I have been a huge fan of Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio
According to Ruhlman, “a quick bread is composed of cake batter ingredients that are stirred together.” He goes on to say that “muffins are quick breads baked into cups.” Hence, my decision to make muffins. Ruhlman’s ratio for making a quick bread using wheat flour is 2 parts flour: 2 parts liquid: 1 part egg: 1 part fat.
The ratio I came up with for muffins uses almond flour, and is 4 parts flour: 4 parts egg: 1 part sweetener. After much experimentation, I can say that I doubt these proportions will work with other flours as almond flour is a very unique ingredient.
So why create this recipe at all? Well, it is still versatile in two ways. First, it is a wonderful template for a muffin recipe. You can experiment by adding different flavor combinations including: date walnut, lemon poppyseed, dried cranberries with white chocolate chips, cinnamon raisin, and orange dark chocolate chip. Second, you can scale up the recipe and make as many muffins as you like. Double it for 8 muffins. Cut it in half for 2. It’s that flexible.
The ratio for making a basic, lightly sweetened almond flour muffin is (4:4:1), and here is the complete recipe:
Almond Flour Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 ounces blanched almond flour (not almond meal), about 1 cup
- 4 ounces large eggs, about 2 large eggs
- 1 ounce honey, around 1 tablespoon
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine almond flour and baking soda
- In a large bowl combine eggs, honey, and vinegar
- Stir dry ingredients into wet, mixing until combined
- Scoop about ¼ cup of batter at a time into a paper lined muffin pan
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, until slightly browned around the edges
- Cool in the pan for ½ hour
- Serve with butter and jam
To make a loaf of quick bread, simply double the above batter and bake it for 35-40 minutes on the lower rack of your oven in an 6-½ x 4-inch baby loaf pan (Luminarc).
My findings? Because almond flour is more wet than wheat flour, I ended up eliminating the 2 parts of liquid that Ruhlman used in his ratios. And because almond flour is more fatty than wheat flour I have eliminated the fat that was part of his formula. Finally, I used equal parts almond flour and egg in my recipe because almond flour is heavy and requires extra leavening, and eggs are a wonderfully simple form of leavening that is high in protein.
I did not have a hypothesis when I began this experiment. I based my ratio on Ruhlman’s and started out with liquids, fat and all sorts of unnecessary other ingredients (that I found are not relevant when baking with almond flour). In order to come up with the recipe above, I baked the muffins 4 times before the result was remotely edible, and 5 more times to perfect them. As you can see, when it comes to baking, hands on is the only way to go; guessing does not work.
Hillra Qualls says
trying your Almond flour muffins. Thank you for this recipe. Hillra
Elana says
Hillra, you’re welcome!
Lulu says
How do you prevent losing part of the muffin bottom from sticking to the liner?
Elana says
Lulu, I haven’t had that happen :-)
Susan says
I’ve been using parchment cupcake liners for a couple of years and they are fabulous. Haven’t had anything stick to them yet. Amazon carries them….”If You Care” brand and they are unbleached too.
Elana says
Thanks Susan!
Rosa Robin says
I have acid reflux and avoid vinegar. Can I eliminate the a/c/v?
Elana says
Rosa, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Melie says
I drink a small amount of ACV to treat my reflux everyday. ACV is a natural killer of candida which is often the cause of reflux. Do a little reading and give it a try. At the very least, I doubt you’ll need to find a substitute for this recipe.
T. says
Can you use truvia powder instead of honey?
Elana says
T., I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Marne says
How many carbs/muffin?
Elana says
Marne, thanks for your comment! For more on that please go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/nutrition-information/
Enjoy!
Elana
Genine says
So yummy, I added a little cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Thank you for an easy recipe
Elana says
Genine, you’re welcome!
Ginny says
Thank you for the wonderful recipes, I was wondering if you ever use egg replacement? I’m on a clean diet for Hashimotos and I’m not supposed to have eggs.
Elana says
Ginny, thanks for your comment. Here’s a link to my Egg-Free Recipes page for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/egg-free-diet/
Enjoy!
Elana
anna says
Elana, thank you for this recipe! These have become my go-to paleo muffins. I’ve made them 5 or 6 times, and have a batch in the oven right now! I always add the streusel mentioned above, and usually get 6 or 7 small muffins out of this batch. It’s so easy, so simple, and so satisfying!
Elana says
Anna, I’m so happy to hear these are your go-to paleo muffins!
Denise Kennedy says
Loved having a smaller recipe! Just DH and me. I made a “streusel” topping with a couple of tablespoons of almond flour, a little butter, honey and cinnamon. Added a chopped up apple, so I got 5 muffins!
Elana says
Denise, glad you are enjoying this recipe! Love the streusel addition :-)
Emme says
Easy. No fuss. Perfect for small kitchens. Bakes in 10 minutes as mini muffins in a countertop oven.
Elana says
Emme, thanks for your comment and for letting me know these are easy and no fuss!