Gluten-Free Cranberry-Orange Millet Muffins 橘香蔓越莓小米馬芬

I can't believe that it's been more than half a year since the last time I blogged here! Life has been changing so much this past year. With some new work and a new schedule, I was completely overwhelmed. But don't get me wrong, it was a very good year! I felt very productive and happy to go back to what I used to do in NY: being a personal chef for someone who has special dietary needs and playing harp in various musical projects. Though my mind was mostly occupied, there was never a moment where I stopped thinking about, writing, and testing recipes; it's just that finding the time to photograph and actually put together a post was the most challenging part! This year, there are some new musical projects that are coming up, plus some possible other exciting things on the horizon. I'll still be busy, but no matter what, I'll be posting every month or so.

To start off the new year, I'm sharing with you today one of my favourite healthy breakfasts and snacks! The recipe is originally from Martha Stewart. Even though I've been making it for many years, and have even come up with my own version of it, it was only about a year ago that I started testing out this gluten-free version. As we all know, gluten-free has been all the rage in recent years. I have to admit that as a blogger, I've been feeling the pressure to provide gluten-free recipes. Even though I've written many gluten-free recipes, I don't eat strictly gluten-free. If I choose to bake gluten-free, it's because it gives me another option, and sometimes I honestly enjoy both the taste and the texture, but I don't eat it because I can't digest gluten. I was contemplating whether I should share this version or not, and in the end, I decided to do it--not because I believe all of us need to eat gluten-free, but rather because it'll give you a greater variety of food options if you happen to be tired of regular muffins.

When I first saw this recipe on the Martha Stewart Show, the idea of adding whole millet in the batter was quite intriguing. I just had to make it right away, and needless to say, I fell in love with it! Millet is one of the most digestible and non-allergenic grains, plus it's high in protein, B vitamins and minerals. What I love about this gluten-free version is that the top of the muffin is slightly crunchy, and when the crispy little millet pieces pop in your mouth, combined with the soft squishiness of the cranberries in each bite, it's like a carnival of textures! I also used a little bit of dried cranberries in addition to the fresh ones to balance the tartness of the fruit without having to add much sugar (and to add even more texture). This gluten-free version has been one of our favourite muffin-breakfasts. It feels so healthy, I can easily eat two of them in the morning!

Gluten-Free Cranberry-Orange Millet Muffins (Makes 12)

 

A: 3/4 C gluten-free all-purpose flour (I use Cannelle Boulangerie gluten-free all-purpose flour)
    1/2 C almond meal
    1/2 C gluten-free oat flour
    3 T millet flour
    1/2 millets
    1 1/2 t gluten-free baking powder
    1 t sea salt

2 C fresh or frozen cranberries

B: 9 T coconut oil, room temperature (should be soft, but not melted)
    1/3 C light brown sugar

1/4 C maple syrup (room temperature)

2 extra large eggs (room temperature), beaten

C: 1/2 t vanilla
    zest of 1 navel orange

1/2 C vegan milk

1/4 C dried cranberries

*C = cup, T = tbsp, t = tsp,

1. Line the muffin pan with 12 silicone muffin cup liners or coat the muffin pan with cooking spray.

2. Mix all ingredients A in a medium-sized bowl and mix well with a whisk.

3. Place the fresh/frozen cranberries in another bowl, coat them with about 2 t of mixture A.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat ingredients B on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes with paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the maple syrup and beat for another minute. *If your coconut oil is a little bit hard, beat it first before mixing with the sugar.
6. Add the eggs little by little while the the machine runs on medium speed. Beat until combined.

7. Add ingredients C and mix well.

8. Add ingredients A and mix on low speed, then add the milk. Continue to mix until just combined.

9. With a spatula, fold in all the cranberries.

10. Divide batter evenly into the 12 muffin cups.

11. Place the muffin pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes until the top is slightly golden. Rotate once halfway during baking. *You can use a toothpick to insert in the center of a muffin; if it comes out clean, it is done.

12. Take the muffins out of the muffin cups and let them cool on a rack. Enjoy them either warm (which I love) or room temperature.

To store and serve: You can store them in an airtight container for 2-3 days or keep them refrigerated for a week. You can also wrap them individually in plastic wrap and bag them, then freeze them for 2 months. Reheat them before serving, it'll taste like they're freshly baked!


                                                                                               - Yvonne

時間過的真快，我不敢相信上ㄧ次po文章已是半年多前前的事了！這ㄧ年來由於接了幾個不同的工作，在生活上也同時轉變了許多。本來都是以白天的時間寫作或拍照，但工作之後就只有下午剩下的ㄧ點時間燒菜。不過雖然這一年來確實有比較忙碌，但卻也感到過的很充實，因為演奏豎琴與幫助需要吃特別飲食習慣的人畢竟都是我從前在紐約長期的工作，能再回到類似的工作崗位令我非常開心。事實上這段時間我從來沒有停止寫食譜或試驗新點子，只是ㄧ直沒有很多時間好好坐下來寫完整的食譜、文章或做攝影。然而新的ㄧ年剛到來，我決定無論無何ㄧ定要在二月來臨之前趕緊po上ㄧ兩個新食譜。

