Sweet date muffins are very common in cafés around New Zealand. When I lived there, I would treat myself to them for breakfast, spread with a little butter and honey. Here in Slovenia, I make them with oats and vegan caramel, but you can replace the caramel with jam if you prefer.
Oat and date muffins make a perfect, nourishing breakfast, and you can also make them in a vegan version.
Ingredients
date muffins
- 120 ml soy milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 100 g chopped dates
- 80 g fine oats
- 50 g coconut sugar
- 120 g white spelt flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- a pinch salt
- 100 g butter or vegan butter
- 1 egg (or, for a vegan version, 1 tsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 Tbsp water)
- grated zest of one orange
vegan caramel
- 8 Medjool dates
- 2 Tbsp tahini
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- a pinch salt
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Oat and Date Muffins
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. In a small bowl, mix the soy milk with the apple cider vinegar and leave it to stand for 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, chopped dates, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and orange zest. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the dry ingredients. Rub it in with your fingers until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture has a breadcrumb-like texture.
Add the egg to the soy milk and stir. Add this to the dry ingredients and knead the mixture together. Transfer the dough to the baking tray and shape it into a round. Cut it into eight equal pieces, then place it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Before baking, brush the tops with a little soy milk and bake for 25 minutes. Serve the muffins with vegan caramel if you like.
To make the caramel, blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth, adding water if needed.
