Muffin, Muffin, Muffin Forever Muffin
I’m not a cake fan. There is a multitude of cake recipes and the ones that can be added are endless. Still, I’m not a cake fan. But my family is. Guess what this translates into. Experimenting in the kitchen is my favorite mission and it includes the ‘on the dot’ cakes and pastry side. Even if I’m not the right cook for that: experimenting often means pushing the limits of what is established, and I like to do it, but in making cakes you need to do all by the rules and if you don’t, it may result in disaster. Presenting a non-edible dessert at the end of a nice meal is never a good call. Trust me on this, I know from personal experience.
Anyway, in the years of cooking cakes for my beloved sweet-tooth family, I have developed a fondness for muffins. They are relatively easy to make, flexible in presenting, well responding to my family never-ending appetite for cookies and pastry, and versatile in mixing: you can make sweet and salty versions. What else? They can be stored for at least a couple of days. Which, in a busy kitchen, is a good thing.
My last experiment with muffin includes a new mix for the dough. I decided to go for a less gluten structured one and less sweet too. For my first try, I used chestnut flour, flaxseed flour and some whole-grain spelt flour to structure the batch. Since I was already ‘messing up’ with the dough, I went for something easy and classic for the garnishing: fresh blueberries.
As self flattering as this may sound, my experiment turned out to be a good one. I made twenty-five muffins as an after lunch dessert and the whole batch disappeared before the following breakfast.
They were puffy, sweet but not too sweet, balanced in taste and fragrance. I myself enjoyed two, since the dough didn’t have any milk or butter and I used very little sugar to make it: the chestnut flour is naturally sweeter than any other kind of flour and gives a pleasant taste to the muffins.
For the experimenting-lovers, here is the recipe I used to make my blueberry and little gluten muffins
INGREDIENTS
120 grams chestnut flour
100 grams whole spelt flour
30 grams flaxseed flour (ground flaxseeds)
70 grams brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
0.5 teaspoons baking soda
1 pinch salt
2 large eggs
80 milliliters melted coconut oil (or neutral vegetable oil)
180 milliliters plant-based milk (oat or almond)
1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoons cinnamon powder
150 grams fresh blueberries (or other berries you like)
1
Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 180 °C / 350 °F (conventional) and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2
Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, sift together 120 grams chestnut flour, 100 grams whole spelt flour and 30 grams flaxseed flour (ground flaxseeds). Add 70 grams brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 0.5 teaspoons baking soda and 1 pinch salt. Whisk well to distribute the leavening evenly.
3
Make the vegan buttermilk: In a small cup, combine 180 milliliters plant-based milk (oat or almond) with 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes 05:00. This creates a dairy-free "buttermilk" that makes the muffins extra tender.
4
Mix the wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, lightly beat 2 large eggs, then stir in 80 milliliters melted coconut oil (or neutral vegetable oil), the acidified plant milk and 1 teaspoons cinnamon powder. Mix until smooth and combined.
5
Combine wet and dry: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a spatula using bottom-to-top strokes, just until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix — a few lumps are fine and keep the muffins light.
6
Fold in the blueberries: Gently fold 150 grams fresh blueberries into the batter. If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them — toss them lightly in flour first to prevent excess moisture bleeding into the batter.
7
Fill the cups and bake: Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full. Press a few extra blueberries on top if you like. Bake on the centre rack at 180 °C / 350 °F for 22–23 minutes.
8
Check doneness and cool: Insert a toothpick into the centre of a muffin — it should come out clean or with a few dry crumbs. Let cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Muffins are best once fully cooled.
Let me know what you think of these muffins.
P.S. It’s brutally hot these days. I baked the muffins in the middle of the night and I used the air fryer to do it. Maybe not as good as in the oven, but it worked out just fine.
