs. They’re good for cold November mornings and the first of evening flakes.

Chock full of apple, they wink at autumn, recognize its bounty, celebrate its scent.

I’ve always thought of cinnamon as equally wintery and fall-like. Necessary for the pumpkin pies and apple crisps of October as well as the holiday cookies and hot toddies of the longest, coldest season. Cinnamon is what gives these muffins their heart: it speckles the batter and adds punch to the crumble topping. Cinnamon is what makes these muffins the perfect November treat—a bridge between what just was and what it will be… soon.

Spiced Apple Crumb Muffins
Adapted from My Father's Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow

Makes 12 muffins.

Crumb topping:
1/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup whole rolled oats (not instant/quick cooking)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs milk

Muffins:
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1 cup finely diced and peeled apple (about 2 small apples)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (plus extra for greasing the pan)
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs pure maple syrup
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs milk
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin with oil.

For the crumb topping, combine all the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add oil and milk and rub everything together with your fingers: you want a damp and pebbly mixture.

For the muffins, toss cornstarch with apple in a small bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk oil, maple syrup and milk together. Sift in flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Stir to combine and fold in apples. Evenly distribute in muffin tin and top with crumb mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).

Enjoy with hot tea and a good book.

Montreal Morsels: Croissants and Coffee

The week's end. The weekend's beginning. Saturday morning is for two pots of coffee, lingering breakfasts and not much else. One of the luxuries of living in Montreal is the close proximity of my apartment to the most wonderful French bakery: Boulangerie Olivier Potier. Just around the corner, this bustling gem offers the very best in traditional French pastry and rustic loaves. I often make the 3 minute walk on Saturday mornings to retrieve croissants - little golden parcels of indulgence fit only for the weekend. The almond croissant is my favourite (though the pain au chocolat comes in close second).

This place tastes like Paris: what a way to start a weekend.

Montreal Meals: Pumpkin Rum Cakes

Biting wind. A clear sun. The return of scarves and light sweaters.

The smog has dispersed here in Montreal and the humidity has finally admitted defeat. Fall has arrived and everyone knows it. We can breathe again! We can feel like ourselves again!

Or maybe that’s just me.

My first summer in Montreal was a hot one. A humid one. By the end of August, I was absolutely fed up with sticky, sweaty days and rising temperatures that wouldn’t quit. My Nova Scotia skin just can’t handle it.

I welcome fall with very open arms. And this dessert.

Little Pumpkin Rum Cakes. Don’t they just sum up autumn in a few greedy bites?

Once September hits, whether the weather has decided to cooperate or not, I begin buying canned pumpkin and celebrating the arrival of the new season. I would put pumpkin in everything if I could. I bake cookies and muffins with it. I put it in my morning oatmeal with a dash of cinnamon. I pull pies from the oven and place cakes on the cooling rack. And I make these little treats.

Moist, fragrant, warming cakes with a pleasantly orange hue (if only the leaves would follow suit). A rich rum caramel sauce to keep things special and indulgent. And a scoop of ice cream because dishes like these need a bit of creaminess.

Embrace fall and bake these up! You won’t be sorry.

Pumpkin Rum Cakes

adapted from Canadian Living

bakes about 14 little cakes

1 2/3 cup dark brown sugar + more for your muffin tins

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

3 eggs

¾ cup vegetable oil

2 cups pumpkin puree (buy canned and save yourself some time)

2 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 ¾ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground ginger

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp each ground nutmeg and allspice

Butter and flour large cup muffin tins. Sprinkle the bottom of each cup with 1/2 tsp brown sugar.

In a large bowl, beat 1 2/3 cup brown sugar with butter until creamed together. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating after each addition. Add oil to combine. Beat in pumpkin until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, salt, nutmeg and allspice. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and beat until just combined. Spoon heaping ¼ cups of batter into muffin tins, spreading the tops flat with an offset spatula.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out nearly clean (a few sticky crumbs are a good thing). Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan before serving or moving to a rack to cool completely (they’re awfully good warm, though).

Rum-Caramel Sauce

½ cup butter

¾ cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup dark rum

pinch of salt

Melt butter in a medium pan over med-low heat. Add sugar and bring to a boil; let bubble away for 3 minutes. Add rum and allow to bubble for an additional minute.

To serve: cut cakes in half to ensure they soak up sauce; spoon sauce over and add a scoop of ice cream.