optional Vegan and Sugar Free
I made a chocolate birthday cake for my friend recently, and I was so impressed with myself. It was a fudge layer cake with chocolate ganache and I decorated the top and everything! With little edible sugar flowers and silver drops spelling out HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I took a photo of it and snapchatted basically every single person I knew, claiming I was Lord of the Cakes and they must bow down to me.
And then I looked at the photo more closely, and realised I’d written HAPPY BIRTHAY. Birthay. Wow. I really set myself up there. The worst part is, it’s not even the first time I’ve spelt birthday wrong on a cake. Last time I forgot the H! But last time, I was smart, and didn’t send a picture of it bragging to everyone on my contacts list. THE SHAME!
I kind of made these muffins to comfort myself that I can, indeed, create something worthy of photographing and sharing with everyone. I wanted to use the last few sticks of rhubarb leftover in the fridge. They were getting quite sad and floppy in there (that’s what she said hehehehe…) and I kept picturing the delicious pairing of cinnamon and poached rhubarb I have on cereal every morning, but in muffin form.
I looked up a basic muffin ratio on the internet, pre-sugar and add-ins like buttermilk and fruit, and decided I’d adapt it myself. I was nervous because the recipe didn’t have any sweetness in it or fruit measurements yet, and the batter came out looking clumpy and strange. But they turned out absolutely perfectly.
You can see from the photos how perfectly they rose and how crunchy the top layer became. I’ve adjusted the recipe I used slightly to give more rhubarb in the centre and a slightly sweeter batter, because I used almost no sweetener at all. The spices in the batter came out really sweetly and perfumed my house while they were baking. Soo good fresh from the oven.
I talked about that amazing moment you get when you produce the perfect muffin when I made the Best Banana Muffins, and the Chocolate Fudge Vegan Orange Cupcakes. Well these are my favourite fruit filling muffins. You don’t have to fill it with fruit, you could put nutella, a chocolate ball, anything really. The muffin mix is strong enough to hold anything!
There’s no refined sugar or butter in these muffins, and the addition of wholemeal flour makes them a little healthier than the usual muffin affair. They’re still rich and a little bit naughty though! Perfect for weekend mornings 🙂
Rhubarb and Cinnamon Muffins:
200g (1.5 cups + 1 tbsp) plain flour
130g (1 cup) wholemeal flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g (1/3 cup) runny maple syrup or honey
3 eggs (or flax eggs for vegan)
125ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
120ml (1/2 cup) natural or coconut yogurt
450g (1 pound) rhubarb, cut into chunks + 2 tbsp maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 165C (330F) and line 10 muffin holes with papers. In a small saucepan, stir the rhubarb and honey together with a splash of water. Cover with a lid and stew until soft for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and add in the oil and yogurt. Combine the wet and dry together, add a splash of milk if the batter is too dry. Spoon half the batter in to the muffin cups. Make a depression in the centre and put in a few pieces of rhubarb. Add the other half of batter and press down to cover the rhubarb completely.
Bake for 25 minutes, until risen and golden on top. Eat them warm!
reading your recipe I realized it has been ages since I have used rhubarb. That despite the fact that I adore that tangy-sweet flavour. I have never ever used it in a muffin – I must really try this recipe some time! Thank you so much for taking me down memory lane and this inspiration 🙂
Thank you!
You definitely should make some rhubarb! I love it as well because it’s so tangy and goes so well with sweet things. I can never think of new ways to use it though!
Wow – these look great. I can tell from the pictures that they have the perfect texture 😉
I think it is kind of a sweet story about the chocolate birthday cake. Sounds like something I could do accidentally as well
Thank you!
we love rhubarb in baked goodies….this super healthy, filling, wonderfully aromatic and delicious muffins are what we can think of making for breakfast this weekend,thanks so much for sharing this recipe 🙂
So glad you liked them 🙂
These look absolutely delicious. Where did you get rhubarb at this time of the year? Have a wonderful week!
Thanks Liz!
I made these muffins a couple weeks ago in the beginning of spring here in Sydney 🙂
Hahaha! This made me smile — what a hilarious story. I recently found a scrapbook I tried to make back in high school where I’d written in curly script “Graduaduation” across the first page and then scribbled it out and evidently gave up in embarrassment and rage. I’m sure your cake was delicious and beautiful even if it did miss one teensy letter 🙂 They got the message, right?! haha. And these muffins are equally gorgeous!
I hate when that happens! That’s so funny though 🙂 I think they still appreciated the thought though! And thank you 🙂
When I’m asked to make a celebration cake for someone, I’m so paranoid about getting the lettering wrong, I practice it on baking paper until my arms ache. Then I still have to get my someone to check it for me to make sure I got it right. But these muffins are perfect, not a spelling error in sight.
It’s so stressful writing on cakes! I always get nervous I’m going to make a spelling mistake in blog post titles too hahaha
Thanks!
The cake sounds delicious and I’m sure your friend appreciated the effort put into making it more than the spelling 🙂 These muffins look wonderful and so tasty 🙂 I love the pretty color of the rhubarb filling too!
Hopefully it tasted good! Thank you 🙂
Lovely muffins and I love the filling in the middle bright and colorful! Gosh you are always making a cake for someone! Come make me a cake 🙂
Thank you! Haha it seems that way at the moment! Id love to make you a cake 🙂
These muffins look so inviting and great for the breakfast on the go!
Thanks! Muffins for breakfast are the best
Oh lovely. First time at your blog and I’m already drooling. Gorgeous pictures, my friend 😉 I have never added rhubarb to muffins before but now it’s a must!
Thank you! Rhubarb works great in muffins because it’s so tangy 🙂 hope you like them!
These muffins look perfect! I can’t believe it’s been so long since I made muffins..that has got to change!!
Whenever I make muffins I wonder how it’s been so long since I made them last!!
Thanks 🙂
I love healthy muffins, they’re the perfect breakfast! I cannot wait to get my hands on some rhubard so I can make these and enjoy them with my morning cuppa!
Muffins are the best breakfast ever! Thanks 🙂
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I want to make a cake out of this recipe instead of muffins. How long should I bake it for instead?
Hi May, I would bake for 28-32 minutes to start and check from there