Big Berry Muffins

I love recipes that turn out great on my first attempt, especially when it involves baking and especially when your almost 4-year old says, ‘Can you make these muffins again on my birthday for my friends at daycare?’. I had no intentions of posting these Big Berry Muffins on the blog, but they are so good and attested by two kids that it is hard not to share.

Now coming back to birthdays, it’s serious business in our household.  We have been planning this for a year now, with every birthday party we go to our plans get altered a little bit, but one thing is certain, my daughter has invited pretty much everyone on our street LOL. So these muffins are going to the daycare since they are school safe and more importantly toddler approved.

This recipe is from Lauren Toyota’s ebook that I got when I ordered her soon to be released cookbook Hot For Food Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes To Feed Your Face. I have been a huge fan of her cooking style for as long as I can remember, she is very intuitive and has a wonderful knack of bringing exciting flavours together (her sauces are to die for). When you watch her Youtube videos you know that she is often experimenting, learning and tweaking a recipe as she cooks, which for me is a huge part of her appeal since it is exactly how I like to cook - often without a recipe and relying on my instincts. While I am not a vegan, I often find myself craving the food she makes on her Youtube channel and I have made many with a great deal of success and now I am super excited for her book.

Back to these muffins, they are moist and loaded with berries and the crumb topping gives it a very coffee shop vibe. You can take them with you as a snack, bring them to a potluck or simply devour them straight from the oven.

Big Berry Muffins// Makes about 1 cup

From Hot for Food ebook

Batter

• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax meal + 3 tablespoon water)
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¾ cup packed brown/coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2½ fresh mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)

Topping

• ¼ cup packed brown/coconut sugar
• ⅓ cup rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter/ coconut oil cold and cubed
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Lightly grease the cups of 12-cup muffin pan with oil or vegan butter or line with paper cups

Prepare the flax egg by mixing the flax meal and water in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar in a mixing bowl and set aside for 10 minutes (ensure the bowl is big enough to add other ingredients to this bowl)

While those mixtures are setting, prepare the crumble by pinching the sugar, butter, salt and oats in a small bowl until it resembles a crumble.

In another large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda cinnamon and sea salt

Then add sugar, vanilla extract, and the thickened flax mixture to the bowl with the with the non-dairy and apple cider mixture. Fold the wet into the dry ingredients until just combined. Don’t over mix, it's totally okay to have small lumps.

Then gently fold in 2 cups of berries (saving ½ cup for the top)

Divide and scoop the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups (an ice cream scoop is really useful for this)

Divide the crumble amongst the 12 muffins, covering the entire top of the batter.

Take the remaining ½ cup of berries and gently press 1 to 2 berries per muffin on top of the crumble. That way some berries will peak through the top of the muffins.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool completely before removing from the pan. Store at room temperature in a container that isn’t airtight, they can get soggy if you suffocate them in a container. They hold up well in the fridge, just reheat before eating.