Sunday, February 21, 2010

Vegan Sweet Potato Muffins

From the title of this post it may seem as though I've reverted back to my vegan baking ways in hopes of convincing my dear readers that dairy and sugar substitutions are as good, if not better for making delicious baked goods. Well, to be honest, that wasn't my intention here whatsoever.

On this side of the kitchen a major detox is happening. For the past week and extending to the end of this next week I've cut out dairy, meat, refined sugar and booze. I've nearly forgotten the reasons for this detox by now and am starting to become quite wary of my murderous thoughts when I enter the corner store and smell the chocolate croissants cooking in the back. And poor Ben is probably tired of my unenthusiastic remarks about his dinners. "Oh, great, homemade spaghetti bolognese. Can we talk about my hot yoga class and brown rice instead?" He might be envious of the fact that I have to pee every ten minutes from drinking liters of lemon water, or his stomach might growl when I talk about my steamed vegetables and fresh fruit- but thus far, I haven't suspected a hint of jealously or heard any rumbly tummies when describing my extravagant feasts. Despite the fact that I'm unable to make my friends and lover envious of my detox, I have been able to feel a bit better, think slightly clearer and spend a hell of a lot less money on food this past week. Now, contrary to what you might be thinking- I'm not starving myself in the least. I'm just eating fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and no added crap. The week wasn't hard at all. The weekend was a different story. I normally relax on the weekend with glasses of wine while simmering lovely butter laden sauces and eating nibbles of cheese and bread- then wake in the morning to cure my hangover with fried eggs and possibly some sort of fried pork product. I was a bit lost on Saturday morning: hangover-less, eating a banana and able to remember every single detail of my completely dull Friday night.

Note to reader: I'm completely aware that there is a bottle opened wine in the picture above. I'll just go ahead and fess up to having a glass of wine last night. Ok, a glass and a half. And it made me completely tipsy then extremely drowsy. In my defense, it was part of my initial rules to allow myself a little wine over the weekend. I may have boasted to certain people that I didn't want it in the days leading up the weekend. I lied. Then Ben said, "It's Saturday, have some wine. It's not the end of the world". Thanks for taking care of my sanity darling.

Today, Sunday, was a typical grey day and I wanted to treat myself to something nice without breaking my detox rules. You know, those -set in stone I'll die a thousand deaths if breaking them- rules. Veeeeerrrry strict. Anyhoo, I can't tell you my thought process which got me in the kitchen making sweet potato muffins, but I'm glad my brain had the sense to make those connections. After a nice walk around Streatham Common I baked up these treats and was able to satiate my craving for something sugary without actually breaking my rules. The old days of vegan baking came in handy here and I started to think that I should do it more often. Should do, could do....anyway, regardless of your dietary preferences, this recipes is amazing. I used the recipe here as a guide, but ended up adding some oil and more sweetener because hey, if I'm going to cheat, I'm going to take it to the cheating max.






















These muffins are like survival food. Dense, complex and earthy. They weigh more than your average muffin giving the impression that they will be like eating rocks. However, because of the amount of oil they maintain a certain richness. Open them up warm and spread some vegan or regular butter on these guys. You won't be disappointed nor will you feel guilty. You're welcome.

This recipe made 16 muffins for me. Fill the batter right up to the top of the tin- they will rise, but not that much. And I'm sorry for you American's reading this- I've completely adopted to a UK measuring kitchen. The conversions aren't hard to figure out though and will turn out just as good.





















Sweet Potato Muffins:

4 small or 2 medium/large sweet potatoes
100 ml vegetable oil
460 grams flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 heaping tsp cinnamon
200 ml agave nectar + 2 T good honey (omit if you are a strict vegan, of course)
100 ml soy milk (without added sugar)
handful of raisins and a handful of chopped nuts (omit if you don't like them or add more if you like!)
2 T flax seeds
75 ml water
1 tsp good vanilla

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees

Wash the potatoes, prick with a fork and wrap in foil. Place in the pre-heated oven for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside

Then, in a blender mix the flaxseeds and water until frothy and set aside

Heat the agave and honey in the microwave or on the stove- put the raisins in and set aside

Once the potatoes have cooked through and have cooled a bit cut them up with a knife then blend them with the oil until smooth. Lower the oven temperature to 170 degrees and grease your muffin tin

Add the agave mixture, flax mixture, soy milk and vanilla to the blended potatoes and mix until throughly incorporated. Then pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture, add chopped nuts and mix until completely blended.

Pour into muffin tins and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Cool slightly before eating. Will store for a few days and will probably freeze well, though I don't think mine will live to see a freezer.





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