Spiced Apple Crumb Muffins

Hi guys!

As much as I love to share new and exciting recipes for vegetarian lunch and dinner, I feel like it is time now to give you another recipe for a vegan baked treat. Of course, almost all cakes, cupcakes, muffins or cookies are vegetarian, but many contain eggs and milk making them non-vegan. The following muffins are vegan and contain spelt flour which is easier to digest than regular all-purpose flour. It also gives a great depth of flavour. The recipe comes from Gwyneth Paltrow's "Notes from my Kitchen Table" which features a few recipes for vegan and actually healthy muffins and cookies. Now who doesn't love that?

Here's the recipe:

For the crumb topping: 
4 tablespoons white spelt flour
4 tablespoons whole spelt flour
4 tablespoons whole rolled oats
4 tablespoons unrefined dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch sea salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon soya milk

For the muffins:
1 tablespoon corn flour
2 small apples, peeled and finely diced
125ml (1/2 cup; 4 fl.oz) vegetable oil
150ml (little less than 2/3 cup; ca. 4.5 fl.oz) real Vermont maple syrup
150 ml (little less than 2/3 cup; ca. 4.5 fl.oz) soya milk
100g (2/3 cup; 3.5 oz) white spelt flour
125g (2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon; 4 oz) whole spelt flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
60g (2 oz) lightly toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

1) Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases or oil it with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. 

2) For the crumb topping, combine all the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add the vegetable oil and soya milk and rub everything together with your fingers - the mixture should be lumpy. Set the mixture aside.

3) For the muffins, in a small bowl, toss the cornflour with the apples. 

4) In another large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and all of the syrup and soya milk. Sift in the remaining ingredients (except for the walnuts) and fold in the apples and walnuts. 

5) Evenly distribute the batter in the muffin sections, sprinkle with the crumb topping and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Yield: 1 dozen muffins
Active preparation time: 30 minutes
Total preparation time: 60 minutes
© Copyright: Gwyneth Paltrow, "Notes from my Kitchen Table", p. 224

Here's how they look:

They might not win a prize for the prettiest muffins and they certainly are not the most colourful ones, but I just love how they taste. The combination of white and whole spelt flour not only makes these muffins more nutrious, it also adds depth to the taste - almost like whole wheat bread. The apples and cinnamon are a classic combination and work great in combination with this heartier batter. I added 1 teaspoon of soya milk to the crumb topping to make it a little softer and moist. It should not be runny, but I didn't want it to be bone-dry. I also like to add 1 more apple. It doesn't change the consistency, it simply adds more fruit.

Have fun trying!