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Deliciously Ella’s Apple and Banana Spelt Muffins

Although spelt flour is best for this recipe, it also works with plain gluten-free flour. We tried other flours, including brown rice, buckwheat and coconut, but found they didn’t create the right fluffiness. Also, note that the dough does look quite thick, so don’t  be surprised by that – it all comes together perfectly when baked.

Ingredients (makes 12)

2 red apples
3 ripe bananas, peeled
3½ tablespoons coconut milk (from a carton)
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

230g spelt flour
200g coconut sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (fan 180ºC). Line a 12-hole muffin tray with cases.

Core and peel one of the apples and cut it into small cubes. Leave to one side.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas until smooth, then add the milk and oil and stir together. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then add the apple cubes and give everything another really good mix. Pour the mixture into the muffin cases.

Before baking, cut the remaining apple in half, core it, then cut each half into thin slices. Top each muffin with three slices and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Put the tray into the oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the muffins are golden and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Once cooked, leave the muffins to cool in their tray for at least 10 minutes, to firm up, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling or serve them warm out the tin.

This is one of my favourite recipes in the book. We’ve become completely addicted to these muffins in our office and I’ve made them more times than I can count. They’re adapted from a recipe shared by the lovely Steph, who ran the kitchen in Weighhouse Street for a period. She brought them into work one morning and we all loved them so much that we had to put them on the menu.

Recipe extracted from Deliciously Ella The Plant-Based Cookbook, published by Yellow Kite, £25

Photography by Nassima Rothacker