Frangipane muffins (almond) with apricot jam

These are definitely one of my favourite muffins, and I have yet to encounter the first person who doesn’t like them (except for the odd person here and there who doesn’t like jam filling)!

frangipanemuffins with icing and chopped almonds

Frangipane cakes are available in practically every bakery in Belgium, so the almond cake is very well known around here. Most often, they are also filled with apricot jam. These vegan frangipane muffins have a lighter texture than the traditional (non-vegan) frangipane cakes sold in Belgian bakeries. A perfect muffin to convince those that remain skeptic of vegan baking and insist that you need eggs or dairy for traditional baking recipes. Not!

You can easily replace the traditional sugar with the same amount of coconut sugar, giving you a dark brown coloured muffin.

Frangipanemuffins with coconut sugar

Ingredients frangipane muffins with apricot jam (vegan)

1 cup + 2 tbs all-purpose flower
1 + 1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts salt
1/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup (coconut) sugar
1/4 cup yofu (soy yoghurt)
2/3 cup almond (or soy) milk
1 ts vanille extract
2 ts almond extract
12 ts apricot jam
optional: flower sugar + water (for icing on top)
optional: ground almonds or almond slices (for in the icing on top)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180° (350°).
Put paper liners in a muffin tin (12 muffins).

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt and almond meal.
In another bowl, mix the sugar with wet ingredients: canola oil, yofu, almond milk, vanilla extract and almond extract.
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mingle.

Put a drop of batter in each paper liner, so the bottom is covered (about a large tablespoon).
Put a teaspoon of apricot jam in the middle of the batter in each hole.
Cover each hole with the remaing batter (the muffin holes will be filled 2/3).
Bake for 24-26 minutes.
Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
Optional: Once cooled, mix flower sugar with some drops of water and put the icing on top. Put some ground or sliced almons in the icing.

The recipe for these vegan frangipane muffins is inspired by one I found in the baking book Vegan Cupcakes take over the World, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, and also inspired by this recipe on Fieke’s blog.