Orange Cornmeal Cupcakes with White Wine & Olive Oil

These cupcakes are a taste of Tuscany in my opinion, and for any girl or guy on the go, a perfect cupcake. At first glance these look like corn muffins, but do not be fooled as you couldn't be farther from the truth. These are cupcakes indeed. And even better, a bit healthy for you due to the wine, corn meal, and orange oil.

But how to describe the flavor? Well, when wine and olive oil are combined in baking they produce a sublte, almost etheral, fruity flavor. The orange oil from the zest permeates the entire cake. The sugar crusts on top during baking and maintains it's snowy sprakle. You can't help but imagine eating them with slices of ripe orange and a glass of white wine, which consequently is how I suggest you eat them. You can't help but close your eyes and imagine eating them at a wrought iron table over looking a tuscan vineyard in the afternoon sun. Due to the cornmeal they're very dense too, so one cupcake is the perfect serving (as opposed to five).

Another plus is these take about oh, 5 minutes of prep time. With about 25 minutes for baking time, these are great time savers if you want an impressive dessert for little effort using ingredients you probably have on hand. As for the wine I used, I went with a Geyser Peak 05' Sauvignon Blanc. It was dry, not too fruity, not too grassy. It really accomplished all it needed to in the cupcake, and was the perfect accompaniment with the oranges and cupcakes. I also suggest a high quality olive oil for this if you have it, though everyday will do just fine as well.

This is a definite winner in my book and a total keeper. Easy, tasty, refined, and a real crowd pleaser.

Orange Cornmeal Cupcakes with White Wine & Olive Oil
Makes about 10 cupcakes / 375 Degrees
Adapted From Martha Stewart

What You'll Need...
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup of sugar, plus 1/3 cup for topping
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of baking powder
Finely grated zest of one orange

What You'll Do...
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, sugar, and wine until smooth. Add the other dry ingredients and the zest; whisk together gently.

3) Line cupcake tin with cupcake papers and spoon into the papers about 4/5 full. Sprinkle on the sugar (topping will be thick). Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out. clean.