The 30-Day Vegan Challenge
Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Sweet enough for dessert, flexible enough to be sweetened less and served for breakfast, this is a favorite muffin of mine that is also the perfect accompaniment to a tea party or coffee klatsch.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed (equivalent of 3 flax eggs)
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water
3 cups all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
1-1/4 cups organic granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from the 3 lemons you use for the juice below)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce can coconut milk
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 3 lemons)
3/4 cup canola oil or melted nondairy butter, such as Earth Balance
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil one or two muffin tins.
In a blender or food processor or in a bowl using an electric hand mixer, whip the flaxseed and water together, until you have a thick and creamy consistency. The result should be rather gooey. This can all be done by hand, but a food processor/hand mixer does a better job in about 1 minute.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, poppy seeds, and salt.
Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then add the flax eggs, coconut milk, lemon juice, oil, and vanilla extract, and stir mix until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour batter evenly into the prepared muffin tins.
Spoon about two tablespoons of batter into each muffin cup. You will have enough batter for 12 to 16 muffins, so either bake in two batches or use a second lightly oiled muffin tin. (Tip: if you’ve already oiled all of the cups of the muffin tin but don’t fill all of the cups with batter, add a small amount of water to each cup that doesn’t contain batter. Baking an empty, greased cup makes for hard cleanup!)
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
Yield: 12 to 16 muffins (depending on the size)
Serving Suggestions and Variations
*Instead of coconut milk, you may use almond, soy, rice, hazelnut, hemp, or oat.
*You may also make as a bread. Pour batter into lightly oiled loaf tin (or mini loaf tins) and increase the cooking time to 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
Soy-free if using oil or soy-free Earth Balance, tree-nut-free, peanut-free
Recipe from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s 30-Day Vegan Challenge. For more information on the 30-Day Vegan Challenge and recipes, visit: The30dayveganchallenge.com
