Vegan Cherry Muffins

Almonds and cherries are the perfect marriage and you're going to love them in these soft and fluffy vegan cherry muffins.

And the good news is you can also use dried or frozen cherries if you don't have fresh. That means you can make them even when cherries aren't in season.

In this post:

This is what you will be needing to make my vegan cherry muffins and why:

• All-purpose flour or oat flour - You can use regular all-purpose flour or you can use oat flour. Both give great results. (The muffins in my photographs are made with oat flour). The quantity of flour varies slightly for each so make sure you take note of that when making them.
• Almond flour - Just like my vegan almond cake, these muffins are made with almond flour. It gives the muffins a lovely buttery flavour. It also acts as the "fat" in this recipe. There is no other fat source so it is really important it isn't subbed for anything else.
• Sugar - It must be a light coloured sugar for this recipe or it will take away from the lovely cherry and almond flavours. Sugar is important for structure as well as sweetness in cakes/muffins so don't omit it.
• Baking soda and baking powder - In egg-free recipes it's important to use both to make up for the leavening eggs would otherwise provide.
• Apple cider vinegar - Reacts with the baking soda to create lift.
• Salt & almond extract - Flavour!
• Applesauce and non-dairy milk - For moisture and binding.
• Slivered almonds - For decoration and texture.

1. Follow the recipe closely and as always with recipes involving flour, I highly recommend that you use a kitchen scale. Cup measurements are not accurate enough to get the best and consistent results. Digital kitchen scales are available at most big superstores now and you can pick one up for around $10. They are a great investment and are so worth having! If you do need to use cups, spoon the flour into the cup then level off the top with a knife without compacting it or shaking it down. By doing it like this you will get roughly the correct amount and make your chances of success better. Do not scoop the flour up into the cup as you will end up with much more than intended and it will affect the outcome of the recipe. 
2. Check your baking powder and make sure it does not contain aluminum. That's because the aluminum can react with fruits like cherries and raspberries and turn everything a lovely shade of blue. it can also affect the flavour a little.
3. Do not over mix the batter. As with all cakes/muffins, the more you mix, the more you activate the gluten in the flour which really affects the texture and rise.
4. Be sure to follow my tip about starting the oven really high and turning it down after 5 minutes. It helps make muffins extra light and fluffy!
5. How can you tell when they are cooked properly? You can use the toothpick test. Stick one in the centre of a muffin and if it comes out clean (except for maybe a little cherry juice),  then it's done. 

Some ideas for making this vegan cherry muffin recipe your own:

• omit the almond extract and add some chocolate chips
• use blueberries or raspberries instead of cherries
• use spelt flour instead of all-purpose flour
• make gluten-free cherry muffins by using oat flour (instructions are in the recipe notes)
• make orange cherry muffins by adding orange zest and orange extract instead of almond extract
• fancy them up with piped vegan cream cheese frosting
• drizzle on a simple powdered sugar glaze. Mix half a cup of powdered sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water or non-dairy milk. Just enough milk to make a thick drizzle-able glaze. Stir until smooth then drizzle over the cooled muffins.

• To store vegan cherry muffins- Once they are completely cool, store in an airtight container with some paper towels top and bottom to soak up any moisture.
• To refresh vegan cherry muffins - If the muffins do get a little damp or stale, you can refresh them in the oven at 350°F (175 °C) for about 6 to 8 minutes. They will come out good as new!
• To freeze vegan cherry muffins - These muffins are really moist and keep well for 3 or 4 days. If however, you need to store them longer than that, the freezer is your best option. Cherry muffins freeze extremely well for up to 3 months. Pop them into a freezer bag or a freezer-safe container and place them carefully in the freezer. When you want them, remove from the freezer and let them defrost for a couple of hours at room temperature. You can make them tasted newly baked by warming them gently in the oven at 350°F (175 °C) for about 6 minutes.