Tropical Morning Muffin with Papaya

The one thing I love about London is finding ingredients in my local market that you just wouldn't find in a supermarket in the States. The other day, I stumbled upon canned papaya chunks. I'm not a fan of canned fruit, but for baking, it can be inspiring. Here is what I came up with this morning, using coconut milk to keep up the tropical theme. Papaya is a wonder fruit, filled with digestive enzymes.

1 1/2 cups of my flour blend
1 teaspoon of xantham gum
1 teaspoon of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
One heaping cup of a mixture of mashed bananas and mashed papaya

1/8 cup of flax seeds or bran
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup of coconut milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup of maple syrup
handful of raisins
pinch of salt
(add 1/8 cup of other sweetener or sugar for a sweeter muffin) I don't have a big sweet tooth.

Coconut flour Muffin Tops

I'm a muffin girl, but the best part of a muffin is eating off the top. When I was a teenager, my mother and I would stop into Wild Oats for a morning glory muffin and coffee. I loved the tops, the bigger and floppier the top, the better. As it's a strange storming day here in London, I feel that baby Jake will have to put up with my experimentation as I make chocolate coconut muffin tops. We won't be off to the garden today!

1/4 cup of coconut flour
1/8 cup of my gluten free blend
1/8 cup of potato starch
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
2 eggs

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1/4 cup of coconut milk
1/4 grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/8 cup sugar or sweetener
1/4 cup or chocolate chips
Bake as you would bake cookies, but they will come out like fluffy muffin tops! yields 9

ps. Baby Jake seems to like them! As you see, although you can put real sugar here, I don't use white sugar for us.

Quinoa Flour!

Quinoa Flour!
Quinoa is a super food, a grain that is a staple in my diet. I always have a fresh batch of quinoa on hand in my fridge for me and my baby. I mix it into soups, make it into a pilaf salad, or sweeten the fluffy grain into a dessert. In creating my flour blends, I did some research using the grain I love in its flour state. Quinoa flour is now sold in many health food stores. It creates a dense, fudgey consistency that is great for a muffin to sink your teeth into.

Quinoa Flour Banana Muffin
Dry ingredients
½ cup quinoa flour
½ cup rice flour
½ cup potato starch
1 tsp (gluten-free) baking powder
1 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of clove
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
a pinch of salt

Wet ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup of mashed very ripe bananas
1 tbsp vanilla extract
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup of applesauce
1/3 cup of agave syrup
¼ teaspoon of lemon juice

Heat an oven to 340F/170C.
Mix the wet ingredients together and mix the dry ingredients together.
Combine these two without over mixing them.
These make 10 muffins
Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.