Gluten-free baking with coconut flour-blueberry chocolate muffins
As you may already know, I’ve been on on a gluten-free diet for the past two months (click here if you want to read more about why), and it can be a challenge at times. One of the hardest meals to figure out is breakfast! After years of being using to eating cereal or toast in the morning, it’s somewhat of a struggle getting used to just having fruit smoothies and eggs in the morning. Sometimes, I’ll have quinoa or amaranth pudding, but I miss biting into a muffin once in a while. That’s where these blueberry and dark chocolate breakfast muffins come in. They are made with coconut flour, coconut milk, blueberries, dark chocolate and other good-for-you ingredients. Read on for the recipe and more about coconut flour…
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When it comes to gluten-free baking, you probably know how hard it can be to develop recipes that taste good and have the right texture.My sister gave me this recipe, which I tweaked a bit to make my own. So why coconut flour? Well, it’s probably one of the most nutritionally dense gluten-free flours out there and lends a mild coconut flour (which I love!) to anything you make with it. Here are some of the many benefits of consuming coconut flour:
a) Coconut flour is low in carbohydrates and is also has a low-glycemic index, which means it’s a suitable flour for anyone trying to prevent spikes in blood sugar.
b) Coconut flour is high in fibre - just two tablespoons of this flour provides you with 20% of your daily recommended fibre intake.
c) It’s also a decent source of protein and healthy fats. Yes, it has saturated fats, but they are MCT (medium-chain triglycerides) that are metabolized differently by the body compared to the usual saturated fats.
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So where do I buy coconut flour?
It’s available at almost all health stores and bulk food stoes, but if you can’t find it locally, you can purchase it online from nuts.com.
How do I bake with coconut flour?
Since coconut flour has so much fibre in it, it tends to absorb a lot of moisture. More than you would think! In order to keep the baked products moist and soft, you’ll need to add more liquid than you would typically add to a batter. My rule of thumb is that for every ounce of coconut flour, you’ll need one egg to provide the moisture it needs and also help bind it together. In other words for every 1/8 cup, you’ll need one egg. Yes, that’s a lot of eggs!
What else I can use coconut flour for besides baked goods?
Sometimes I’ll add a bit of coconut flour to smoothies or soups to help bulk them up and add a bit of fibre. I’ve tried making “truffles” with the flour too and they turned out quite well. I’ll have to dig around to find that recipe!
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So now that you know a little more about coconut flour, let’s start cooking!
| Coconut flour muffins with blueberries and dark chocolate |
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- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp unrefined sugar or equivalent sweetener of your choice
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 2/3 cup coconut milk
- 3/4 cup blueberries
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks
- pinch of salt
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Mix the coconut flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Transfer the contents to a food processor.
- Add the sugar, coconut oil, vanilla extract, eggs and coconut milk to the food processor and blend well until smooth. (I suggest using a food processor instead of whisking because it’s important to moisten all the coconut flour. It can be hard to do this with a whisk.)
- Remove the mixture from the food processor and place in a bowl. Fold the blueberries and dark chocolate chunks into the batter.
- Pour the thick batter into silicone baking cups and place on a baking sheet. Fill each cup to about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until done. To check if the muffins are done, stick a toothpick in the centre. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.
Dairy-free
Gluten-free
Question of the day: Have you tried baking with coconut flour? What’s your favourite way of using it?
at 12:07 pm
Oh..that lonely muffin looks so cute…now I need to shop hunt for some coconut flour.
at 4:29 pm
Yum! I love baking with coconut flour than regular AP or whole wheat. It’s lighter and healthier
at 10:46 am
I have to try these, your photographs are so beautiful, how can anyone resist the temptation. Umh….I wonder if we have coconut flour in South Africa???
at 4:46 pm
Beautiful pictures Divya! I highly admire of you you fof your commitment to change for better and healthier lifestyle. I am lazy to change my diet and I know I’d go crazy being restricted to eat certain food. I look at you and sort of jealous of your strong determination. And what a wonderful way to discover new food that you enjoy. I’ve never worked with coconut flour but sounds really good!
at 6:12 am
I have experimented baking with GF flours and it’s actually really challenging. I haven’t tried coconut flour though. I don’t think it’s available in India.
Your muffins have come out really good
at 11:32 am
These pictres are breathtaking and i think they sell coconut flour at whole foods in the states… I will drop by there this weekend and check it out!
I just chcked out your bio and i am originally from toronto too! Woohoo for candians
I also spent my cildhood in saudi arabia…i miss the food there…lol. Don’t you?
at 4:04 pm
I finally got around to making these – so good!!!…the blueberries…and CHOCOLATE!! I will not tell you how many I already ate. One thing for the recipe measurements…I used Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour and 1/2 cup is about 55 – 60g. Just thought I’d put that out there for anyone using that brand.