其實今天分享的這個食譜從ㄧ年多前就ㄧ直想寫了，這食譜是許多年前我在 MarthaStewartShow 看到的，當時我是第一次見到將整顆的小米放在馬芬裡面，讓我非常的好奇。試了之後果然非常好吃，因為咬下去的每ㄧ口都有ㄧ顆顆脆脆的小米與軟軟又酸溜溜的蔓越莓在嘴裡。而且小米是所有穀類最容易消化、也是非過敏性的食物，它還含有不少蛋白質、維生素B與其它礦物質等，加上蔓越莓含有許多的抗氧化物質，多吃對身體有益，這樣的組合真是吸引人！然而因為我對健康飲食的愛好，多年來我已將食譜做了許多更改，例如將奶油改為我喜愛的椰子油、或是使用較無加工的糖與減少它的份量等等。如今這個食譜已成爲我和老公最愛的馬芬之一，每年蔓越莓的季節都ㄧ定會做來吃。由於成份很健康，ㄧ次吃兩個也不覺得太多！ o((*^▽^*))o

以上英文版的食譜是無麩質的，我在中文版的食譜裡也會分享以提供有需求的朋友們嘗試。在國外這五年來特別的流行無麩質飲食法(Gluten-Free Diet)，身為ㄧ個部落客與家庭廚師，我承認我不得不嘗試與寫ㄧ些無麩質的食譜供大家參考。事實上，我個人並沒有特別遵照任何的飲食方法，而我對無麩質的飲食法也並不完全認同，因為它其實是自體免疫疾病乳糜瀉患者(celiac disease)所需的飲食法，並不是所有人都需要。而麩質也不是都是不好的，只是要謹慎選擇，盡量不吃太多加工的食品。話說我雖然不是無麩質的飲食者，但我偶爾卻喜歡使用不同的穀類粉去烘焙，也喜歡那無麩質的質感，這個無麩質馬芬食譜無誤是如此！它的質感不像有些無麩質食品那麼軋實，而外層也比以麵粉製的脆，我個人非常喜歡。若是對無麩質有興趣的朋友們可以試試看喔~

橘香蔓越莓小米馬芬 (12 個)

A: 低筋麵粉 (或 all-purpose flour) 1 1/2 杯 *對無麩質(Gluten-Free)有興趣的朋友們可以參考食譜下方的材料
    全麥麵粉                               3 大匙
    杏仁粉 (almond flour)             1/4 杯
    小米                                    1/2 杯
    泡打粉                                 1 1/2小匙
    海鹽                                    1 小匙

新鮮或冷凍的蔓越莓 2 杯

B: 椰子油    9 大匙 (放室溫)
    二級砂糖 1/3 杯

楓糖          1/4 杯 (放室溫)

蛋 (大顆) 兩顆，放置於室溫並打散 (約 250 g)

C: 香草精   1/2 小匙
    橘子皮屑 1  大匙

牛奶或素奶  1/2 杯

蔓越莓乾     1/4 杯

1. 將馬芬模型噴上ㄧ層油或放入烤紙杯。*我使用的是可以重覆使用的silicon不沾黏烤杯。

2. 將材料 A 篩過放入盆中。

3. 取2小匙與新鮮或冷凍的蔓越莓混合。

4. 將烤箱預熱至180 C/350 F。

5. 使用攪拌器以高速將 B 料打至奶霜狀，然後加入楓糖繼續再打約ㄧ分鐘。*在國外冬季的室溫很冷，使得椰子油稍微硬一些，所以我先將椰子油打軟再加入糖。相反的，若椰子油已在微熱的室溫溶化，可放入冰箱5-10分鐘。

6. 以中速慢慢地邊打邊加入打散的蛋汁。*若呈有點豆花狀沒有關係。

7. 混合後加入材料 C 繼續打ㄧ下。

8. 加入材料 A 以慢速混合，再加入素奶繼續混合，然後加入所有的蔓越莓與蔓越莓乾，並以拌刀輕輕混合即可。*注意不要過度攪拌，要不然烤出來質感會較硬！

9. 將麵糊平均分攤倒入烤模內。

10. 將烤模放入預熱的烤箱中烤25-30分鍾至稍微金黃，之中將烤盤轉向ㄧ次。*使用竹籤插入馬芬中央，若取出後沒有沾黏上麵糊就是好了。
 
11. 將馬芬從模型中取出並放在架上至微溫或涼再食用。*我個人喜歡有點微溫，因為剛烤出爐吃出來比較鬆軟，是最新鮮最好吃的了！

保存方式：放在密封的容器內可保存約2天，若放冰箱可保存5天，也可以保鮮膜包好冷凍保存2個月。食用的之前再放入烤箱烤ㄧ下就會像剛出爐的一樣。



無麩質飲食者可將以上的A料以這裡的A料代替，其餘的部分無需要變更。
A: 無麩質粉 (gluten-free all-purpose flour) 3/4 杯 (我使用的是 CannelleBoulangerie gluten-free all-purpose flour)
    杏仁粉 (almond meal)                         1/2 杯
    燕麥粉 (oat flour)                               1/2 杯
    小米粉 (millet flour)                            3 大匙
    無麩質泡打粉                                      1 1/2 小匙 *對麩質沒有過敏者可用ㄧ般的泡打粉 


                                                                                               -Yvonne  

© recipe and photos by My Chouchoux