Jessica
These strawberry vanilla muffins are soft and delicate and you would never know that they are vegan and gluten free!
The idea for these muffins actually came from my son who loves muffins but gets tired of the same old ones. He surprised me by enjoying a muffin with finely diced strawberries that almost turned into bits of jam in the muffin. The strawberry vanilla glaze takes these muffins to next level. As always, I make sure they are nut free so they are school safe.
Before I start baking these muffins I make sure to have all of my ingredients ready. Soften the butter, finely dice the strawberries and make the vegan buttermilk by mixing the soy milk with apple cider vinegar. I make the buttermilk in a large measuring cup so that I can cut down on the number of dishes.
The method of making these strawberry vanilla muffins may seem a little backwards at first but I promise, it will help to make them light and fluffy. I prefer to use a stand mixer to mix the batter together and to weigh the flour. After adding the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the stand mixer bowl, incorporate the softened butter. Mix the butter with the dry ingredients in the mixer until they resemble sand.
Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the vegan buttermilk and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry in the stand mixer and mix until everything is combined.
Toss the finely diced strawberries with a small amount of flour, this will help keep the strawberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. Next gently fold them into the muffin batter. Measure the batter out into the muffin tins and bake. While the muffins are baking the glaze can be made.
The glaze is basically making a small amount of strawberry jam and adding icing sugar and vanilla. Be careful not to add more than the amount of strawberries that is called for in the glaze because it will then end up too wet which will in turn make the muffins soggy on top, trust me!
Finely diced strawberries cook very quickly. I add a small amount of sugar and keep the lid on the pot only stirring a few times. Once the strawberries have cooked down they will be very soft.
Press the strawberries through a fine mesh sieve so that just the strawberry “juice” is left. Mix in vanilla and icing sugar to complete the glaze! It can rest on the counter until the muffins have cooled off.
A note on some of the ingredients
The Flour: I mostly use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 flour (blue bag) for baking and these muffins are no exception. If you have another gluten free flour blend that you prefer you can try substituting it however I would definitely weigh the flour to make sure that it is the right amount for the recipe. That being said, no matter which flour blend you use I recommend weighing the flour as measuring by measuring cups can be very inconsistent. If you don’t have a scale to measure your flour you can use measuring cups and gently fluff the flour with a fork, scoop with your measuring cup and then level it off with the back of a knife. This ensures that the flour is not packed down and you don’t end up with a dense batter.
The Butter: I prefer to use vegan Becel butter sticks for my baking. The hardest part of this recipe is to remember to take the butter out of the fridge to soften it! It may feel strange to be blending the butter with the dry ingredients instead of with the wet however this method helps create the perfect crumb in the muffin.
The Strawberries: Fresh strawberries are best for this recipe as they should be chopped up. I like to dice the strawberries into small (0.5 cm) pieces. I also toss the diced strawberries with a small amount of gluten free flour. This helps to keep the strawberries from sinking in the batter and all ending up at the bottom of the muffin.
Enjoy!
Strawberry Vanilla Muffins
Soft vanilla muffins with bursts of strawberries inside, topped with a strawberry vanilla glaze
12
servings10
minutes20
minutes245
kcal30
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
2 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend (325g)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup finely diced fresh strawberries (approx 6 strawberries)
1/2 tbsp gluten free flour blend
- Glaze
1/3 cup finely diced fresh strawberries
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a measuring up mix the soy milk and apple cider vinegar to make vegan buttermilk. Set aside.
- Finely dice the strawberries and put them in a small bowl. Mix with 1/2 tbsp of gluten free flour. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the gluten free flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the softened butter. Mix using the paddle attachment until the butter is incorporated and the mixture looks like fine sand with a few lumps.
- In the measuring cup with the buttermilk add the applesauce and vanilla extract and mix.
- With the stand mixer running on low, slowly add the wet ingredients and mix until they are incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the diced strawberries.
- Fill each cup of the muffin tin with the batter. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the tin and then gently move them to a rack. They will be soft but will firm up as they cool.
- For the glaze
- Finely dice enough strawberries for 1/3 cup, making sure not to over fill. Add the strawberries and 1 tbsp of sugar to a small sauce pan and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes or until the strawberries are soft.
- Press the strawberries through a fine sieve into a small bowl, discarding the mashed strawberries. Add in the vanilla extract and icing sugar to the strawberry liquid and stir well.
- Once the muffins are completely cool drizzle the strawberry glaze over them and let set.
Notes
- This recipe has been tested and is best with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 flour (blue bag)
- For best results, the flour should be weighed.
- The muffins are best if stored in the fridge for 3 to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- The nutritional information is a rough estimate.
Nutrition Facts
- Total number of serves: 12
- Calories: 245kcal
- Carbohydrates: 41.3g
- Protein: 1.9g
- Fat: 8.3g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 261.3mg
- Potassium: 47.1mg
- Fiber: 1.3g
- Sugar: 17.7g
