I properly love these muffins. They look and taste like a treat plus they have a cup of parsnip in them…….and you can’t tell!! At least my son can’t and that’s all I’m looking for really. I love parsnip for it’s easy ability to hide, I cook it, purée it and stir it into a lot of our meals so discovering it also hides well in baking has been a massive thrill. If you are parent trying to persuade your kids to eat more veg or you’re trying to eat more yourself these muffins are fab. I bake these with eggs as my son passed his baked egg challenge this year so I try to feed him baked egg regularly. They can be baked without but they’ll be best eaten fresh or gently reheated (20 seconds in the microwave per muffin to freshen it up). They probably don’t need as long as 22 minutes to bake but despite over 6 months of my son eating baked egg I’m still a little terrified of it and bake the muffins till they are really really baked!

Ingredients

2 cups/300g plain gluten free flour

1/2 cup/100g sugar

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup/250ml dairy free milk (I often use Koko coconut milk for muffins) mixed with a generous splash of lemon juice

2 eggs (or 1/4 cup apple sauce and an extra teaspoon of baking powder)

1/4 cup/60ml sunflower oil

1 large parsnip finely grated (makes approximately a cupful)

Dairy free chocolate chips to taste. I like to use Plamil or I’ve used a small packet of chocolate orange buttons broken up with great success. You don’t need loads as the muffins are sweet but I won’t judge if you do use loads. A small handful is a good guide.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 12 cup muffin tray

Measure flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar & salt and whisk together in a large bowl

Combine the remaining wet ingredients in a jug or bowl and mix well

Make a Well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet mix into the bowl. Stir until combined then add in the grated parsnip and the chocolate chips

I like to use an ice cream scoop to measure the mix equally but a spoon will also work. Divide into the 12 muffin holes of your pre prepared tin (I bake straight in the tin as the baked muffins often stick to paper cases, you can pop them into cases once the muffins are baked if you so desire.

Bake for 22 minutes then remove from the oven. Once the tin is cool enough to handle gently remove the muffins (I slide a flat teaspoon in the edge of the muffin cups and they lift out easily) and place on a wire rack to cool.

Best eaten the day you bake them but also good the next day with warm custard or gently warmed in the microwave. The muffins freeze well and can be defrosted one at a time on low in the microwave for 1 minute.

We like to eat our muffins cut in half with dairy free spread