VEGAN LEMON MUFFINS WITH COCONUT CRANBERRY CREAM ~ PINK FOR OCTOBER SERIES

Whenever I feel the spirit of my home needs to be uplifted, nothing works better than flushing the house with the delicious aromas of baking. It's true, I have seen a smile on the faces of my loved ones as the chocolaty, honey laced sometimes citrusy, sometimes spicy notes envelope the house and along with it the senses of its inmates. I always tell my friends that baking is therapy for the entire family. Baking peps my family up in an eager anticipation, what to expect popping out of the oven. The fragrant notes result many a times in, guess the flavour game and it's so much fun. These enchanting nuances about food makes me realise that food is much much more than merely a way of sustaining our body for survival. The more I discover different facets of food, the more fascinated I am and more eager to discover this magical world of endless possibilities. 

It's Blog Hop time of the month and the CULINARY HOPPERS have decided  to fire up their ovens and bake to their hearts content. Baking could be anything from cakes to breads to biscuits, sweet to savoury, just simply don your bakers hat and bake. Now there was a twist to this Baking theme. You had to bake egg free. I have already got a whiff of the insanely delicious recipes the culinary hoppers are about to put up, so do not miss the links to the respective recipes right at the bottom of this post.

So as per the theme of our Blog Hop, we had to bake egg free. I decided to go not only egg free but dairy free too and baked a batch of citrus vegan lemon muffins and topped it up with a rich textured whipped coconut cranberry cream. With the crust embedded with lots of lemon jest, these lemony, light and fluffy muffins are indeed a treat for the senses. The whipped coconut cranberry cream has a lovely silky feel with hints of tang provided by the cranberry. With every bite you are teleported into a world of explosive flavours. 

While the muffins were baking in the oven, I read about these interesting trivia which I am sharing with you. 

1) Muffin derives its name from the French word " Moufflet" which means soft as is said while mentioning bread or maybe from the German word "Muffen/Muffe" which means a small cake.

2) The word Muffin first appeared in print in the 18th century and then recipes of muffins began to appear in the middle of the 18 th century.

3) Muffins are basically small cakes made with yeast and the English call it "tea cake" also. In America Muffins are however served with breakfast or as a part of dinner desserts.

4) Unlike cupcakes, muffins can be both sweet and savoury. The primary difference between muffins and cupcakes seems to be in the texture of their batters. Cup cake is basically a small cake in a cup and is always made with cake batter. In simple terms the batter of cup cakes are silky and muffins lumpy.

5) Baking powder was not sold commercially until 1857.

My kitchen has filled up with the tangy, sweet, mushy aroma of my muffins and I am now ready to take them out of the oven. It's almost tea time and I will serve my dear ones with muffins along with their piping cup of tea or coffee. For my little girl, I will put a pretty natural pink topping on the muffins and I know she will simply love it. If I can manage to save a couple of the muffins then I will have them after dinner. 

So while I decorate my muffins let me share with you my recipe for these delectable Vegan Lemon Muffins With Whipped Coconut Cranberry Cream.

Reference : 

FOODREFERENCE.COM

THE FOOD TIMELINE 

RECIPE SOURCE : VEGANBEAUTYREVIEW.COM

 

VEGAN LEMON MUFFINS WITH COCONUT CRANBERRY CREAM RECIPE :

YIELDS : 8 REGULAR MUFFINS

CUISINE : WORLD

TYPE : DESSERT

TIME : 20 MINUTES PREPARATION + 20 MINUTES BAKING +10 MINUTES OF TOPPING UP EACH MUFFIN WITH CREAM

INGREDIENTS : 

1) 1 Cup ( 120 Gms approximately ) Whole wheat flour

2) 1/4 Cup ( 1 Cup = 250 ml approximately ) Lemon Juice

3) 2 Tbsp Lemon zest

4) 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

5) 1/2 Cup Almond  milk 

6) 1/4 Cup of Maple Syrup ( or agave) Or 1/2 Cup ( 87~ 90 Gms approximately) of Sugar 

7) 1/2 Tsp Baking powder

FOR THE COCONUT CRANBERRY CREAM:

1) 1 Can Coconut Cream

2) 1/4 Tsp of Sugar free or stevia

3) 1/4 Tsp of salt

THIS IS WHAT YOU DO :

1) Get the oven going. Preheat your oven to 350 F /180 C. Take a medium sized Muffin Pan and lightly brush each cavity with little oil. Alternately you can use Muffin Paper Liners. Using a grater grate the zest of the lemon. Extract lemon juice and keep it ready to use. 

2) In a mixing bowl add the lemon juice, maple syrup ( or whatever sweetener you are using ) and mix well with the help of a wire whisk. Next add almond milk and olive oil and mix generously with the whisk. Keep aside.

3) In another large bowl sieve the whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt through a fine wire mesh. Add the zest of lemon and mix it evenly with a spoon. Next pour in the mixture that you have made in step 2 and mix everything together lightly just to incorporate everything together. 

4) Pour this batter into the cavity of your Muffin Pan or into the muffin paper liners. Only fill until 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes. Insert a tooth prick to check if the muffins are ready. If the tooth prick comes out clean your muffins are ready or else bake for a few minutes more.

5) Cool the muffins on a wire rack. While the muffins are cooling down, get the coconut cranberry cream ready. Puree fresh cranberry or use ready-made cranberry Puree. Add sugar free/stevia depending on the taste of your cranberries. 

6) In a blender add the coconut cream, cranberry Puree, sugar free and blend them until Fluffy and whipped. 

7) Finally pipe the whipped coconut cranberry cream on top of your muffins or simply spoon in a dollop of the cream on each of the muffins. Garnish with berries of your choice. Serve them as a part of your desserts or simply gobble them up to satiate your sweet cravings. They are just perfect along with your evening tea or serve them at breakfast. Multifaceted they are, aren't they? And trust me supremely yummy.

NOTE: Muffins generally do not have toppings, but if you have little ones at home, then you can go with a topping to make your muffins more pretty and to widen the smile on their lips.

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CULINARY HOPPERS ~ EGGLESS BAKES

CHECK OUT BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS BELOW :

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Marudhus Kitchen ~ JAM FILLED SHORTBREAD COOKIES BISCUITS

Padma Veeranki ~ RUSTIC ROSEMARY GARLIC ZUCCHINI BREAD

Parvathy Vijayakumar ~ STARBUCKS STYLE PUMPKIN BREAD