Skip to main content

Vegan Black Forest Muffins

What's the difference between a muffin and a cupcake?

Not much if you buy them at most coffee chains like Starbucks, Second Cup, Tim Hortons, etc. Most commercially made muffins are full of fat and sugar, made with some or all refined flour, and can contain more than twice the calories of a donut! Because they are so processed, high in sugar, and low in fibre, even though they can be huge, they don't keep you feeling satisfied for long and they certainly won't give you any long lasting energy. It's a lose-lose if you ask me.

That's why I love making home-made muffins. It is so easy to make healthy, delicious muffins. Make them in big batches and freeze so that you always have them on hand. All it takes is 15 seconds-2 minutes (depending on size and quantity!) in the microwave and you've got a tasty, healthy treat. Now that's the best way to have your cake and eat it too!

The girls love having muffins for breakfast or snacks and I feel good about giving them healthy, homemade ones.

These ones are a little more indulgent than the ones I usually make for the kids because I wanted to come up with a special Valentine's recipe. Really they border on (healthy) cupcake territory. Actually, they are so fudgy because you chop the chocolate right into the batter, they are a bit brownie-like too.

I often try to make my baked goods dairy free, when possible, because Adam is lactose intolerant, and I enjoy experimenting with vegan recipes because I want them to appeal to the broadest number of people. If you have to avoid gluten, these might work if you sub gluten-free oat flour or quinoa flour for the spelt. I made these nut free as well so that they can be taken to school/daycare.

I guarantee whether or not you eat dairy, are a carnivore, omnivore, or vegan, you will love these unbelieveably chocolatey treats. If you really, truly want them to be a cupcake, you can guild the lily and frost them with chocolate frosting or for a healthier option, add a dollop of non-dairy "healthy top" whipped topping before serving.

1 cup apricot puree*
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar or equivalent amount of alternative granular sweetener (Xylitol, stevia, Splenda, coconut sugar...whatever floats your boat)
2 flax eggs (2 tbls ground flax + 6 tbls hot water, stir and let sit until consistency of egg whites)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (or regular milk or water)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or 1/2 cup broken up pieces of my healthy vegan milk chocolate bars, which is what I used!)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1.5 cups spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cherries

*For apricot puree, take about 4-6 fresh or frozen apricots (or you can use pears or peaches...or sub apple sauce in a pinch), pit and chop them and microwave until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Puree in blender or food processor.

In your food processor, add apricot puree, sweetener, oil, vanilla and flax eggs and milk or water. Process until blended. Scrape down sides of bowl and add cocoa powder and chocolate chips/pieces. Pulse a few times. Add all remaining ingredients except for cherries and pulse, just until combined. Stir in cherries by hand. Scrape batter into greased or paper lined mini muffin tins. Bake at 375F for about 12 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean, but muffins are still moist. Let cool completely before removing from tins. Makes about 28-30 mini muffins. The recipe makes about 14 large muffins - which will take about 16-18 minutes of baking time (just be careful not to overbake!). Freezes well.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Japanese 7-Spice Kelp Noodles

I love trying new spices and seasonings, so I am very excited that the President's Choice Black Label line now has a bunch of new spice blends available.  My most recent find: Shichimi Togarashi, or Japanese 7-Spice blend. It's a combination of crushed red chili flakes, sea salt, Szechiuan peppercorns, black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, orange zest, wasabi powder and nori seaweed flakes. I make Japanese-inspired dishes all the time, but resort to the same old flavours most of the time: miso, soy, sesame, ginger and garlic.  I was so excited to be able to liven things up a bit. This dish is easy and tasty, although be warned that this seasoning packs punch.  I used 1 tsp, which ended up being too spicy for me, and I have a high tolerance for heat!  I recommend 1/4-1/2 tsp, or, if you don't like heat at all, make your own at home and omit the red chili flakes.  You'll get all the flavour without the heat. I served these noodles with a mix of seafood (

Blackfly Coolers: Product Review

Summer is over! Well, at least if you're a student. Officially it doesn't end for a few weeks, and it certainly still feels like summer. Yeah, I hate it. This f*cking hot, humid weather needs to end NOW! We made the most of our last weekend of the summer with our annual trip to the CNE on Friday, with a crowd of friends. It wasn't unbearably lot, thank goodness, and the girls and their friends had a blast on the rides.  Saturday I had to work, and Sunday was errand day. Monday we took the girls berry/apple/pear picking but didn't last long due to the heat. I organized the house to prepare for the construction workers starting back up yesterday, while Adam took the girls for a swim in our neighbourhood pool. Yesterday was the first day of school. Grade 2 and Grade 5. Yep, the girls are growing up.  We are fortunate that the girls don't have much anxiety about school, they are so much more confident than I ever was as a kid! But now, in the midst of our reno ch

How to Look Like a Celebrity

Okay, I know you're going to be interested in this post! I am sure virtually every woman in North America has wondered how Hollywood celebrities achieve such 'perfect' bodies.  Well, at CAN FIT PRO last week, one of Hollywood's top fitness trainers, Eric the Trainer , was there to tell us fitness professionals the secrets! Eric the Trainer, gave several presentations, and I caught the one on Celebrity Secrets, and it was most interesting!!!  I also found some of what he said rather disturbing. First off, he was very upfront about the fact that celebrities come to him for improve their appearance.  Not to improve their health or athletic performance.  To look their best.  He admitted that his approach then, is entirely dedicated to that end. Male and female celebrities are trained in completely different ways because Hollywood wants women to be lithe and thin and in his words, "look like they dropped out of heaven looking this way without every having ste