1-in-3 – Buddha’s Hand Citron

From octopus to orange, squash to Star Wars, I had more fun than you all did, coming up with names for that strange-looking-thingy I posted yesterday. Isn’t Imaginaaaation fun?

As you many of you have guessed, it is indeed a citrus; Buddha’s Hand Citron, to be exact. Believed to have originated from India, this citrus got its name for its ‘fingers’. The fruit has no juice or pulp, just peel and pith.

When I first spotted it at Whole Foods, I wasn’t sure what it was. It looked weird, smelt nice and was exorbitantly prized. However, I was hesitant to buy as I had no idea of what it was. Looking at my bewilderment, the floor manager voluntarily sliced one and offered me a sample; few actually. I was intrigued and impressed by its texture right away. The peel was crisp and the pith was ‘cloud-like’, with almost no bitterness. It also had its signature lemony and floral notes. The more I had, the more I wanted take one home. And this story has a happy ending. Did I mention it was exorbitantly prized? Ah! All in the name of blogging.

So now I have an exotic fruit lying in my refrigerator and I am clueless on how to deal with it. There was not much information or recipes on the internet. Though marmalade sounded like a straight-forward option for a citrus with neither pulp nor juice, I wanted something different. When have I stuck to a standard procedure? So I decided to use them in recipes that calls for lemon zest, 3 recipes to be exact. And, so here it is 1-in-3 – Buddha’s Hand.

First stop, cupcakes. Adapted from this book, these cupcakes were dense, moist and tasty. I was surprised how a small amount of Buddha’s Hand zest made a difference. This is my entry to Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Cate of Sweetnicks.

Buddha’s Hand Low - Fat Cupcakes

Ingredients

All purpose flour – ¾ cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Baking soda – ¼ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Butter – 2 tbsp
Sugar – 1/3 cup
Grated Buddha’s Hand zest or lemon zest – 1 tsp
Lemon juice – ¼ tsp
Egg whites – 2
Buttermilk – ½ cup

Method

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with liners. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

In a big bowl cream butter and sugar until well mixed. Beat in zest, lemon juice, egg whites and buttermilk and whisk thoroughly. Gently fold in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Scoop batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 25 minutes. The cupcakes should be well-risen and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. If desired, frost ‘em with cream cheese frosting or serve as is. Yields about 8 medium sized cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat equal portions of cream cheese and powdered sugar with Buddha’s Hand zest until fluffy. Frost cupcakes just before serving.

I am off to a good start. Lets see where these goblin fingers take me next.