Apple and zucchini muffins - the buckwheat version (vegan, GF, refined sugar free)

I imagine I'm not the only blogger with a recipe or post that, well, niggles. It may be that you have never mastered a particular recipe, or that you mastered one version but want to make an adaptation that goes a step further. It may be that you made a great meal but dislike the photos you took, and haven't found the time to re-make and photograph the dish. Perhaps you haven't found the time to write things up at all, or you lost your scribbled piece of paper with the ingredients you used, or you can't remember if you baked things for 20 minutes or 40. Please tell me I'm not the only one who can relate to these scenarios?

Today, I hope to lay one of my niggles to rest: whole grain apple and zucchini muffins.

Back in 2011, I made and shared apple and zucchini muffins made with white flour and white and brown sugars. I really liked them, and I still do. I highly recommend the recipe. The thing is, though, that the photographs are pretty appalling. Moreover, I ended the 2011 post with a reference to making a wholemeal version. It's been nearly 3 years since that post and, until today, I have failed to deliver.

I have made several other zucchini-containing muffins, slices and cakes, and the absence of a new apple-zucchini muffin recipe is not for want of trying. I have made several adaptations that failed to come up to blog standards. When I tried using wholemeal flour and honey or agave, the switch to a liquid sweetener meant the muffins didn't set in the middle. When I tried using stevia, the flavours were all wrong. When I tried using oat flour, the muffins didn't hold together.

I thought this recent attempt was going to fail too. I'd planned a buckwheat and oat version, only to be thwarted by the discovery of a moth in my oat jar. This would be frustrating at the best of times, but we have had a terrible time with moths and related bugs this summer. I have done two rounds of cleaning the pantry from top to bottom and putting things into plastic containers. Of late, we've even been freezing cereals and flours before transferring them to their containers. Discovering a moth when we thought we were clear of them was horrifying! I am hoping it was a last survivor...

I wasn't about to head out to buy more oats, so I made a last minute recipe revision to use more buckwheat flour and some quinoa flakes instead of oats. To my amazement, it worked. These are definitely at the healthy end of the muffin spectrum, and they're not the sort of product that has a healthy ingredient list but somehow tastes like the less healthy equivalent. Commercial muffins these are not! They have a denser texture than muffins made with traditional flour, and a slight nuttiness from the buckwheat. However, they stand up as a satisfying, semi-sweet, nicely textured breakfast or snack - especially if you spread them with nut butter. As a bonus? Not only are they vegan, they are gluten free and refined sugar free.

I think I've finally delivered on that 2011 promise.

Buckwheat apple and zucchini muffins

A health-aware muffin that still tastes good, especially if spread with nut butter.

Vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free.

Makes 12 muffins.

Author: Bite-sized thoughts.

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup quinoa flakes, or oats

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp guar gum

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup + 3 tbsp rice malt syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 3 tbsp water (soak for 15 minutes or longer)

1 tbsp oil

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/3 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond)

1 medium apple, grated

1 medium zucchini, grated

Method

Preheat your oven to 180'C (375'F) and prepare a 12-pan muffin tray.

Combine the buckwheat flour, quinoa flakes (or oats), cinnamon, guar gum and baking powder in a large bowl. 

Add the rice malt syrup, vanilla, chia seeds in water, oil, apple sauce and non-dairy milk to the dry mix, and stir well to combine. Add the grated apple and zucchini and stir to fully incorporate.

Spoon the muffin mix into your prepared muffin tray, and then bake for 30 - 35 minutes until the muffin tops are crisp and an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan before removing, and allow to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.

Serve with nut butter if desired.

Submitted to Ricki's Wellness Weekend.

What recipe niggles do you have?

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