Ricotta Bouchons (Muffins)

I'm only calling these cakes "bouchons" (corks), cause they came out looking like wine corks!
In Paris, I buy little chocolate corks at patisseries, known as bouchons (corks).

These are muffins, cupcakes or just pretty little cakes. Call them what you wish.
I call them delicious.

I loved these. A lot.

This is a beautiful dense ricotta cake batter with a hint of orange zest and almond extract, and some plump golden raisins.

I experimented with these very pretty tall paper liners, and they came out great. They puffed up like souffles and didn't deflate!

Here's how:

Little Ricotta Cakes (bouchons!): (makes 10-12 little cakes)

1 1/4 cup sugar
8 tablespoons of melted and cooled butter (1 stick or 1/2 cup)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
zest of an orange
16 oz. container of fresh ricotta
1/4 cup of golden raisins

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 tsp of baking powder

Mix wet ingredients together and then slowly add in the flour mixture to form a nice light batter.

My fancy paper liners needed no greasing, but you might want to spray your muffin tins or baking forms, if needed.

I used an ice cream scoop for my batter. I filled each muffin cup with a big scoop of batter, 3/4 way to the top.

Place on a baking tray (because my liners were too large to fit into a muffin pan), and bake at 325F for 30-40 minutes.
Baking time will depend on the size of the cakes you are making. The batter will rise and puff up over the top and form a cork shape, like a souffle.

Remove to a cooling rack and let rest.

No need for icing or powdered sugar, these stand alone.

Great eaten warm about 30 minutes after baking. I couldn't resist.

AH-MAZING, and pretty too.