Cinnamon Berry Muffins
These easy muffins are nut-free, so they can be packed in school lunch boxes (as long as there are no seed allergies at your school of course – be sure to check first). The sunflower seeds and pepitas add a wonderful nutrient boost. They beat any store-bought muffin hands down.
If you don’t have seeds on hand, switch for the same quantity of your preferred nuts such as almond or hazelnut (of course then the muffins won’t be nut free).
When buying flour, go for organic to minimise the glyphosate in your food. You can also use spelt flour if you prefer – see Tips for how to convert.
Ingredients
40g (1/4 cup) sunflower seeds
40g (1/4 cup) pepitas
80g (approx. 1 small) peeled banana, mashed
1 egg
250g (1 cup) milk (nut milk for dairy-free) (see Tips)
120g (1/2 cup) extra virgin coconut oil, melted (or olive oil) (see Tips)
120g (1/3 cup) honey
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
280g (1 3/4 cups) wholemeal self-raising flour (see Tips)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g fresh seasonal berries (see Tips)
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and set aside.
- Place seeds into a food processor or Thermomix and mill until finely ground. Set aside.
- Place mashed banana, egg, milk, oil, honey and vanilla in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Sift in flour (returning any sifted out husks to the bowl) and cinnamon. Add reserved ground seeds and mix until combined. Add 100g of the berries and fold through until just combined.
- Divide mixture evenly between paper cases and top each muffin with remaining berries. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of each muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool further before serving.
THERMOMIX METHOD
- Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and set aside.
- Place seeds into mixing bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 9 or until finely ground. Add banana, egg, milk, oil, honey and vanilla and mix 10 sec/speed 6. Add flour and cinnamon and mix 10 sec/speed 3 or until combined. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula.
- Add 100 g of the berries and combine 10 sec/Reverse/speed 3. Fold through further with spatula, if needed.
- Divide mixture evenly between paper cases and top each muffin with remaining berries. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of each muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool further before serving.
Tips
- You can replace half of the milk with an equal quantity of natural yoghurt or buttermilk, both of which provide a lovely lightness and slight tang.
- If you prefer, a lighter-flavoured extra virgin olive oil or a macadamia oil also works well in these muffins, in place of the coconut oil.
- Use whichever fresh seasonal berries you have on hand, such as blueberries, raspberries or a mixture. Frozen berries also work in these muffins.
- If you prefer you can use spelt flour or wholemeal plain flour – you’ll just need to add 3 1/2 tsp baking powder to convert it to self-raising flour (the general rule is 2 tsp per cup of flour).
