If you can believe it I had never cooked with rhubarb until the summer of 2015. Thanks to my CSA farm share I had a quite a bit! I didn’t want to take the time to make a pie so I let them sit in the fridge for a while. Until I woke up one morning with the craving to make muffins.
I went on Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration when it hit me; strawberry rhubarb muffins! Then I remembered I had some cherries that had a few days left to live...Cherry Rhubarb Muffins were born.
I went to one of my favorite food blogs Minimalist Baker. I love their blog, ideas and mentality to food. Not to mention their beautiful pictures and creations! I looked at some of their muffins and saw a Coconut Muffins stuffed with mixed berries which of course looked beautiful. It looked easy enough to use alter the recipe and use cherries and rhubarb instead of berries and coconut.
I didn’t want the rhubarb to be raw so decided to make a cherry rhubarb compote to act as the “stuffed berries”. The rhubarband cherries cooked down beautifully. I would say these muffins were a home run! I have been known... ok everyone knows I can't follow a recipe and sometimes that doesn't work out well for me. Luckily this was NOT one of those times!
Serves: 12
Ingredients
2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp flax seed + 5 Tbsp water)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 banana, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar (sub honey if not vegan)
1/4 cup coconut sugar (1 TLB of the 1/4 set aside)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 rhubarb stalks, chopped
1/2 a lemon, juiced
3/4 cup gluten free flour blend (I used Bobs Redmill)
1 cup cherries, pitted and chopped
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper liners, or lightly grease.
Prepare flax eggs in a large mixing bowl by whisking water and flaxseed meal and let rest for a few minutes to “gel."
While the flax egg is gelling heat a med sauce pan over med heat. Add rhubarb, cherries, lemon juice and 1 TLB of coconut sugar. Stirring often until rhubarb becomes soft. If it is starting to look dry add some water (1 tlb at a time). Let cool and set aside 1/2 of the compote.
In a separate small bowl, measure out almond milk and add vinegar. Wait 3 minutes, then add baking soda and stir. Set aside.
To the flax eggs, add mashed banana, melted coconut oil, maple syrup or agave, coconut sugar, and whisk for 45 seconds. Add almond milk mixture and whisk once more.
Add salt, gluten free flour, coconut flour and oats and whisk again until combined. The batter should be somewhere between thick and thin and pourable.
Mix in cherry rhubarb compote and gently stir once more.
Divide batter evenly between muffin tins, used the reserved compote to add on top.
Bake for 18-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges are golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then gently remove and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
*Store in fridge for a week or freeze them for long-term storage and take them out as needed.
*I had extra compote so I used in on oatmeal a few days later, super yummy!
*This recipe can be made with any flour that you have if you don’t have a gluten allergy.