Almond Spice Muffins

Hi folks! 

Happy Holidays! :-)

This is my latest gluten-free, vegan and Ekadasi-friendly muffin recipe, specially posted for my friend Loka as a thanksgiving gift. :-)  She loved these so much it made my day! Makes approx 20 delicious moist fluffy muffins.

Ingredients:

3 cups ground almonds

1 cup buckwheat flour (not considered a true grain)

1 heaped TBSP baking soda

4 TBSP cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ginger powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup chopped candied ginger (Trader Joe's)

1 cup orange flavor cranberries (Trader Joe's)

Mix all dry ingredients. Add in cranberries and candied ginger. 

Blend together the following til smooth:

2 banana's

1 TBSP vanilla essence (optional)

1 1/2 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup safflower/sunflower oil

 Approx 1 cup of water

Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix evenly. Fill into paper muffin cases in a muffin tray. Sprinkle tops with a dash of brown sugar.

Make sure you lightly oil the muffin tray to avoid burning the muffin cases and muffins while baking. Bake for approx 35 mins in a pre-heated oven at 380 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Offer with love and serve with tea, or however you desire. Very more-ish!! :-)

Blueberry Ginger Choc 'n' Lemon Muffins

OK, I just invented my own favorite muffin recipe of all time! :-) The decadent combination of juicy blueberries with melting chocolate, candied ginger and tart fresh lemon zest is dangerously addictive! Oh yummmmmmmmmmy!! 

This a perfect consolation dessert in the cold wet weather, when you just want to snuggle up with a book in a cosy corner somewhere. And the rich welcome aroma of warm cinnamon and chocolate fills the house while these are baking - good for chasing away the pre-winter blues methinks! :-)

Makes 14 medium sized muffins. Vegan.

Moist, fluffy and bursting with goodies and sweet spice flavors. . .

Ingredients:

Approx 2 1/4 cups sprouted wheat pancake and waffle mix (Arrowhead Mills)

Approx 1 cup sprouted wheat flour (Arrowhead Mills)

1 heaped tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

A pinch of clove powder

A pinch of sea salt

2 TBSP lemon zest

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped candied ginger (Trader Joe's)

1 cup frozen organic blueberries

Mix all dry ingredients. Add lemon zest, choc chips and candied ginger. Mix, then add frozen blueberries and mix again.

Blend together the following til smooth:

I banana

1 1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup safflower oil

1 TBSP vanilla essence

 Approx 1/2 cup of water

Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix evenly. Fill into paper muffin cases in a muffin tray. Allow to sit for 20 mins or more before baking. 

Make sure you lightly oil the muffin tray to avoid burning the muffin cases and muffins while baking. Bake for approx 35 mins in a pre-heated oven at 380 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Peel off paper cases from the muffins before completely cooled. Offer with love and serve with tea, or however you desire. Very more-ish!! :-)

Sprouted Wheat and Banana Muffins

I know, yet another muffin recipe, but hey I like experimenting! :-)
The almond meal mellows out the sprouted wheat flavor abit and creates a lighter pastry. These are more like a sweet spice bread than a typical muffin and the flavor is remiscent of banana bread with a hint of coconut flavor. :-)

Ingredients:

Approx 3 1/2 cups sprouted wheat flour
2 cups almond meal
3 tsp aluminium free baking powder
3 TBSP cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder


 Mix all the above evenly.


2 banana's peeled and chopped roughly
Approx 1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup maple syrup
2-3 TBSP vanilla essence


Blend all the above ingredients til smooth.


Mix wet and dry ingredients with enough cool water to create a thick wet dough (sprouted wheat flour already has alot of moisure, so less liquid is better than more).

Spoon the mixture into a greased muffin tray or muffin cases. I also put a light dusting of almond meal in when I use a muffin tray, to help prevent sticking. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for approx 35-40 mins til dark golden brown.

Gently remove from tray while warm. Makes approx 12 large muffins.

Good served warm or cold. I like them warm with butter. :-)

Ekadashi Banana Almond 'n' Ginger Muffins

By popular request I'm posting this recipe for Ekadashi muffins. FYI, folks, if you are wondering, "what the heck is Ekadashi," it refers to a bi-monthly fast abstaining primarily from grains,beans and peas, which is observed in the Krishna community.

When you cant use regular flour in baking, and don't have much experience with alternative flour substitutes, the end result often is dense gluey cakes etc., as probably every person who tried baking on Ekadashi days has experienced at some point!! I developed this recipe after some trial and error, and really you would never know these muffins don't contain wheat, except that they're lighter, and if possible even more delicious than regular muffins.

This recipe is very similar to the wheat-free muffin recipe I posted a while back, but here goes for posterity.

Ingredients

Approx 2 cups freshly & finely ground almonds
Approx 2 cups buckwheat flour
Approx 2 cups tapioca flour
1 1/2 level Tbsp baking soda
4 TBSP cinnamon powder
1 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1 1/3 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup safflower oil
2 pureed bananas
Approx 3-4 cups of water
1 cup cranberries/raisins/chopped dried fruits/orange peel - as you like!!
1 cup chopped crystallized ginger pieces
3/4 cup flax seeds
Sunflower seeds for sprinkling in the muffin tray

Method

Preheat oven - 385 Fahrenheit

Mix all dry ingredients in a big bowl. Blend together the wet ingredients and pour into the dry ones. Mix well.
The dough should be medium runny and kind of goopy (that's the buckwheat being itself). The flax seeds and cranberries are going to soak up lots of that liquid, dont worry! ;-)

Oil the muffin trays, sprinkle with sunflower seeds and fill in the dough. Bake approx 30 mins, til muffins are a lovely chocolate color. If the muffin springs back when you lightly press your finger into the surface its ready. Allow to sit awhile to steam themselves loose from the edges of their cups -- this especially if you filled the muffin dough in generously to the brim -- then they will come out of the muffin tray quite easily.


Makes approx 18 muffins. Praise the Lord for giving you a grand dessert this day and be happy! :-)

Cinnamon Cranberry Log

This delicious cinnamon log is a great hit in our house! :-) I made it with extra pizza dough we had after we had no toppings left to make more pizza!

Ingredients

A ball of yeast dough approx as much as you can comfortably hold in your cupped hands

Approx 1 TBSP fresh Lemon rind - or fresh orange rind would be good too

Approx 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice - or fresh orange juice

Approx 1 cup brown sugar

Cinnamon
Cranberries
Carob chips
Melted butter

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Just make a regular yeast dough.When dough is ready to use roll it out on a floured surface to about a millimeter thick.

Brush butter over the dough.

Mix brown sugar, lemon rind, and lemon juice together. Spread onto the dough evenly. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon powder. Then with cranberries and carob chips. Roll it up tightly -- like you would a carpet -- and seal the edges. Brush with butter and place into a greased bread tin which has been sprinkled with poppy seeds.

Bake til golden brown. Remove from tin and cover with a wet paper towel and a dish cloth to keep crust soft. Remove when cool.

Icing

Approx 3 TBSP soft butter
1 tbsp alcohol free vanilla essence
Approx 1 cup icing sugar

Whisk together til smooth and drizzle over the cooled cinnamon log.

Cut into slices and serve with a hot drink e.g. malted barley cup. :-)