Vegan Coffee Muffins with Salted Caramel Core
Muffins are always a good idea – whether it’s for brunch, breakfast, a picnic, or as a snack. We already have vegan strawberry breakfast muffins, vegan blueberry muffins with crumbles and vegan chocolate-cherry muffins with cheesecake filling on the blog, but we just can't have enough, right?
Today we have some even more extraordinary ones for you: chocolate and coffee muffins filled with a salted caramel cream, and topped with coffee flavored whip cream. It’s the perfect match!
It took me quite some time to get the filling right. At first, I tried making caramel myself using coconut milk and coconut blossom sugar. That didn't work too well. Next, I created a filling using vegan cream cheese. The filling tasted great, but the result after baking was not quite as I imagined. Finally, I came up with the idea of adding the filling after baking, which worked great! Everyone at the office loved them!
So you see that coffee plays THE central role in our muffins. Therefore, we are delighted that we are supported by Coffee Circle, whose coffee is also diligently drunk in our office. The coffee company from Berlin scores points with us not only because their coffee tastes so good, but also because it's fair and directly traded - so fair that in the end more arrives at the farmers than in comparison to fair trade seals. All people involved are treated and paid fairly, from the production process to the sale. 1 € per kg of coffee is additionally invested in education, clean drinking water, and sustainable coffee cultivation in the growing region - in the long term and independent of Coffee Circle. So far, 2.5 million € have been collected, which has already helped 200,000 farmers. In addition to the social aspect, Coffee Circle also attaches great importance to the quality of the coffee. The coffee beans are processed in their own roastery in Berlin, sold in their cafés, or shipped climate-neutral via their online store. For our recipe, we used the Sierra Nevada coffee for our recipe.
Vegan Coffee Muffins with Salted Caramel Core
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 290 ml (1.25 cups) strong coffee (e.g. Sierra Nevada from Coffee Circle).
- 250 g (2 cups) spelt flour
- 120 g (0.66 cup) brown sugar
- 30 g (0.25 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 16 g (3 tsp) baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 12 g (3 tbsp) coffee powder (e.g. Sierra Nevada from Coffee Circle)
- 70 g (0.66 stick) vegan butter
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp vegan butter (for greasing)
For the salted caramel cream:
- 100 g (3.5 oz) vegan caramel sweets
- 150 g (0.66 cup) plant-based plain cream cheese
- salt to taste
For the frosting:
- 100 ml (0.5 cup) plant-based unsweetened whipped cream
- 4 g (1 tsp) cream stiffener
- 1 tsp coffee powder (e.g. Sierra Nevada from Coffee Circle)
- 1 tbsp agave syrup (optional)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (top and bottom heat). Prepare some strong coffee and let it cool.
Add the dry ingredients for the muffins to a bowl and mix well. Melt the vegan butter in the microwave and add to the dry ingredients. Also, add the apple cider vinegar and cooled coffee and stir to combine everything with a whisk or a hand mixer.
Grease a muffin tin with vegan butter and divide the batter evenly between the cups. Bake the muffins for approx. 25 minutes at 180°C/355°F (top and bottom heat). Let cool out completely
Tip: To check whether the muffins are ready, stick a toothpick into them. If it comes out clean, your muffins should be ready.
In the meantime, melt the vegan caramel sweets either in a double boiler or in the microwave. Add half the vegan cream cheese and mix well. If the caramel cools too quickly, heat the mix again briefly until smooth. Next, refrigerate the cream. Once the cream is chilled, add the remaining plant-based cream cheese and salt to taste. Refrigerate again.
Whip the vegan cream in a bowl until it’s stiff. Slowly add the cream stiffener and coffee powder. You can add agave syrup to taste. Refrigerate until cool.
Carefully hollow out the tops of the cooled muffins so you’re able to pour in the salted caramel cream. You can do this either using a piping bag or a spoon.
Pipe the coffee flavored whip cream in the center of the muffins. Finally, sprinkle a little cocoa powder on top.
