Salted Caramel, Walnut & Apple Muffins
I’ve been on the hunt for a gluten, dairy and sugar-free muffin recipe for a while and I came across this one by Natalie Seldon aka the Pretty Edible Stylist. I wanted something that would satisfy my craving for cake without it being heavy on sugar. I was also looking for a recipe that I could whip up quickly, as the day I was baking them, I was running short on time.
One of the best things about Natalie’s recipe is the salted caramel sauce, it is truly delicious and I will be looking for any excuse to make it! It‘s made from just four ingredients; medjool dates, vanilla extract, milk (nut, dairy or soy) and salt. You just need to whizz them together in a high-speed blender. Super easy and quick!
I served these muffins for pudding at a Sunday lunch with Swedish Glace dairy-free ice cream. The combination of the muffins, caramel sauce and ice cream was a joyful affair!
VEGAN OPTION
The recipe uses eggs but if you want to make the recipe vegan you can substitute them with flaxseed and water. The instructions are at the bottom of the recipe card.
WALNUTS OR PECANS?!
I should be honest and tell you that the recipe is actually called ‘Salted Caramel, PECAN and Apple Muffins’ but I accidentally picked up walnuts at the shop and I didn’t have time to go back! However, the muffins with the walnuts were absolutely delicious so I think you can use either!
Salted Caramel, Walnut & Pecan Muffins – Gluten and Dairy Free
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: serves 4
Tags: gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, vegan option
Ingredients
- 200g Medjool dates, stoned
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 75-100ml soya or nut milk of choice (you can use dairy milk)
- 150g ground walnuts (or pecans), plus 75g roughly chopped
- zest of 1 small lemon
- 4 large eggs, lightly whisked *substitute with the ingredients below to make this vegan-friendly
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 50ml olive or rapeseed oil
- 150g apple (about 1 x small), chopped roughly into small cube, plus one apple thinly sliced
Extra salted caramel sauce to serve
- 200g Medjool dates, stoned
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 75-100ml soya or nut milk of choice (you can use dairy milk)
Instructions:
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Heat the oven to 180°C or fan 160°C.
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First make the caramel sauce. Put the dates, milk, vanilla and salt in a high speed blender - I use my nutribullet. Blend until smooth. If you are making additional caramel sauce to serve, do this at the same time.
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In a large bowl add the salted caramel – remember only to add half if you made extra! Add the flour, lemon zest, ground nuts, eggs, baking powder and oil. Mix until smooth, then fold in the chopped nuts and apple.
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Line a 12 hole muffin tin and fill the muffin cases using all of the mixture. Smooth the top of each muffin and then add a slice of apple.
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Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and leave to cool. Serve with the salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.
*To make these vegan you can substitute the eggs with 3 tablespoons milled flaxseed & 110ml water mixed together. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes before adding
To see the original recipe from the Pretty Edible Stylist here
