Spiced Sweet Potato and Pecan Muffins | gluten free

These gluten free muffins are fluffy and bouncy, and worthy of being your coffee shop favourite made right in your own kitchen!After my 14 km race a few weekends ago I had a massive surge of energy! Is anyone else like that after a great run? Or do I just have some weird runner’s high reaction? I came home after breakfast and did washing, cleaned out Penny’s yard, and made general tidiness in the house, and then I got into recipe making and photographing mode. My first creation: these Spiced Sweet Potato and Pecan Muffins. Oh my did these make the perfect afternoon tea with a cup of coffee and a warm puppy on my lap!

I love baking with sweet potato, it adds just the right amount of fluffiness and a slight earthy sweetness. And these muffins pair the seasonal power of sweet potato with toasted pecans and maple syrup. Add to these three a sprinkling of cinnamon and ginger and, for my northern hemisphere friends, these are practically autumn/fall in muffin form! I’m always jealous of your gorgeous autumn photos and treats at this time of year, even while I’m relieved that we are heading into summer (I guess the grass is always greener, right?), so these muffins are my attempt to add a little autumn into my corner of the world

These muffins are super simple to make. Once your sweet potato is roasted and cooled (see the tips in the recipe below), you simply whisk together the dry ingredients, whisk together the wet ingredients, then combine the two. After that you are only about 15 minutes away from warm, spiced, muffin-y goodness. And while these muffins are delicious at any temperature, I do recommend treating yourself to one straight from the oven (maybe with a little butter if you need some self care) because there’s nothing like a freshly baked treat with a little bit of steam rising from the crumb.Let’s just talk about that crumb for a minute. You know I am obsessive about ensuring that my gluten free treats taste just like the wheat-full version, and these muffins are no exception. They have the right bounce, not a trace of gumminess, and they are made with naturally gluten free flours that are easily found in most major supermarkets or health food shops. So don’t be afraid to try your hand at baking up these gluten free treats for your office or family and friends. Your gluten free requiring friends will

I highly recommend whipping these muffins up this weekend. They are perfect for a lunchbox treat, breakfast on the run (just pair with some Greek yoghurt and fruit) or a little pre-run carbohydrate boost! However you choose to enjoy these gluten free muffins, you are sure to fall under their spell (see what I did there….). 

Spiced Sweet Potato and Pecan Muffins

Gluten Free | Makes about 16 muffins | Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze, well-wrapped, up to two months

Note: To make these muffins even easier, I often wrap a sweet potato in aluminium foil and bake it in the oven until the centre is tender all the way through. Then let it cool down and keep it in the refrigerator for up to four days to be used in baking. You can of course, steam the sweet potato on the day of baking, just remember to let it cool completely before pureeing well and incorporating into the mixture.

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato, about 300-400g (to make 3/4 cup puree)
• 80 grams buckwheat flour
• 80 grams white rice flour
• 80 grams sorghum flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons rice bran or grapeseed oil
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 1 cup pecans, toasted

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Wrap sweet potato in foil and bake in oven for 45 minutes or until the middle is soft. Insert a metal skewer to test. Remove sweet potato from oven, unwrap, slice down the middle and allow to cool. You can do this process in advance, see note above.
2. Once sweet potato is cool, peel off skin, and puree well in the bowl of a small food processor or using a stick blender. Measure out 3/4 cup of sweet potato puree.
3. Line 16 holes of two 12-hole muffin tins with muffin papers. Set aside until required.
4. In a large bowl whisk together buckwheat flour, white rice flour, sorghum flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger until well combined.
5. In a separate bowl whisk together brown sugar, rice bran oil, maple syrup, eggs, milk, vanilla essence, and sweet potato puree.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
7. Reserve 16 whole pecans for topping the muffins. Chop the remainder into large chunks and mix through the batter.
8. Divide between prepared muffin tins.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cooking time will vary depending on your oven. I recommend switching the position of the trays at about 7 minutes and then checking at 15 minutes to see if they need more time.
10. Once cooked, remove from oven. Allow to cool for in the tins for 5 minutes before taking muffins out of pan to cool completely.