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Date Almond & Honey Muffins

Moist, naturally sweetened muffins with almonds and wholewheat flour
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Makes: 12 muffins
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Ingredients
  

  • 100 gms dates (about 1 cup) (see notes)
  • 1/4 cup water (60 ml)
  • 150 gms butter at room temp
  • 3/4 cup honey (190 ml)
  • 3 eggs (I haven't tried any substitutes)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup ground almonds (100 gms) (see notes)
  • 1 cup plus 1 tbsp wholewheat flour (125 gms)
  • 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
  • 1 and 1/2 tsps baking powder

Instructions

  • Deseed the dates and chop them into small pieces. Add them to a saucepan with the water and cook for about 5 minutes, until they have softened, the water has almost disappeared and they look kind of jammy. Turn off the heat and let them cool.
  • In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180 C and line 12 muffin moulds with liners.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and honey with a hand mixer on low speed, until smooth. Then add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating after each. The batter will look a little curdled at this stage, it's ok.
  • Now add the cooked dates and the ground almonds and beat briefly to combine.
  • Finally, sift in the flour, salt and baking powder and fold gently with a spatula to combine. Avoid over-mixing the batter.
  • Divide the batter equally into the muffin moulds. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.
  • Let the muffins cool for 15 minutes, then dig in while warm! Allow them to cool completely before storing in an airtight tin for 4 to 5 days at room temperature and longer in the fridge. Happy baking!

Notes

*Don't worry too much about what dates to use and what size they should be. A couple of dates more or less won't make a huge difference. If you have pre-pitted dates, you can use them as is without changing the measurement.
*I used sliced almonds that I ground finely in my blender. You could also use store-bought almond flour which is finer, the end result will have a little less texture.
*You can also bake this as an 8" round cake, increasing the baking time to about 45 mins.
*Adapted from Rachel Allen's 'Cake'