Healthy Jelly-Filled Apple Berry Vegan Muffin Recipe (Gluten-Free)

When I was growing up, my favorite breakfast was a jelly-filled berry muffin from the local coffee shop. Fruity, cakey, and crispy on top, it was the ultimate comfort food. They were indeed the perfect muffins – moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside. I went home one afternoon and decided to make muffins on my own…let’s just say that they did not turn out as expected! The challenge that I faced was creating a vegan muffin recipe that would make healthy muffins with a crisp exterior and domed top. Challenge accepted! 🙂

I present to you the ultimate breakfast muffin – this quick and easy vegan muffin recipe offers a healthy twist on the typical bakery-style muffin, using only vegan and wholesome ingredients, without sacrificing taste, texture, or aesthetic appeal :). These muffins are free of refined sugar, and can be made gluten-free or oil-free as well. The ones pictured here are gluten-free – muffins made with gluten will have even more pronounced muffin-tops. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

FOR THE MUFFINS:

1 ¼ C Brown Rice Flour + ½ C Oat Flour (sub 1¾ C Soft Whole Wheat Flour for gluten-friendly)
¾ C Tapioca Starch
1 ¼ Tbsp Baking Powder
1 ¼ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt
¼ C Unsweetened Apple Sauce
¼ C Olive Oil (sub another ¼ C apple sauce for oil-free)
1 C Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
¾ C Maple Syrup
2 Flax ‘Eggs’
1 Cup Berries of Choice (I used strawberries and raspberries)

FOR THE JELLY:

¼ C Water
¼ C Orange Juice or Apple Juice
2 Tbsp Tapioca
1 Cup Frozen Berries (I used strawberries)

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Lightly oil a muffin pan.
2. Make the FLAX EGGS: For two flax eggs, add 2 tbsp ground flax to a small bowl with approximately 10 tbsp water and whisk. Let the mixture chill in the fridge.
3. Mix together flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the apple sauce, olive oil, almond milk, and maple syrup. Stir in the flax eggs.
5. Fold the wet mixture into the bowl containing the dry mixture. Be careful not to over-fold – there should still be lumps and bubbles in the batter. Fold in the berries.
   NOTE: Complete this step ONLY after the oven has reached 425 F.  I find that the muffins rise the most when there is minimal time between Step 5 and the transfer into the oven.
6. Pour the batter into the greased muffin pan and bake at 425 F for 8 minutes (5-6 minutes for gluten version). Then, lower the temperature to 375 F and bake for an additional 14 – 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

In the meantime, prepare the JELLY MIXTURE:

1. In a bowl, mix together the tapioca starch, water, and juice, until the tapioca is fully dissolved.
2. Heat the frozen fruit on a saucepan over medium-high heat, until the mixture begins to boil.  Begin crushing the berries with a spatula.
3. Add the tapioca-water-juice mixture and stir continuously for about 5 minutes.  Let it simmer for approximately 15 minutes, until fully thickened. Set aside.
4. When the muffins are baked, remove from oven and allow them to cool for about 20 minutes.
5. Place the muffins upside down. Add the jelly to a cake decorator with a small tip, and insert the jelly into the bottom on the muffin.

And there you have it – deliciously moist and flavorful muffins with cakey exteriors. Serve with nut butter for a complete, high-protein breakfast!

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