Fall Muffins
Including seasonal favorites apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice
It’s finally fall, which means it’s finally time to share two of the first recipes I ever developed: Apple Crumble Muffins and Pumpkin Streusel Muffins. They are both based on a whipped aquafaba method inspired by the exceptional banana bread at Flour Bakery in Boston. That recipe calls for whipping eggs and sugar to ribbon stage before slowly streaming in the oil. I wondered if I could veganize this technique using aquafaba, the brine from a can of chickpeas and a common plant-based egg replacement. It worked like a charm, and the next logical step was to see if I could swap out banana for other fruits. I first tried apple compote followed quickly by pumpkin, and voila - these two muffin recipes were born. They are both incredibly tender and moist, gently spiced, and topped with a buttery brown sugar streusel and a drizzle of icing. I guarantee they will be your new favorite fall treats! I’ve included both recipes below: the apple muffins for all subscribers and the pumpkin muffins for paid subscribers only. Let the fall baking begin!
These apple muffins are a wonderful way to welcome fall and use up that extra haul of apples from the orchard. First, two kinds of apples are cooked down with vegan butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cider. This compote is then folded into a lightly spiced muffin batter, which is topped with buttery brown sugar crumble and baked until golden and fluffy. Finally, the muffins are drizzled with a sweet cider glaze. A perfect morning (or afternoon) treat.
Apple Crumble Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
1 hour 15 mins active time, 3 hours 15 mins total time
Ingredients
Apple Compote
2 Granny Smith apples
2 Gala (or other sweet) apples
40 g (3 tbsp) unsalted, margarine-style vegan butter (e.g. Violife – see note below)
55 g (1/4 cup, lightly packed) light brown sugar
0.75 g (1/4 tsp) kosher salt (Diamond Crystal or see note below)
1.25 g (1/2 tsp) cinnamon
120 g (1/2 cup) apple cider
Brown Sugar Crumble
120 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
40 g (3 tbsp, lightly packed) light brown sugar
50 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
3.75 g (1 1/2 tsp) cinnamon
1.5 g (1/2 tsp) kosher salt (Diamond Crystal or see note below)
85 g (6 tbsp) unsalted, margarine-style vegan butter (e.g. Violife – see note below), melted
Apple Muffin Batter
240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
5 g (1 tsp) baking soda
2.5 g (1 tsp) cinnamon
1.5 g (1/2 tsp) kosher salt (Diamond Crystal or see note below)
345 g Apple Compote (recipe above)
5 g (1 tsp) vanilla extract
30 g (2 tbsp) apple cider
90 g (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) aquafaba (see note)
67 g (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
73 g (1/3 cup, packed) light brown sugar
Apple Cider Glaze
55 g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
10 - 15 g (2 - 3 tsp) apple cider
Dash vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt
Pinch cinnamon
Instructions
Prepare and cool Apple Compote
Peel and chop apples into 1/2 inch chunks
Melt butter in medium pot over medium heat
Add apples, sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and stir to combine
Cook the apples for 15 mins, covered, until they begin to soften
Add the cider and continue to cook for another 15 - 20 mins, uncovered, until the mixture is caramelized and most pieces are soft
Remove from the heat and mash the mixture until it resembles chunky applesauce
Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature
Apple compote can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using
Prepare Brown Sugar Crumble
Combine the first five ingredients in a medium bowl
Add the vegan butter and stir with a fork or fingers until no flour streaks remain and the mixture has both large and small chunks
Prepare Muffin Batter and bake muffins
Preheat oven to 425 F, position rack in middle of oven and fill a standard 12-cup muffin pan with muffin papers (ideally high-sided, tulip-style - see Things I Used below)
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt
Combine the Apple Compote and vanilla
Combine the aquafaba and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment
Whip the aquafaba mixture on medium speed for 5 mins, until thick, glossy, and white
Decrease the speed to low, and slowly stream in the oil
Add the Apple Compote mixture and combine on low speed
Remove the bowl from the mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix the batter with a rubber spatula to ensure it is evenly combined
Fold in the dry ingredients in three parts, mixing just until no flour streaks remain
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup or cookie scoop, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups
Distribute the crumble evenly over the muffins, making sure to keep some large chunks
Bake at 425 F for 5 mins, then turn the temperature down to 350 F and continue baking for another 30 mins, until a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean
Glaze and finish muffins
Combine all ingredients for the glaze and mix until smooth
After removing the muffins from the oven, cool in the pan for 15 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
Drizzle the cooled muffins with glaze
Muffins keep for up to 3 days at room temperature, covered
Notes & Variations
Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which has larger crystals than other kinds of kosher salt, normal table salt or fine sea salt. As a result, when measured by volume (teaspoons/tablespoons) it will add less "saltiness" than an equal quantity of the other salts. If you are not using Diamond Crystal, I recommend measuring your salt by weight, in which case you won't run into this issue. Otherwise, use half the volume quantity of salt
Vegan butter: There are two main types of vegan butter: (1) margarine-style products that are basically butter-flavored vegetable shortening (e.g. Earth Balance or Violife), and (2) cultured-style products made from cashew, coconut, or other kinds of fats (e.g. Miyoko's). I generally prefer the first type in cakes, muffins, and frostings, where the more obvious "butter" flavor and greater stability, and yellow color are beneficial. I prefer the second type in recipes where the fat will caramelize, such as cookies, pie or tart dough, and bread, as margarine-style butters can develop unpleasant burnt oil flavors when heated to high temperatures. Also, cultured-style butter can be browned similarly to dairy butter, while margarine-style butter cannot
Aquafaba: Aquafaba is the liquid brine from a can of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans). Simply pour the contents of the can into a mesh strainer set over a liquid measuring cup or bowl to collect the liquid, then use as directed in the recipe
Things I Used
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Ingredients
Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract
Equipment
Growing up, one of my favorite after-school treats was the pumpkin bread my Mom made in big batches for my brother and me. I could eat an entire loaf in one sitting. These muffins are inspired by those soft, spiced slices, with a few twists. The muffin batter uses the same whipped aquafaba method as my Apple Crumble Muffins above. The process yields a tender, lush crumb which stays fresh for days. Olive oil adds depth to complement the earthy pumpkin, while orange zest and cardamon, in addition to classic pumpkin pie spices, add brightness. The muffins are finished with a crunchy pumpkin seed streusel and a light, sweet orange glaze. I think Mom would approve. The recipe is available below for paid subscribers only.
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