This morning, I decided to rustle up some light, fluffy and fruity muffins packed with summer berries, fruits and vanilla. As it’s our second wedding anniversary today, I thought that a warm, home-baked muffin would be a nice way to start the day – and to help take the edge off Monday morning!
They contain some pretty basic ingredients – most of which you may already have in your kitchen cupboards…
The first is all-purpose flour – I used the Dove’s Farm gluten-free plain white flour bought from Tesco (€1.96)
They also contain baking powder, baking soda, coconut oil, vanilla extract, almond milk, apple cider vinegar and these frozen summer fruits (€1.89), though fresh berries will work well too.
I sweetened the muffins with Cocowel Organic Coconut Sugar (€4.49), which is produced by heating the sap of the coconut flower until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Coconut sugar is a good alternative to sugar, and it works really well in baked foods as it adds a delicious caramel flavour and golden colour. But it’s not ideal for everyday use, as it has a very similar calorie content to regular granulated sugar. What makes it more natural and suitable for a whole foods diet, is that it has a far lower glycemic index than regular sugar, meaning that it doesn’t spike your blood sugar levels and produce a rush of insulin to control your blood glucose.
Coconut sugar also contains small amounts of essential minerals, including zinc, iron, calcium and potassium. So it’s not all just empty calories. Hurrah!
I would love to know if you get a chance to make these Summer Fruit Muffins! Simply tag #RosannaDavisonNutrition on Instagram or Twitter or come on over to my Facebook to say hello 🙂
- coconut oil, to grease
- 250ml (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
- 240g (2 cups) all purpose flour (I used Dove's Farm gluten-free white flour)
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 100g (1/2 cup) coconut sugar
- 125g frozen or fresh summer fruit or berries
- 70g (1/3 cup) coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 190C and lightly grease a muffin tray with coconut oil, or lay out 6 muffin cases on a tray.
- Place the almond milk in a small bowl or glass and add in the apple cider vinegar. Stir well and leave aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour and add the baking powder, baking soda and coconut sugar. Combine well.
- Melt the coconut oil and mix together the vanilla extract with the oil. Add in the almond milk/vinegar mixture (the milk should have curdled slightly).
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture in the large bowl and stir together until a thick dough forms.
- Gently fold in the fruit and ensure it's evenly distributed.
- Divide the mixture into the muffin tin or cases and bake at 190C for 20-25 minutes, until the muffins turn golden-brown and are firm to touch.
- Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool place for 2-3 days.