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:
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.
Comments
277 responses to “Almond Flour Muffins”
Elana,
I love these muffins and all your recipes but I’M a bit confused as to the portion of the almond flour it says 4 ounces or 1 cup, but 1 cup is 8 ounces. How much is the correct portion?
Thanks for your help.
Susan, 1 cup of liquid weighs 8 ounces, 1 cup of almond flour weighs 4 ounces :-)
I love your recipes and all that you share. When I tried this I added frozen blueberries and found they needed more baking time; perhaps the frozen blueberries added too much dampness to recipe? Unfortunately, I then baked too long, and muffins seem d to get too dry. I’ll try again w/o blueberries or w/ one of additions you suggested. Thank you for any comments
Helene, here’s a link to my Blueberry Muffin recipe for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/blueberry-muffins/
Enjoy!
Elana
Thank you Elana. I really enjoy eating healthy and do what I can to take care of myself. I sustained a concussion from a serious car accident on July 10 and seems that some symptoms are similar MS symptoms, so trying to take extra care
Helene, I’m so sorry to hear that –I hope you’ll stay in touch and keep me posted on how you’re doing.
Can onise lemon juice instead od apple. Cider vinegar?
Biljana, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
I’ve tried so many muffin recipes that didn’t work. I was ready to give up! Thanks for a delicious recipe (that worked). I used stevia instead of honey and added 1/2 tsp vanilla.
Maria, I test my recipes around 20 times before they get published on my site, so that they work every time :-)
I was struggling to find a recipe for pumpkin seed flour, so I tried this out since I was told it was a 1:1 ratio to almond flour. It was a good consistency (not crumbly or dense, good amount of sweetness) such a snap to make, and everybody loved it. I’m definitely saving this recipe for the future. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks Jordan!
I made these recently. 1) served with tuna salad, salad 2) served with chili 3) Leftovers toasted as garlic bread and in the morning toasted with butter, tasted like a corn muffin. Very easy to make and eat.
Thanks Estelle!
would this recipe work with a nut flour blend? it has almond,coconut,pecan and walnut flour in it.I have gone keto and would love some Delicious muffins.
Ariel, I haven’t tried that so not sure. Almond flour is perfect for a keto diet :-)
Any ideas on the nutritional facts?
Nora, for more on that please go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/nutrition-information/
Have a wonderful day!
Elana
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