coconut sugar

Blackberry aquafaba muffins

30th August 2017 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

Blackberry season is in full swing here. Muffins are always in season though, right? That’s why I had to make these seasonal sweets extra special with my fave vegan magic, aquafaba. Aquafaba is the brine from a tin of chickpeas, and when whipped it creates a beautiful fluffy egg substitute, just like egg whites for meringue. I’ve used it a lot in waffles lately, but I’m really enjoying trying it in baked recipes too. Next time you open a tin of chickpeas, save the brine! You can also make your own if you soak and cook your chickpeas at home.

Feel free to sub the flours for gluten free, a good all purpose gluten free would work well. I used a combination of plain and rye flour in these, I really love the flavour of rye flour.

These are refined sugar free, favouring coconut sugar over traditional cane sugar. I haven’t used white sugar in what feels like years now and to be honest, I don’t miss it at all. Coconut sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness without overpowering the flavour of blackberries. I like to enjoy a muffin with my cup of coffee for breakfast, so I prefer them to be naturally sweetened. I like to sprinkle a little coconut sugar over before baking to give them deliciously crackly muffin top. I’ve also added cinnamon and a little lemon zest, which just brings these muffins to life.

I’d love to hear what you think if you make them, or if you did anything differently. Please comment below or take a snap and tag me on Instagram! I always love to see your creations.

Blackberry muffins

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Bo's Kitchen

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1.5 cup plain flour
1 cup rye flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp lemon zest
pinch salt
2 tsp cinnamon
5 tbsp aquafaba
½ cup oil, coconut, rapeseed or avocado
1 cup coconut sugar plus 4 tbsp, for topping
¾ cup almond mylk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups blackberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180•c. Line a muffin tin with paper cases or coat with oil.
Add all dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir well.
In a well cleaned medium bowl, add aquafaba and whisk with an electric whisk until frothy and foamy, for about 3 minutes. Add in the oil slowly whilst whisking, followed by the sugar. Whisk through almond mylk and vanilla and everything into the dry mix. Use a wooden spoon to combine and mix until just combined, it's okay if there are some lumps.
In a small bowl, mash ¼ cup of blackberries to a pulp. Add to the batter and fold through the remaining blackberries, holding some back for topping.
Fill lined muffin in with the batter and top with blackberries and a few tbsp of coconut sugar.
Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing. Enjoy right away or cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Will keep for two days, but best eaten when fresh.

Pear bliss balls

9th November 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

I do love a bliss ball, a healthy, refined sugar free morsel of energy can keep you going when you’re trying to hold out until tea time. I adore pears, sweet, juicy and delicately flavoured, they are such a pretty fruit. I decided to combine my two loves this month and the pear bliss ball was formed!

These are almost raw, apart from the pear puree- but they’re still refined sugar free and thanks to the puree you’re getting a fair bit of fruit in each bite too.

These little cuties are packed with all the good stuff – nuts, fruit, oats and chlorella. This superfood has the highest chlorophyll of any plant and is a whopping 56% protein. It alkalises the body, improves digestion (I can vouch for this) and increases energy, it’s powerful stuff! You can’t even taste it in these balls, so these would be great for little ones too. If you don’t have chlorella you can try using wheatgrass, matcha or spirulina instead.

Pear bliss balls – Makes around 16

4 pears, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp coconut sugar
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
1 1/2 cup oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp all spice
1-2 tsp chlorella (I always use Organic Burst)
1/2 cup pitted dates
Cacao nibs, mint leaves and cacao powder for decoration

Make your pear puree by adding pears, water, coconut sugar and lemon juice to a small pan. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes, until sweet and thick. Set aside to cool.
Add almonds and pecans to a food processor and pulse until small, crumbly pieces. Add in oats, cinnamon, all spice and chlorella and pulse again until combined. Add dates and 3/4 cup of pear puree and pulse until a dough is formed. If it’s too sticky, add a few more oats, tbsp at a time. If it’s too dry, add a little water until the mixture comes together.
Shape mix into little pear shapes. The best way to do this is to make a ball, then start rolling the top half of the ball flat on a board with your finger, to make a little pear shape. Add a little cacao nib for the stem and mint for the leaves and dust lightly with cacao powder. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Raspberry choc chip muffins

21st August 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

This week it was sunny almost every day, I managed to get a tan! Sadly, the sunshine didn’t last all week. As soon as Friday came, so did the rain, which only meant one thing- baking! Although I really enjoy sunning myself in the garden, I love nothing more than a day snuggled up in the house, with time to myself to try some new recipes, experiment with different flavours and indulge my culinary desires (usually in the form of lots of cooking shows and my favourite newspaper for inspiration). I set to work on these muffins as soon as I woke up on Saturday morning. The result is a soft, moist muffin that is light, tangy with raspberries and gorgeously chocolatey. Just perfect with a large Americano.

A lot of vegan muffin or cupcake recipes can be dry or dense, so I tried to make these as moist as possible with more than one type of egg replacer, which seemed to do the trick. I’ve been hibernating by myself all weekend and have almost finished the whole batch to myself. They are still as soft today as they were yesterday, so this recipe is definitely a keeper! They’re also vegan, refined sugar free and can easily be adapted to be gluten free.

Raspberry choc chip muffins (makes 10)

2 chia eggs (mix 2bsp chia with 6tbsp water) (I use Organic Burst’s ethically sourced, organic chia)
2 medium ripe bananas
1/2 cup plant based mylk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (sub gluten free if you wish)
1/2 cup rolled oats (can sub gluten free oats)
1/2 cup choc chips
1 cup raspberries

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and grease your muffin tin.
Prepare your chia eggs in a large bowl and set aside for a few minutes. Mix really well with a fork until no big lumps of chia remain.
Mix plant based mylk and cider vinegar in a small bowl. This will curdle in a minute or two to form vegan buttermilk.
To your chia egg, add bananas and coconut sugar. Mash together with a fork until a few lumps remain, you don’t want it totally smooth. Now add the buttermilk. Stir briefly to incorporate.
Add vanilla and coconut oil and stir again.
Add baking soda, sea salt, flour and oats to the wet mix and stir until just combined. Fold through choc chips and 3/4 cup raspberries.
Divide batter between your prepared muffin tin, I fill them to the top which makes 10 but you can make 12 smaller muffins if you prefer- just fill them 3/4 of the way to the top.
Sprinkle a few choc chips and your remaining 1/4 cup of raspberries on top and bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges are just turning golden. Let cool for a few minutes and then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. These will store well in a covered container at room temperature for several days.