Dessert, Breakfast, Snack – you Decide!
We are suckers of plums in desserts, which is why we wanted to make versatile plum muffins with a crumble on top. They’re not just dessert, at least for us. They can be a snack or breakfast. It’s whatever you want, we won’t judge on our end. This is going to sound strange but this muffin is kind of an ode to a long-ago childhood friend.
When I (Serena) was younger, a girl lived down the street from my babysitter. I think these days she would be what is now called a frenemy – we were competitive but also friends. She was a tad bit bossy but this girl’s mother was a lovely artist. She also happened to be a wonderful baker of a particular plum cake.
I still recall when she proudly set it on the table and smiled. I honestly was not excited about it because as a kid, fruit in cake just didn’t sound like chocolate candy or ice cream. When I took a bite though, I experienced all the love that went into baking it. It was sweet, tart, and delicious! I ended up asking for seconds and thirds.
To this day, I’ve been trying to recreate that dessert and I believe I’ve come up with one that brings me joy and also brings joy to our children. Our son will not stop asking for this and I am not going to pretend that it doesn’t make me proud to have made these. There’s something about nourishing your loved ones, especially when they have multiple allergies and with these plum muffins, it’s gluten, grain, and nut-free. Hey, did you know that plums can help with anxiety due to the antioxidant properties it contains (WebMD)? What’s not to love about these plum muffins?
quick Prep and a bit of baking time
The time it takes to prep these muffins is mostly attributed to bake time. So you can be hands-free for most of the recipe! The active time is 20 minutes between chopping plums and putting the batter and streusel together. We use our tiger nut all-purpose flour but you can use regular all-purpose flour if you don’t have allergies.
- Rinse 4 small plums and dry. Roughly chop those plums (about 230 grams) and set aside. Take 1/2 of a lemon. Zest with a microplane and juice with a handheld juicer unless you’re using lemon extract. If so, skip zesting and juicing. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350℉/177℃ and gather the ingredients. Line a 12-cupcake mold pan with cupcake liners and set aside. Now it’s time to bring it all together!
- In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat olive oil and sugars together. Add one egg at a time and beat until just incorporated. Then add vanilla extract, lemon juice, or lemon extract and beat until just incorporated again.
- To assemble the dry ingredients, whisk together the flour, rosemary, lemon zest, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the standing mixer and mix on medium until just incorporated. Then add milk and mix again. Fold in the plums with a rubber spatula until they are mostly distributed throughout the batter. Spoon batter into cupcake liners.
- Rinse and dry standing mixer bowl or use the large bowl that the dry ingredients were in if you are using a handheld mixer. We are about to make the streusel, which will go on top of the muffin batter. Combine butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon in standing mixer bowl with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer on low speed. We just want to mix enough to get a crumbly, coarse texture. Spoon the streusel on top of each muffin batter
- Bake in the oven for 50 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center of a muffin to test for doneness. If it doesn’t come out clean, bake for two minutes at a time until it does. Allow the muffins to cool before serving. Enjoy!
answers Just for you
How do you know when plums are ripe enough to use for baking?
Go by the feel, texture, and smell of the plum. If it gives a little when you press on it. It should also smell sweet and fruity (Village Harvest).
Can I use fresh rosemary?
Yes, you can use fresh rosemary but you may need to increase the amount that’s included in the batter by 1.5 tsps. This would be approximately two springs, chopped.
Plum Muffins with Crumble
Equipment
- 12 Cupcake liners
- 1 Separate large bowl with whisk
- 1 Knife
- 1 Microplane Optional
- 1 Handheld juicer Optional
Ingredients
- Plum Crumb Muffins
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- ¾ Cup Granulated sugar
- ¼ Cup Dark brown sugar
- 2 Eggs (room temperature)
- ½ TBSP Vanilla extract
- ½ Lemon (zest and juice) or 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 2 Cups Tiger nut all-purpose flour or wheat all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Dried rosemary
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1 Cup Plums (230 g)
- Streusel:
- 1 Cup Tiger nut all-purpose flour or wheat all-purpose flour
- ½ Cup Sugar
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- ½ Cup Unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
- Take a cutting board and knife. Rinse 4 small plums and dry. Roughly chop those plums (about 230 grams) and set aside
- Take 1/2 of a lemon and zest with a microplane and juice with a handheld juicer. You can skip the step on lemons if you prefer to use lemon extract. Set aside
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/177℃ and gather the ingredients. Line a 12-cupcake mold pan with cupcake liners and set aside
- In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a mixer, beat olive oil and sugars together
- Add one egg and beat until just incorporated. Follow with the second egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice or lemon extract. Repeat the process.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, rosemary, lemon zest, salt, and baking powder
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the standing mixer and mix on medium until just incorporated
- Add milk and mix again until just incorporated
- With a rubber spatula, fold in the plums until they are mostly distributed throughout batter
- Spoon batter into cupcake liners
- Rinse and dry standing mixer bowl or use the large bowl that the dry ingredients were in if you are using a handheld mixer. We are about to make the streusel, which will go on top of the muffin batter
- Combine butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon in standing mixer bowl with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer on low speed. We just want to mix enough to get a crumbly, coarse texture.
- Spoon the streusel on top of each muffin batter
- Bake in the oven for 50 minutes. If the toothpick doesn't come out clean when you insert it to test for doneness, bake for another two minutes at a time
- Allow the muffins to cool before serving. Enjoy!
How did it go with the plum muffins with crumble?
Drop us a comment down below if you made these! If you’re interested in our other muffin recipes, check out our pumpkin muffins!