I am totally a muffin person and so is my family! I cannot decorate a cupcake but I can bake great muffins and cupcakes. Most of my bakes are egg free and it was not hard for me to extend it and make a wondeful Vegan muffin.
What is a perfect muffin?
Texture - A perfect muffin should be crispy on the outside and moist inside. If it is a fruit muffin, it should have plenty of that fruit. Size - Bigger the better, not just for the size but that also lets the muffin cook longer and hence achieve that perfect texture. Sweetness - A muffin technically can be eaten for breakfast. So too much sweetness makes it a little unacceptable for breakfast (I don’t mind it at all though). Crumble - If using a crumble, it should add up to the texture without making it overpowering with sweetness. So just the right ingredients.
Common Mistakes when baking a Muffin
Baking a perfect muffin comes with a lot of trial and error, but don’t worry! I got them covered for you with my mistakes.
Sinking of the fruit - When using a fruit in the muffin, like blueberries in this Banana Blueberry Crumble muffin, the blueberries tend to settle down / sink at the bottom of the muffin. This can be easily avoided by coating the fruit with some flour.
Over mixing the batter - We need good muscle to bake a good bread. But for a good muffin, way less mixing is what is needed. Over mixing the batter leads to dense and chewy muffin. Mix the batter just until the dry and wet ingredients are combined.
Baking at wrong temperature - The muffins need moderate heat and a little extended baking time to get the perfect texture. I find that my muffins that I bake in my large muffin tin tends to be much more softer inside than the ones that I bake in the mini tins.
Domed top - Muffin needs a good dome top. So fill them up all the way. That gives a beautiful and well risen muffin with a dome top (just like the bakery ones).
And you can achieve all this in a Vegan Banana Blueberry Crumb Muffin. The pictures say it all!!
Ingredients Needed
For the Muffin
Flour - I have used unbleached All Purpose flour in the recipe. I have baked muffins with part whole wheat flour and they are slightly different texture wise, but it works. Banana - The squishier and ugly looking, the better the bananas are. The realy overripe bananas work the best! Blueberry - I have used frozen berries in this recipe. Find a good organic blueberry brand that has even sized (smaller) berries. They look and taste beautiful in the muffin. Sugar - Make sure to buy a vegan brand of sugar. I have used granulated sugar for the recipe. Salt - A pinch of salt does wonders in a sweet dish. I have learned this from my mother and always follow it. Oil - I have used vegetable oil. Coconut oil will work well as but the muffins will have a slightly more coconut flavor profile. Vanilla - We need some good quality pure Vanilla extract for the recipe. Baking Powder and Baking Soda - Make sure that the Baking soda and baking powder are fresh or else they won’t work as they need to.
For the Crumble
Crumble is optional in the recipe. You could bake the muffin absolutely without the crumble. Coconut oil - A good organic coconut oil works the best. Brown sugar - Again look for organic and vegan brand. Flour - A little bit more of All Purpose flour. Rolled Oats - This adds a lot texture to the crumble. Cinnamon - We need this to add another layer of flavor.
Step by Step Process
To make the crumb topping
Add all the ingredients mentioned for the crumb in a bowl (1).
Mix well with a spoon or a fork and keep it aside (2).
To make the Muffin
Mix some flour with the blueberries and keep it ready.
Sift the flour along with baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Peel the bananas and place it in a bowl (1).
Mash the bananas well with a fork (2).
Add vanilla and mix (3).
Pour oil and mix (4).
Add sugar and whisk well (5).
Add the sifted flour mixture (6).
Mix gently with a spatula until just combined (7).
Add the blueberries saving a few to place on top of muffin (8).
Combine (9).
Place liners in a muffin tin (optional) and fill it with batter.
Evenly distribute the reserved blueberries on top of the batter.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the batter.
Bake the Banana Blueberry Crumb Muffin for 20 to 22 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.
More Muffin Recipes
Apple muffin with cinnamon apple crumb Lemon chia seeds muffin Orange Muffin Whole wheat banana cranberry almond muffin Jackfruit semolina muffin Whole wheat apple cranberry muffin Bakery style cinnamon sugar coated muffin If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter
Recipe
