What do you do if you can’t decide between pancakes, muffins or granola?
You have all 3, of course!
Or you could just whip up a batch of these maple berry muffins, because they taste like pancakes, assume the form of a muffin and are covered in a crunchy golden granola topping.
Truthfully, these only taste like pancakes if you eat your pancakes with maple syrup and berries, but the combination is delicious regardless. Even better, you can make a batch on Sunday morning and enjoy them briefly crisped in the oven every day for breakfast the following week! And if you’re in the midst of winter they are the perfect vehicle for turning icy, hard berries into soft, squidgy pockets of goodness, so you can get your berry fix all year round. Which is highly important if you love berries as much as I do. 😉
As you can also see, I decided to make my own muffin liners as I think they look pretty cool and the only proper ones I could find had ugly patterns on them. It was also a nostalgic throwback to the caramel muffins I made in Year 8 food tech. Anyway, if you choose to do the same (which I highly recommend!) it’s super easy: take a rectangle of baking paper, cut it into 6 squares, squash each square into a muffin cavity and attempt to have the paper right into the base rim of the tin. If you mess it up a bit the muffin batter will weigh it down properly and they will still look way cooler than store-bought paper cases. And you become a D.I.Y legend.
And finally, here’s an inner-shot! Because the main thing that will convince me to try a cake recipe on looks alone is if it has a good crumb, so I always get super excited when I can see the insides. And on that note, if you do make these, let me know in the comments and tag a photo on Instagram #coatedincrumbs as I would love to see them so
Maple Berry Muffins {Vegan}
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
100g spelt flour
25g almond meal
25g maple sugar // coconut sugar*
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder*
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
90ml soy milk*
80ml maple syrup
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
25g coconut oil, melted
125g mixed berries*
Granola Topping
25g almonds
25g oats
1/2 tbsp almond meal
1 tsp maple sugar // coconut sugar
pinch of vanilla bean powder
pinch of fine sea salt
1 tsp maple syrup
1tsp coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees, place 6 paper liners* in a small muffin tin and line a small baking tray with baking paper.
- To make the muffins, sift the spelt flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder, vanilla and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
- Whisk together the soy milk, maple syrup and ground flaxseed in a small bowl and set aside.
- To make the granola topping, place the almonds on the prepared tray and pop it in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until toasty.
- Meanwhile, toast the oats in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring frequently until they smell toasty and are lightly golden. Pour into a small bowl alongside the almond meal, sugar, vanilla and salt.
- When the almonds are done, pour them onto a chopping board, allow to cool slightly, then chop them into small pieces (about 1/4 to 1/6 of an almond). Add to the bowl with the oats along with the maple syrup and coconut oil and stir until the mixture is evenly coated. Spread the mixture out on the same baking tray you used for the almonds and return to the oven while you finish the muffins (approx. 5-10 minutes).
- Back to the muffins, add the coconut oil to the the soy milk mixture and whisk to combine.
- Fold the frozen berries into the dry ingredients so they are evenly distributed, then add the wet ingredients and fold until just combined. It's okay if the batter is a bit lumpy, but there shouldn't be any flour visible.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the paper cases, take the granola out of the oven, crumble it into pieces and sprinkle each muffin with a generous amount of the granola topping.
- Bake the muffins for 25-35 minutes, or until the tops are springy and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool the muffins in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. If you're eating them straight away, wait until they are warm (not hot) to avoid any molten-berry-induced mouth injuries, otherwise cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. They will keep for a few days, but taste best crisped up in the oven for 5 minutes if more than a day old. <3
Notes
- While I used maple sugar for maximum maple flavour, it can be hard to find and quite expensive, (and if I hadn't had half a jar sitting in the pantry courtesy of a health-food-store-impulse-buy I probably wouldn't have bothered). Coconut sugar is a good alternative, as is brown sugar. If using brown sugar, decrease the soy milk to 60ml (1/4 cup).
- If you are using vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean powder, double the measurement and add to the soy milk mixture instead of the dry ingredients.
- I like my muffins super moist (it's a great word, okay?) but if you prefer sturdier, drier (but still soft) cakes, decrease the soy milk in the batter to 60ml (1/4 cup).
- Any combo of your favourite berries will work here - whatever you would usually have on pancakes!! 😉 Also, the berries can be frozen or fresh, depending on the season or your personal preference. I actually used 50g of fresh strawberries, 50g of frozen raspberries and 25g of frozen blueberries. So specific, I know.
- If you're feeling crafty (or have run out of appropriate-looking muffin cases) you can make your own paper liners by cutting out squares of baking paper and pressing/folding them into the muffin cavities. If you want a little video-tutorial let me know but it's pretty self explanatory with the photos above.
Leave a Comment