Gluten-Free Apple Pie Muffins

This gluten-free apple muffin recipe makes the most of apple season. Soft and fluffy cinnamon spiked muffins, generously topped with a mound of sweet buttery cinnamon apple chunks and a crisp streusel topping.

Prep Time40

Cook Time40

Total Time1 20

Cuisine: British

Servings: muffins

Calories: 370kcal

Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

For the cinnamon apples

5 large apples (about 600-700g apples), peeled and diced to make 400g diced apples
30 g butter
1 tablespoon soft light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the muffin batter

120 g unsalted butter
120 g buckwheat flour
120 g almond flour ground almonds* in UK
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
100 g soft light brown sugar
2 eggs medium sized
120 g whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel topping

65 g soft light brown sugar
40 g buckwheat flour
40 g whole almonds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
75 g unsalted butter cold

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven and prepare the muffin tin

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan-assisted / Gas mark 4 / 350°F.
Line a 12 hole regular sized muffin tin with muffin cases.

Prepare the cinnamon apples

Melt the butter then add the brown sugar, diced apples and cinnamon. Place the lid on and cook on a medium heat for 5-10 minutes so the apples can slightly soften, stirring every so often.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Prepare the brown butter

Make the brown butter by placing the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Listen for hissing and cracking sounds as the butter melts and watch for little brown bits forming at the bottom of the pan.
Once the noises subside, the butter smells toasty, and is just starting to turn brown, remove from heat immediately to avoid burning.

Prepare the dry ingredients:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

Mix the wet ingredients:

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, milk, vanilla extract and the cooled browned butter.

Combine the mixtures:

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Allow to rest whilst you prepare the streusel topping.

Make the streusel topping:

Place the brown sugar, buckwheat flour, whole almonds, cinnamon, and salt into the bowl of your food processor.
Pulse the ingredients a few times to combine them and to break down the whole almonds into smaller pieces. Be careful not to over-process the almonds; you want a coarse texture.
Cut the cold unsalted butter into small cubes and add it to the food processor.
Pulse the mixture until the butter is incorporated and the streusel resembles coarse crumbs. You should see pea-sized bits of butter scattered throughout the mixture.

Fill the muffin cases

Divide the muffin batter evenly into the prepared muffin cases.
Spoon the caramelised apples onto the top of the muffin batter.
Scatter the streusel topping over the top of each muffin.

Bake

Bake the muffins for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool

Immediately remove the muffins from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack completely.

Video

Notes

Apples. Use sweet dessert apples like granny smiths, Braeburns or Pink Lady.

Eggs. The eggs used in this recipe are medium size, 60g each with shell and 50g without shell. If you can't get hold of medium eggs I suggest you weigh the amount.

Almond Flour. This recipe calls for almond flour which is blanched and ground whole almonds (without their skin). In the UK this kind of flour is sold in most major UK supermarkets labelled 'ground almonds' in the baking aisle. To make sure you know which almond flour you are choosing then check against this article The Difference Between The Almond Flours.

Buckwheat Flour. You can swap this flour for either an all-purpose gluten-free flour, sorghum flour or oat flour.

Brown Butter. When melting the butter use a light-coloured saucepan to easily monitor the butter’s colour and avoid burning. Once the butter has fully melted it will start to hiss and crackle. The butter is ready when these sounds start to subside, there is an appearance of brown flecks, and a toasted nutty aroma. Remove from heat immediately to prevent burning, keeping the tasty brown flecks in the butter.

How To Store

You can store the muffins in an airtight container (but preferably tin rather than plastic as it plastic will keep the muffins too moist). Then store them in a cool dark place for up to 5 days.

How To Freeze

You can freeze the muffins successfully for up to 3 months. Place in a resealable freezer bag or airtight container. Don’t forget to label including the date. To enjoy, you can thaw them individually at room temperature for about 2 hours.

US customary measurements

These US measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups

Nutrition information

Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification. The nutrition serving is for 1 muffin.

Nutrition