Orange–Cardamom Zucchini Muffins with Nut Streusel
Zucchini keeps these damp for days while the citrus zest and cardamom do the talking, and a semolina-spiked streusel gives the tops something to crack against. Two ways to bake it: warm and round with orange, pistachio and chocolate, or bright and faintly floral with lime and toasted cashew.
Ingredients
- large zucchini, coarsely gratedabout 2 cups packed (1 large)
- granulated sugar1 cup
- orange, zested plus juice — OR 2 limes, zested plus juice (see variation)1 orange, or 2 limes; 2 tbsp juice either way
- eggs2, room temperature
- neutral oil or melted butter1/2 cup
- cottage cheese1/2 cup
- vanilla extract1 tsp
- all-purpose flour2 cups
- ground cardamom1 1/2 tsp
- cinnamon (orange version only)1/2 tsp
- baking soda1 tsp
- baking powder1 tsp
- fine salt3/4 tsp — a scant 1/2 tsp if using salted pistachios; a scant 1 tsp for the lime version
- chocolate, coarsely chopped (optional in the orange version; omit for lime)1/2 cup
- shelled pistachios for the streusel, raw and coarsely chopped (orange version) — or toasted cashews (lime version)1/2 cup
- semolina3 tbsp
- flour, for streusel3 tbsp
- brown sugar, for streusel1/4 cup
- cold butter, for streusel3 tbsp, cubed
Method
Heat the oven to 375°F / 190°C and line a 12-cup muffin tin. For the orange version, chop the pistachios coarse and leave them raw — heat kills the green, and they'll get all the roasting they need on top of the muffin. For the lime version, toast the cashews dry in a pan until a shade past pale, then cool them completely before chopping.
Watch for
Cashews colour fast at the end. Pull them when they smell buttery, not when they look brown.
Make the streusel: rub the cold butter into the chopped nuts, semolina, flour and brown sugar with your fingertips.
Watch for
Stop while it still holds in irregular clumps — sandy all the way through means the butter has gone too far.
Grate the zucchini and squeeze it lightly in a clean towel. You want it damp, not dry — one good squeeze, not a wringing.
Watch for
A tablespoon or two of liquid coming out is plenty.
Rub the citrus zest into the granulated sugar with your fingers until it smells like the fruit and the sugar looks faintly wet. With lime, do this last thing before mixing — lime zest is loud raw and fades faster than orange.
Watch for
The sugar turns pale gold and clumps slightly — that's the oils releasing.
Whisk in the eggs, oil, cottage cheese, citrus juice and vanilla until smooth-ish. Cottage cheese curds will stay visible; they melt into the crumb as it bakes.
Whisk the flour, cardamom, cinnamon (orange version only), baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, then fold into the wet with the zucchini — and the chocolate, if you're using it. Stop early.
Watch for
A few dry streaks left is correct. Overmixed batter bakes tough and domes badly.
Divide between the cups — they should be generously full — and pile the streusel on top, pressing lightly so it stays put. Don't let the lime batter sit around; get it into the oven.
Bake 20–24 minutes. Cool in the tin 5 minutes, then move to a rack.
Watch for
Tops spring back and a skewer comes out with moist crumbs, not wet batter. Chocolate will read as wet — test between the pieces.