Blender-Batter Muffins
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Blueberry Spelt Muffins
This is the base recipe I use for my muffins, adding in berries, or nuts, or choc chips, or spices, or crumble topping, or whatever I feel like. It's a very versatile and healthy recipe - you start with the whole grains (spelt, brown rice, barley, kamut, or a mixture of these...), grind the grains with the liquids, leave to soak overnight (or at least a few hours), then add the remaining ingredients. (Check out the variations below for ideas.) I like to start it at night so we can have muffins for breakfast (...and morning tea - it makes a lot!!).
The original recipe is from Sue Gregg's 'Breakfasts' cookbook, and I've changed it to make it dairy free. I used to use my homemade rice-almond milk with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to substitute for the buttermilk in her recipe, but I decided to cut out a step and make the milk at the same time as I made the muffins... so instead of buttermilk, I add a handful of raw almonds, a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, and water. It all gets ground up and soaked with the grains, and works just fine!
1. Place in Thermomix and blend on speed 9 for 3 minutes, scraping down half way through:
- 40g raw almonds (or cashews)
- 160g water
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 290g whole spelt grain (or kamut, or a little less of barley grain, or a little more of brown rice)
- 20g macadamia oil (or light olive oil)
- 210g raw honey (I know this sounds like a lot, but it's only a third of a cup - honey is heavy!)
(You may have to play around with the amounts of grain if not using spelt - if it seems way too thick and there is no 'vortex' while you're blending, add a little more water.)
2. Leave batter to soak overnight, or for about 7 hours.
3. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 F), and grease muffin trays (or you can use ramekins for extra large muffins).
4. Add eggs to batter and mix for 2 minutes at speed 9:
- 2 eggs
5. Mix in briefly, for 3 seconds on speed 5:
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
6. Fill greased muffin trays (or ramekins) almost full with batter. Sprinkle the top of muffins with Rapadura and cinnamon (optional), and place in oven for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from tins.
Variations:
- Berry muffins: add berries by sprinkling them on top of batter in tins and pressing in slightly - they will sink in a little while cooking. You can also sprinkle with Rapadura & cinnamon if you wish.
- Chocolate chip muffins: replace cinnamon with 1 tsp vanilla extract; stir in 1 cup of Rapadura sweetened choc chips with baking powder. (Berries AND choc chips is nice too!)
- Nut muffins: add chopped nuts with the baking powder, etc, but only mix in briefly.
- Apple muffins: increase the cinnamon to 1 1/2 tsp, add 1/4 tsp nutmeg; add 1 peeled and diced apple to batter with baking powder; sprinkle with cinnamon & Rapadura before baking.
- Banana muffins: add another 20g oil, 1 1/2 very ripe bananas, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and blend, then soak overnight. Only needs 1 egg. Optional: add a handful of chopped walnuts/pecans and/or dark choc chips with baking powder.
- Orange date muffins: replace cinnamon with 1 tsp vanilla extract; fold in 1 peeled, diced orange and a handful diced dates with baking powder.
- Orange nut muffins: peel orange skin into Thermomix, add a little Rapadura and cinnamon, grind speed 9 until finely grated. Use 170g orange juice instead of almonds, water & vinegar in batter. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract to batter. Add a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans and a handful of sultanas with the baking powder. Can also add a handful of grated carrot. Before baking, sprinkle with the orange zest, Rapadura & cinnamon.