Still on an autumnal theme and making use of all those apples, these simple vegan spiced apple cornbread muffins use a traditional 50/50 mix of plain wheat flour and polenta for the crumbly texture of cornbread.
Apple puree, chopped apple and sultanas provide moisture and demerara sugar adds crunch to the already crispy tops.
The apple puree is made using apple juice, which provides natural sweetness and reduces the amount of sugar you need to add. If that sounds like too much of a faff, you can use normal apple puree or even shop-bought applesauce – the resulting muffins will just be slightly less sweet.
As with all muffin recipes, it helps to have your oven up to temperature and your baking tin prepared in advance, so that once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed you can transfer them swiftly to the oven.
Vegan Spiced Apple Cornbread Muffins…
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 220 g dessert apples (2-3 apples)
- 100 ml apple juice
- 120 ml light olive oil
- 100 g golden caster (or other) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 160 ml soya (or other non-dairy) milk
- 150 g plain flour
- 150 g fine polenta
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 scant tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 100 g sultanas
- demerara sugar, for sprinkling
Method
- First make the apple puree. Core and chop (no need to peel) 120g of the dessert apples. Place in a small saucepan along with the apple juice and simmer until the apple is softened and the juice is mostly gone. Either mash or blend the apple to create a puree. Allow to cool. These quantities will produce around 120ml, but measure just in case.
- Mix the ground flaxseed with 2 tbsp water and set aside for a few minutes.
- Set the oven to 200°C/390°F.
- Line a muffin tin with paper cases (the recipe will make 12 medium muffins, like those pictured).
- Finely chop the remaining 100g of apple (leaving the skin on) and set aside with the sultanas.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a separate bowl and whisk in the polenta to ensure an even mix.
- Separately, whisk together the oil, flaxseed mixture, sugar, apple puree, lemon zest, vanilla extract and milk.
- Fold the flour mixture into the liquids until just barely combined.
- Fold in the apple and sultanas until evenly distributed. Don’t overmix.
- Use two dessert spoons to transfer the mixture to the twelve muffin case. There will be enough to fill them almost to the top.
- Level the tops a bit if they look very lopsided and sprinkle a little demerara sugar on each before baking for around 20 minutes, until they are firm and golden on top.
- Allow the muffins to cool for ten minutes before removing them from the tin.
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