The winter has been a busy one for me trying to balance school work, real work, exercise,and some form of social life (so as not to become a stressed out hermit) and it's been hard to fit in any time for blogging. Or for baking. Now that spring has finally sprung, and the weather is beautiful, I have made a few trips over to Kensington Market to stock up on fresh produce and health food store staples. I'm in the midst of studying for my final exams, but as always, a much needed study (and baking) break was first on my agenda tonight.
I've had the babycakesNYC cookbook for over a year now, but tonight I tried a recipe for the first time. I'm always conscious of baking with the most healthy ingredients; gluten free flours and as little sugar as possible so the recipes in this book never disappoint. Always a huge fan of both cornmeal and ginger, I thought that the addition of fresh peaches to these ginger-corn muffins would be a great way to step up my game.
The muffins turned out so well, and while they baked, the amalgamation of the three distinct flavours flooded my entire condo. I feared they would be time consuming, but in fact they were simple and relatively quick to whip up.
Here's the recipe. I hope you too, can enjoy these muffins which will now be a staple in my recipe box.
Ginger-Peach Corn Muffins:
Roasted Peaches:
4 c sliced peaches, with skin remaining
1/3 c agave nectar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Muffins:
3/4 c almond milk
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 c quinoa flour
1 c cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1/2 c coconut oil
3/4 agave nectar
1/3 unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss together the peaches, agave nectar and lemon juice. Spread peaches evenly and bake on center rack for 20 minutes, or until they are sizzling with carmelized edges.
Let the peaches stand for 30 minutes, or until cool.
Keep the oven temperature the same. Pour the rice milk and apple cider vinegar into a small bowl. Do not stir; set aside to develop "buttermilk". In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Then add the agave, coconut oil, vanilla, and applesauce to the dry ingredients. Follow up with the buttermilk mixture and mix gently until the batter is smooth and the ingredients are fully incorporated.
Pour batter into muffin trays and top each with 2-4 slices of carmelized peaches. Bake the muffins for 22 minutes.
I hope that you will enjoy these healthy muffins as much as I do.
