As the weather starts to grow colder, an afternoon spent in a warm kitchen starts to look increasingly tempting. These muffins are a Commonsense lunchbar favourite: the sharp spiciness of the ginger perfectly juxtaposes the rich creamy chocolate and earthy beetroot. "They're slightly crazy, but not too different," says our Kitchen Manager Scott. They also happen to be gluten free, dairy free, egg-free, vegan and nut free. Do your friends (and yourself!) a favour, and try this recipe out!
The finished product: heaven smeared with organic butter
Fresh from The Commonsense Kitchen
Scott Hayles and his team work in our kitchen premises adjacent to our Lower Hutt store. Their kitchen is small but highly streamlined with just four staff creating delicious lunchbar snacks and meals for our Wellington area stores.
Scott is a born Chef who knew from his school days that he wanted to work with food. He ran Days Bay café Sugar with his wife Rachel, until they sold it to start a family. Half of the current Commonsense Kitchen recipes were inherited from our former chefs, while the other half have either been dramatically tweaked or newly developed by Scott and his team.
Our Kitchen Manager Scott Hayles, framed by his kitchen artillery
Gluten free, dairy free, egg free & nut free
Don't be put off by the many ingredients, Scott assures us that these muffins are "pretty easy" to make. Gluten free baking usually uses a range of different flours to create the right texture, and binding ingredients such as flaxseed, psyllium husks or guar gum prevent the finished product from being too dry or falling apart. Apple sauce is used as a vegan alternative to egg: it keeps the mixture moist and also adds extra sweetness. If you don't have any apples around, Scott suggests substituting the same amount of mashed banana or blended steamed pumpkin. Please note that this mixture can be mixed a little more strenuously than a conventional muffin mix, as it's important that all the various ingredients are fully incorporated.
Scones, scrolls, pizza and muffins: cooling time at The Commonsense Kitchen
Chocolate, Beetroot & Ginger Muffins
Gluten, Dairy, Egg & Nut Free - Makes 6
Dry ingredients
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1 cup brown rice flour
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½ cup maize (corn) flour
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½ cup tapioca flour
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2/3 cup fair trade sugar
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2 tbsp. ground flax seeds
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2 tbsp. cocoa powder
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1 tsp baking powder
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1 tsp baking soda
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¼ tsp salt
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2 ½ tsp ground ginger
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½ tsp guar gum
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½ cup chocolate chips
Wet ingredients
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1 ½ cups grated beetroot
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1/3 cup sunflower oil
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1/3 cup apple sauce
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1 ½ cup soy milk
Instructions
Preheat oven for 180ºC.
In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients with the beetroot.
In another bowl mix all the wet ingredients together.
Add wet mix to the dry mix and stir gently until combined.
Portion batter into a lightly greased muffin tin.
Bake at 180ºC for about 30 minutes. The muffins are ready when a skewer pierced at the centre of the muffin comes out clean.
These scrumptious muffins are seasonally available from our four Wellington store lunchbars. They're perfect fresh just as they are, or toasted and smeared with organic butter.