I’m learning to bake vegan. I really enjoy eating vegan goodies, so naturally the next step is to learn to make them myself. I baked a vegan cake last year (before I started blogging), and it was amazing! This time, I tried my hand at vegan muffins.
I don’t drink cow’s milk, but I do use buttermilk when it’s called for in a recipe. It helps keep muffins tender and lends a somewhat tangy flavor as well. So when I discovered that I could make vegan buttermilk with soy milk and a little apple cider vinegar, I decided to bake some muffins!
Part of what fascinates me about baking is the chemistry. I know next to nothing about chemistry, but I just love watching how the ingredients come together to create a delicious result.
Sometimes the chemistry of baking fails me and I end up with bread as hard as a brick, or sunken cupcakes. But vegan buttermilk couldn’t be simpler: pour out a cup of soy milk, stir in a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and a few minutes later it curdles!
The rest of the recipe comes together just as easily. I left out the egg that I usually add into my muffins, and substituted some (homemade!) unsweetened applesauce. My anticipation heightened when I tasted the batter and found it to be delicious!
The finished muffins tasted just as wonderful as the batter. I love how the raspberries deliver a burst of flavor when you bite into them. This raspberry burst too soon, leaving a cavernous hole in my muffin!
I can’t wait to dream up some more vegan goodies!
Vegan Raspberry Applesauce Muffins
Recipe by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: 12 muffins
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup frozen raspberries
Preheat oven to 375°. Grease muffin tins or line with paper liners. In a small bowl, stir together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, until it starts to curdle.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the applesauce, vanilla extract, and buttermilk mixture. Add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Gently fold in the raspberries.
Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool the muffins directly on the cooling rack.
That looks great, I have been meaning to try more vegan recipes.
Thanks for sharing
Those muffins look great! I’ve been reading that you can use ground flax seeds in place of the egg. Flax is a great emulisfier and I guess that’s what eggs do in the recipe. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s on my to do list. (For curiousity sake).
Flax – great idea! Alas, ground flax is not a staple in my pantry right now. It probably should be, so I’m going to make a point to get some next time I’m at the store. I’m curious to try it as well.
Those look delish! I always taste my batter–it’s a pre-requisite before anything hits the oven (and so much safer to do when one bakes vegan!). Okay, so these are on my list–thanks for sharing! BTW, you can also sub for the egg about a tablespoon of canola oil–mixed with just a teaspoon of water. I did this with my vegan brownies and was quite pleased. Also, there is the silken tofu–in the box–blended, then measured out in 1/4 cup per each egg. In vegan baking, the darn egg is always the challenge–I opt for Ener-g Egg Replacer a lot, but try to switch it up when I feel I won’t have something fail miserably (which has happened plenty in my vegan baking pursuits/translations!).
I’ve always got canola oil on hand, so I’ll definitely experiment with that substitution! And tofu, that sounds really good too! I’ll have to try it out. I can’t wait to try vegan brownies. I was so thrilled to see your recipe, it’s on my list of goodies to try!
Those muffins look fantastic and sound so good with raspberries!
Nice muffins.
These look really good. We are big on the muffins at my house, and I still have a whole lot of raspberries in the freezer from last year. Thanks for the info about the buttermilk. I am not vegan, but we do drink soy and regular milk and it seems I am always looking for a substitute for buttermilk.
I have tried almond milk with some raspberry vinegar to make the “buttermilk” and the raspberry vinegar adds that extra flavor!
I really like that idea! I hadn’t thought about using raspberry vinegar, I bet that would be delicious!
Jeanne! Thanks very much for the recipe! I can easily make this at home as I have all the necessary ingredients! Also, I have made ‘buttermilk’ using rice milk and I found that to work just as well. Wonderful recipe – makes my mouth water!
I haven’t really met a (healthy) muffin I don’t like. Muffins basically start my morning everyday. I’ve made muffins like these, but with cranberries and they are great! Next time I’ll have to use raspberries!
what great muffins…my girls’ would love these..love the burst from the berry
sweetlife
Hi Jeanne! These sound so nice with the raspberries, and I love vegan baking too. Especially when it works out and we end up with something delicious and healthful ( or at least not as bad). Nice!
I don’t bake much vegan food. Would love to try these muffins.
I made these last night and they are DELICIOUS and MOIST! Thanks for the great recipe. I did use almond milk instead of soy but it didn’t seem to make a difference.
I’m so glad that you liked them!
I bet the almond milk added a bit of extra flavor, too – excellent idea!
I love these muffins, they are such a weekend staple! I love that I always have these ingredients on hand. I wish you would share more vegan recipes! Thanks!