A taste of Boracay.. Kalamansi Muffins and yes, they are gluten free!

Boracay... the summer place to be in the Philippines. Nothing compares to its white sand beaches (although Palawan is closing in on that in recent surveys). Filipinos make sure to come to Boracay at least once in their lifetime. Summer may be the top season to go, but I have fond memories of spending Halloween there in full costume as well as greeting the New Year's by the beach with a mojito on-hand. 
Besides its beaches, Boracay has plenty food offerings as well. Dos Mestizos for Spanish fare, Aria for its chewy-crisp pizzas are a few eateries that is a must while your there. Another is Real Coffee's Kalamansi Muffins. Kalamansi is a native lime found in the Philippines which is indispensable in Filipino cooking. We use it in our marinades, sprinkling over our pancit and forms part of the sawsawan (soy sauce, kalamansi, vinegar dip). Real Coffee really uplifted this humble citrus as part of a sweet treat as long as I can remember. Sweet and tart and oh so yummy.  I tried to make my own version of this island treat gluten free so I can have a taste of summer all year long. 

Kalamansi Muffins

makes 10-12 muffins

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature

1 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup white rice flour*

1/4 cup sorghum flour*

1/4 cup potato starch (not flour!)*

1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour (also can be found under cassava flour)*

1/4 cup blanched almold flour*

3/4 teaspoon Xanthan Gum*

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt (please stay away from iodized salt, sea salt is preferred)

1/4 cup milk - not skim

1/4 cup freshly squeezed kalamansi juice - do not use the bottled concentrate ones!

Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tin with liners or grease them generously

Mix all the dry ingredients, set aside

Pour the milk and kalamansi juice in a measuring jug, set aside

Cream the butter and sugar for 3 mins. If butter is at room temperature, this can easily be done by hand using a whisk. It should lighten in color.

Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk/kalamansi mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. 

Blend well

Scoop into the prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 18-23 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes clean.

*Note:  If you want to just make it the conventional way, use 2 1/2 cups of AP Flour and omit the Xanthan gum.

The result? Sweet tangy goodness you can enjoy! It took me a while to get the proportions of different type of GF flours right. Yes, the recipe calls for 5 types of them, but trust me, you will not be disappointed with the result. You will not know difference of this gluten free version and the one made with regular flour.  My score: 9.5/10!