These muffins have excellent texture and good flavor. They are wholesome and satisfying. Not too sweet, for those of you looking for a recipe with less sugar. Actually, there's no table sugar involved.
The recipe is from the from "Freedom from Allergy Cookbook," by Ronald Greendberg, MD, and Angela Nori, 1996
Fruit Muffins
1 1/2 cups pear or apple juice
2 Tbs. arrowroot flour(you can use tapioca flour or cornstarch)
2 Tbs. oil
1 1/2 cups oat flour or light buckwheat flour(make your own by blending rolled oats or buckwheat groats in a blender)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup prune spread*
1 cup chopped almonds(optional- I did not use these)
Mix wet ingredients together. Mix dry ingredients together, then mix into wet ingredients. Bake 350 for 20 minutes.
*Prune spread: Blend prunes and water together, until desired consistency is reached. May need to soak or boil the prunes in the water before pureeing in blender. May add apple juice instead of some of the water, and also cinnamon or cloves.
Note: when I made this recipe, I omitted the almonds. The consistency of the batter was too thin, so I ended up adding more oat flour, probably 1 cup more than called for. The muffins worked better when I added extra flour. The ones with the really thin batter did not rise. The ones with extra flour added seemed to use a little more sweetener. I figure I can just make the juice I add a little more concentrated next time(I mix my juice from concentrate). Or, I could add extra honey. But only if I intend to have no sweet toppings added to the muffin. Once toppings are added(some honey and sometimes a little jelly), the sweetness is just right. The muffins are wholesome and satisfying.
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4 comments:
Hello, thank you for sharing this recipe. The simplicity of ingredients and health value really helps. One question: what is the consistency of the prune spread you used? Is it comparable to fruit puree (like mashed banana)? Would like to substitute that ingredient, and don't know if I need to condense a puree more for it to match the spread's consistency that you used (then a 1:1 substitution should work I hope). Thanks in advance for your advice.
I'd say my prune spread is a bit thicker than mashed banana. I do notice that the prune puree is about the only binder in the recipe- that and perhaps the arrowroot. Prune spread and oat flour seem to do a good job at binding. Bananas are too. I don't know how they compare to prunes for binding. It may be worth experimenting and seeing what happens. i would substitute banana 1:1.
If you want a different fruit puree, I would think of using flaxseed meal or gelatin- to substitute for the prune puree,(see my post on substituting eggs) and then add any fruit puree in place some of the juice in the recipe. For example you could substitute 1/2 c. puree for 1/4 cup of the juice. If the muffins are still more crumbly than desired, xanthan gum does help.
As far as matching spread's consistency- I wouldn't worry about condensing a puree. But I know the liquid proportion was too high in this recipe - see my notes. I would try just 1 cup of juice, and have 2 cups flour. Then see what the consistency of the batter is like. I'm sorry this recipe is not more exact.
One thing I do when I'm not sure what batter consistency is ideal is to spoon a couple muffins how the batter turns out, then if I think it's a bit thin, add more flour to the bowl, if I think the batter is a bit thick, add a little more liquid, and then spoon more batter in the tins, then observe what difference there is when the muffins come out of the oven. I hope this helps!
I have been experimenting with a basic muffin recipe lately, which is designed for many different substitutions - I think it would be more helpful for you. Keep posted on that! In the meantime
I'd be happy to hear how your experiment goes with this recipe!
Hello, thank you very much for your detailed advice! I tried the recipe today. Seems like I made one too many changes - butter instead of oil, added sugar to taste, used fruit puree, water instead of juice.. :)
The muffins were bland, though the texture was fine.
Actually, I already have a way of making gluten-free muffins. I was interested in the fact that this used only oat flour. Shall figure this out by going a bit slower with the substitutions whenever next I'm baking.
All the best to you in your efforts to adapt recipes to gluten-free ones.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm glad to hear the texture was good. There ought to be some good ways to get more flavor. let me know how it goes if you try more.
I'm interested in trying various recipes with just oat flour. I think I will try some muffins this way and let you know- when I bake muffins next. : )
Speaking of simplicity, have you seen my post "Deliciously Wholesome Oat Lentil waffles?" These are about as simple as things get, and so good and nutritious. Check out "oat tortillas as well."
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