I’ve got to say, like many, all this self-isolation has got me baking loads- and I’ve definitely been more experimental than usual with my flavour combos, but I’ve got to say this one really worked. These vegan tahini muffins were so tasty they were all gone by the end of the day as my family couldn’t stop eating them (hopefully this was due to how they tasted not just from boredom eating!)
I know tahini is quite a random ingredient to add to muffins as it’s mostly just known as something you throw into a hummus recipe, but it’s SO underrated as an ingredient in sweet baking. It adds a ‘nutty’ kind of flavour and some saltiness which is nice in contrast to the sweetness of the other ingredients of the vegan tahini muffins.
For this recipe, the tahini is blended with cooked apple, dates and a bit of water to form a sweet tahini paste. After scooping 3/4 of the muffin mixture into cases, this sweet tahini paste is then placed on top, then you add the rest of the muffin mixture to each case. This means that once the muffins are baked, they’ll have a fudgy texture in the middle (sounds so dreamy right?).
The apples also add some natural sweetness which makes these vegan tahini muffins slightly healthier than regular ones. These still taste super indulgent though so don’t worry these aren’t going to taste like cardboard lol.
If you haven’t got a clue what tahini is, it’s basically a sesame seed paste. You can find tahini in most supermarkets now as it’s becoming more mainstream, I personally like the Cypressa one as it has a nice creamy consistency.
If you want to try out more of my sweet baking recipes, then you can try out my vegan granola cookies which are sooo moreish.
Tahini Fudge Apple Muffins
These vegan tahini muffins are super moist and have a fudgy texture from the cooked apple/tahini scooped in the middle. The tahini also offers a little nuttiness/saltiness which goes really nicely with the sweet apple.
Ingredients
For the muffins (dry ingredients)
- 250 g all purpose flour (2 cups)
- 150 g brown sugar (3/4 cup)
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 160 ml vegan buttermilk (~150ml soya milk with 1 tbsp soya milk)
- 60 ml rapeseed oil (or sunflower/coconut oil)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp apple puree (peel and chop apples, microwave with a bit of water until soft, then blend)
For tahini/apple filling
- 80 g apple puree (peel and chop apples, microwave with a bit of water until soft, then blend)
- 2 tbsp agave syrup (or 1.5 tbsp of brown sugar)
- 1.5 tbsp tahini
For the muffins (wet ingredients)
Instructions
For the tahini/apple filling
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Make the apple puree by roughly peeling 2 apples and them submerging then in water in a microwavable bowl. Microwave for around 3 mins (stirring in half way) until soft.
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Drain the water from the apples then blend in a blender or with a fork.
For the muffins
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Preheat oven to 180°C. Place muffin cases in the muffin tins
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Sift the flour into a mixing bowl then add the brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon
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Prep the vegan buttermilk by mixing 1 tbsp lemon juice with the soya milk and leave to curdle
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Combine 2 tbsp of the apple puree you prepared earlier with all the other wet muffin ingredients (oil, white wine vinegar, vanilla essence, buttermilk) in a bowl
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Combine the wet mixture with the dry ingredients and mix until a thick batter forms
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Use a tablespoon to divide 3/4 of the mixture across the cases so that you are only filling them part of the way up
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Mix the tahini and agave syrup with the remaining apple sauce (around 80g) that you made earlier- I used a mini blender but a fork or mini whisk will do.
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Use a teaspoon to divide the tahini apple mixture across the muffin cases, then add the remaining muffin mixture (make sure you leave about 1cm from the top as they will rise in the oven
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Bake for 25-30 mins until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the muffin come out clean
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Leave to cool on a cooling rack
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Enjoy with vegan ice cream or by itself with a cuppa
yummy!
Author
Haha yes they were good!
Thanks Andri, these were really delicious and not at all sweet, so a great snack anytime of the day!