It's been a while since I posted! Things are extra busy, but I wanted to post this new discovery. Vegan Pumpkin Muffins. They taste like autumn. I used a recipe from Epicurious as a framework and veganised it with EarthBalance and Flax seed.
first, prep the raw ingredients. I love the boldness of autumn spices, so I went fairly heavy: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice... and I put a (heavy) sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice mix for extra measure.
The recipe called for quite a bit of fat, but I cut back on the oil and added applesauce. I also used spelt and einkorn flour in addition to the unbleached white flour.
To shift the flavour even closer to autumn, I used brown sugar, maple syrup and a splash of orange juice. The juice is also a trick to help preground wholemeal flours taste fresher.
Start by prepping the flax "egg" by blending 1T flax seed with 3T water. It's ready when it becomes thick and egg-like in consistency. Mix together the dry and wet ingredients separately, before combining them together. This helps to reduce over mixing which can make the muffins tough.
I noticed (because I don't really measure even when I follow a recipe) that the batter was a bit thicker than I wanted, so I added some maple syrup for that warm flavour and sweetness.
Scoop portions into a lined or greased muffin tin. I wanted a bit of extra texture, so I sprinkled some flaked almonds atop each muffin before baking.
Bake at 350F until the fragrance of autumnal spice fills the kitchen and wafts throughout your dwelling. Allow to cool before serving, or you'll burn your mouth like I just did.
My favourite presentation is to split the muffin and sandwich in some vegan ice cream or CocoWhip.
