Beet and Poppy Seed Muffins

The recipe I’m about to share is from Cannelle et Vanille. These muffins happen to be gluten-free and dairy-free, though that wasn’t what drew me to the recipe. My love for pairing beet and quinoa is well documented, and the poppy seeds seemed to fit really well with the two. It turned out to be so much better than anticipated! These muffins were fabulous, both warm from the oven and at room temperature the next day. They were moist and absolutely delicious. Actually, they might be my new favorite muffins, and are definitely in my top 5 all-time best muffins. It’s too bad the recipe only makes 9! (Note that these were fast to make for me, as I already had beet purée in the freezer.)

1 medium red beet
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup (70 g.) superfine brown rice flour
½ cup (50 g.) almond flour
¼ cup (35 g.) quinoa flour
2 tsp. poppy seeds
¾ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
1 egg, at room temperature
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. (75 g.) light muscovado or brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
¼ cup melted coconut oil

In a small pan, bring water to a boil over high heat. Add the beet, cover the pan, reduce heat to medium, and cook until a knife can be inserted in the center. Time will vary depending on the size of the beet. Drain the water and let the beet cool enough to handle. Peel it and cut it into chunks. Purée in the food processor. Measure out ¼ cup (60 g.) beet purée and reserve. Freeze the rest for another time (and use the Search function on this blog if you need ideas on how to use it).

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a muffin pan with 9 paper liners.

Mix the coconut milk and lemon juice in a small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the superfine brown rice flour, almond flour, quinoa flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, muscovado sugar, vanilla seeds, coconut milk mixture, coconut oil, and beet purée. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk to combine.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a cooling rack.