Vegan Apple Muffins
Author:Deliciously soft & fluffy vegan apple muffins, loaded with sweet, tender apple and topped with crumbly, crunchy streusel!
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2½ cups (312 grams) all purpose, spelt or whole wheat flour , (use plain flour in the UK) For gluten-free use a good all purpose GF Baking Flour like Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1.
- ½ teaspoon baking soda , (bicarb in the UK)
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup (120 mls) melted vegan butter or oil , vegan butter gives the best flavour. See recipe notes for oil-free option
- 1 cup (200 grams) white or cane sugar
- ¾ cup (180 mls) unsweetened dairy-free milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar , or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 medium apples , peeled, cored & diced (approx 2 cups or 215 grams once diced)
Streusel
- ¼ cup (60 mls) melted vegan butter
- Packed ⅓ cup (64 grams) brown sugar , light or dark
- 1 heaping tablespoon (15 grams white or cane sugar
- ⅔ cup (84 grams) flour , (the same flour you used for the muffins)
- OPTIONAL ½ cup (75 grams) chopped pecans or walnuts
INSTRUCTIONS
For the streusel (make first)
- To a medium bowl add the melted butter, brown sugar and white/cane sugar. Stir to combine. Add the flour to the butter mixture and using a fork (do not use a spoon or spatula), gently toss everything together to form a mix of sandy, small, medium and large clumps, making sure to incorporate all of the dry flour. It's good for it to be really irregular with clumps of all different sizes. Be careful not to over-mix it because you'll end up breaking up the clumps. Pop the streusel in the fridge while you make the muffins.
For the muffins
- Preheat oven to 425 °F (220 °C) and grease or line a 12 well muffin pan.
- To a large bowl add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk them together to combine.
- Pour the melted butter/oil into a medium bowl, then add the sugar, milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract. Whisk together well.
- Make sure your apples are prepped and your muffin pan ready, then pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together gently. Do not beat it hard and do not over-mix. Incorporate it just enough that you can't see any dry flour. Some small lumps are ok.
- Add the chopped apples and fold gently through the batter.
- Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin wells right to the top of the pan if not using streusel, or just under if using streusel. I used 2 ice cream scoops in each. Don't worry, they won't overflow because of my high-temperature trick ;O)
- Add a generous spoonful of streusel to the top of the batter and pat it in very gently with your fingers.
- Get the muffins in the oven as fast as you can and set a timer for 5 minutes. This initial 5 minutes at high-temperature step is really important so don't skip it.
- When the 5 minutes is up, without opening the oven door, turn the temperature down to 350 °F (180 °C) and cook them for another 15 to 17 minutes or until golden and cooked through. All ovens and muffin pans cook differently so keep an eye on them and check with a skewer or sharp, thin knife. Insert into the centre of 1 muffin and if it comes out clean they are done. If not cook for a few minutes longer.
- Leave the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove carefully and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
NOTES
To make the muffins oil-free - Use cashew butter instead of vegan butter. Use the same quantity and blend it up into the milk before proceeding with the recipe. If it's not really drippy/runny nut butter, you will need to add an extra 2 tablespoons of milk.
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container with some kitchen paper above and below them to absorb any moisture. They should keep well for 3 to 4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutritional information is calculated with the optional streusel
NUTRITION
Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 321kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 253mg | Potassium: 168mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 591IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 2mg
