Apple Crumble Muffins {vegan, eggless + dairy-free}

Name: Apple Crumble Muffins {vegan, eggless + dairy-free}
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 cupcakes
Ingredients: 100 grams Apple Sauce; 50 ml Sunflower Oil; 50 grams Brown Sugar; 100 grams Self-Raising Flour; 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder; 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg; 1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger; 1 tablespoon Protein Powder (optional); 1 Apple, small (peeled + grated); 30 grams Plain Flour; 30 grams Rolled Oats; 20 grams Coconut Oil; 20 grams Caster Sugar

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These vegan apple crumble muffins are a hybrid of two classic Autumn desserts. A soft and moist apple cake with a crunchy oat streusel topping.

Apple Crumble Muffins | Shivani Loves Food — I clearly got too excited last week when I found multicoloured leaves on the floor…

So it’s safe to say things have been looking a little…anti-Autumnal around here. And believe me, this is not how I wanted it to pan out. Unfortunately, I have been so busy with BMAT revision that I barely realised Autumn has come around. It was on my walk home the other day that I noticed gold and scarlet-tinted leaves on the floor. Autumn is finally here. Along with the warm colours of leaves and fireplaces associated with this season comes another kind of warmth: the heat of the oven. i.e. the birthplace of my apple crumble muffins.

I feel like pumpkin is the star of the show in Autumn/Fall. However, where I live, it is proving pretty difficult to find pumpkin puree on the supermarket shelves. Hence I bring you a recipe using the slightly less-trendy, OG Autumn ingredient: the humble apple.

I’ve been eating apple-based desserts for as long as I can remember. With my mum’s nut allergy and a general dislike for overly sweet, sickly desserts in the Raja household, apple pies, cakes and crumbles were naturally a choice to keep everyone satisfied.

Having become quite the apple dessert connoisseur, I decided to choose my favourite and share it’s recipe on the blog in celebration of Autumn. However, I reached an impasse when I realised I liked both apple cake and apple crumble equally. What followed next was a strike of pure genius: to combine the two into one sweet, moist, and crunchy dessert which can fit in the palm of your hand.

Let’s talk a little more about what exactly is in these apple crumble muffins:

* Apples. duuuuuh. In fact, my recipe uses two forms of apple – grated and sauced. And by sauced I mean applesauce, which is technically blended, but let’s not get into the semantics here. In conclusion, two forms of apple = extra moistness + stronger apple flavour.

* Sunflower Oil. A key ingredient of muffins and it’s what makes a muffin different to a cupcake, which usually has some form of butter.

* Brown Sugar. You could use white, but brown gives that caramel-like sweetness that we have come to associate with this time of year.

* Flour + Baking Powder. Being a vegan cake, and therefore an eggless cake, these apple crumble muffins need that extra little boost to help them rise. (think petite people trying to reach a top shelf – I’ve been in that position too many times) And said boost comes in the form of self-raising flour and baking powder.

*Protein Powder. You are probably thinking: Protein powder? In a cake? But trust me here, it just works. And since Solo UK sent me a selection of their delicious protein powders, they have been sneaking their way into all my creations. I used their Wild Strawberry powder in this recipe to add extra fruity flavour to these muffins. Of course, you could sub any protein powder of choice (vanilla would be perfect) or omit the protein powder if you don’t have any.

* Spices. It wouldn’t be an Autumn bake without spices, would it? Cinnamon takes centre stage here, aided by nutmeg and ginger to boost the cosy flavours.

*Crumble. Okay, so this isn’t so much an ingredient as it is a mandatory addition to this recipe. This crunchy streusel topping is made with just 4 ingredients: flour, sugar, oats, and coconut oil. And without it, your apple crumble muffins would be *gasp*…plain apple muffins. Which are by far less cool, and dare I say, less tasty. Seriously, it’s the crumble which makes these muffins so good.

There’s nothing quite like eating hot, slightly crumbly cakes fresh out of the oven. I, for one, know and love the taste. Hopefully this explains the lack of photos of the finished muffins and surplus of progress shots. If you want to go the extra mile, you could serve these apple crumble muffins with vegan custard or ice cream. But in all honesty, these muffins are so adorably perfect on their own that a dousing of ice cream/custard is not necessary.

Wow, that’s the first time you’ll hear me argue against ice cream consumption…

If you feel like treating a friend (or yourself) make them these apple crumble muffins. Seeing the smile on someone’s face when you hand them a home baked good is a feeling akin to the internal warmth one might encounter around this time of year. And if you would like to make a certain little Shivani very happy too, please do tag me on Instagram @shivanilf #shivanilovesfood so I can see your creations!

Sending warmth + cosy vibes your way,

Shivani xoxo

5 from 4 votes