Grain Free Apple Walnut Muffins – version 2, with coconut flour

I liked the cashew based apple walnut muffins I made the other week, but I had a feeling that coconut flour might work better for this combo. I also wanted to experiment with cooking flat cakes in the frying pan (for you again Hive account@jedau). So my experimenting hat went on again…

First step was to have a look at the Apple Walnut coconut flour muffin in Bruce Fife’s book “Cooking With Coconut Flour” then make some substitutions. My swaps:

• Replaced half of the coconut flour with carob, and because coconut flour is so absorbent I used twice as much carob
• Left out the cinnamon, because, well, carob…
• Replaced the honey sweetener with dates
• Replaced the butter with coconut oil
• Doubled the amount of apple

Being a bit of a lazy cook, I usually like to fling everything in the food processor and hope for the best. But today I wanted to be low tech, for those of you who don’t have a lot of kitchen equipment.

First I prepped the muffin pans. I usually use paper cups, but coconut flour sticks too much. Baking paper works better. So I greased the pans with lots of coconut oil, then cut squares of baking paper and pushed them into the pans. Then set the oven to preheat to 190C (375F).

Then I sifted together in a small bowl:

• ¼ cup / 36ish grams coconut flour
• ½ cup / 50 gm carob powder
• ½ tsp baking soda (1 tsp baking powder would probably work too)

In a large bowl, I whisked together:

• 6 free range eggs
• 6 Tablespoons / 60 gms melted coconut oil (but butter would be just fine)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp vanilla powder (or vanilla essence or extract)

I chopped up with a large knife:

• ½ cup / 60gm walnuts
• 3 fresh medjool dates, but I might for go for 4 or 5 next time (if using dried dates, maybe go for 4 to 8)

Finally I peeled and grated:

• 2 medium apples (came to about 1 cup)

They all got mixed together and left to sit for a few minutes. Although the second photo is shockingly blurred, you can still see how much the texture has thickened up, once the coconut flour has absorbed the liquid.

I saved a little mixture to make flat cakes for Hive account@jedau, and spooned mixture into 10 of the muffin tins. Into the oven they went for 15 minutes at 190C (375F). Except I misremembered the starting time and left them in for 20. They were fine after 20, but start checking at 15 – they could have been slightly moister with less cooking. But they still look pretty good, don’t they?

While they were cooking I melted some coconut oil in the frying pan and panfried some of the mixture like pikelets. I used a lowish heat and cooked them for 2-3 minutes each side. Here’s how they looked.

Here’s a pic of the two types together, so you can see that the texture is fairly similar with both methods of cooking.

What’s the verdict?

Both types (muffin and flat cake) were good. They held together better than the cashew based ones. They were very nice with a dollop of fermented cream or coconut yoghurt (see top pic). Or feel free to mix up some frosting to go on top.

The only things I would do differently another time is:
• Add an extra date or two, and mash them more, rather than just chopping, as the sweetness wasn't very well distributed.
• Remember to start checking at 15 minutes
• And I probably will go back to mixing everything except the apples and walnuts in the food processor

One last thing to remember – as I said last time, don’t expect these to taste like chocolate. Unless of course, you replace the carob with cocoa and add a bunch more sweetener!

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Photos by me.

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• Choc Blackcurrant Smoothie
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BREADS & BAKING -
• Grain free, dairy free Pumpkin & Cashew Bread
• Grain Free Banana Cashew muffins
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• Happy birthday to me! with birthday cake recipe…
• Grain Free Apple Cashew Walnut Muffins
• Carrot Cashew Blender Bread
• Stove top grain free bread
SOUPS & DINNERS –
• Warming winter soup
• Paleo Cottage Pie
• I judged the Steemit Culinary Challenge: Paleo
SNACKS & FINGER FOODS –
• Healthy Chocolate & Fudge
• Jerky with vegetables
• Choco-mallow protein bars
• Grain free Fruit & Nut bar
• Finger food for a gathering
• Real food ideas for snacks and road trips
FESTIVE –
• Festive smoothies for Xmas morning ~
• Orange Cranberry Xmas Breakfast Muffins ~
• Crisp & crunchy Xmas cheese stars
• Best ever (and easiest) Christmas cake
• Xmas menu ideas
• Planning your holiday eating to be a bit more balanced
• Paleo Easter Buns (coconut-almond flours, gluten and starch free, lowish carb)
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KITCHEN TIPS & MENUS –
• Tip for storing ginger & tumeric ~
• Equipment for the real food kitchen
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