Fluffy, squidgy, lightly spiced bakery style breakfast muffins, swirled with the easiest homemade blackberry jam. Autumn cosiness in every bite!

I can’t describe the joy I’m feeling sharing my first autumn recipe for this year with you.  I LIVE for autumn.  The cosiness, the warming spices, something bubbling on the stove or baking in the oven.  And it doesn’t get more autumn than warm blackberry jam breakfast muffins and a big cuppa something to get you started on those chilly mornings.

Of course these vegan muffins can be eaten literally any time of the day.  But I’m a firm believer in starting the day right – be it a healthy baked oats, tofu scramble or dessert for breakfast in the form of these sweet, spicy and delightfully fluffy muffins (fluffy muffins ha!).

Let’s talk muffin ingredients:

Blackberries – fresh or frozen is perfectly acceptable to make the jam.  Please don’t be put off by the whole making your own jam thing.  It’s literally 15 minutes to make and a whole truck load of sugar less than anything you can buy in the shops.

Syrup – I use agave syrup when making jam but you can use maple syrup or regular caster sugar.  Agave has a lower GI than sugar but is around 30% sweeter so you’ll need to use less agave than you would sugar.

Apple cider vinegar – vinegar in baking?  If you’ve been here before you’ve probably read about using apple cider vinegar in baking.  It has a two-fold reason for being here.  First it curdles the milk, making something similar to buttermilk, which gives a richer flavour to baked things.  Second it causes a chemical reaction with the bicarb resulting in those lovely little air bubbles and thus light fluffy muffins 😉

How to make these bakery style breakfast muffins:

Start with the jam – this can be done up to 3-4 weeks in advance if you store the jam in a sterilised container in the fridge.  I’d recommend doing it at least the day before so it has ample time to cool.  But it’s literally a 15 minute job and can be bubbling away while you cook dinner!

Put the blackberries, syrup and orange juice in a saucepan and bubble gently for 10 minutes (maybe a little longer if using frozen blackberries) until you can squish the blackberries with the back of a spoon.  Squish as much as you like!  Stir in the chia seeds then cook for another minute.  Allow the jam to cool slightly before spooning into a sterilised jar if you’re making well in advance or a lidded container.

For the muffins, whisk the apple cider vinegar into the milk then set aside while you weigh out the dry ingredients.

Put the flour, sugar, bicarb and spices into a large bowl and whisk or stir together.

Add the oil to the milk then pour into the bowl of dry ingredients.  Mix well, stirring up from the bottom of the bowl, making sure there are no flour ‘pockets’ remaining.

Spoon into muffin cases – this mix makes 12 regular size muffins – filling them roughly 2/3 full.

Place a spoonful of jam into each muffin then gently swirl the jam into the batter using a skewer or cocktail stick.  I actually used a fondue fork because it was all I had!

Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.  Allow to cool in the tin for a couple of minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Storing your muffins:

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.  These muffins also freeze really well, I put them in reusable plastic bags or tubs.  Fancy a warm muffin for breakfast?  Simply zap in the microwave for a few seconds!

Looking for even more vegan muffin recipes?  Try these:

Caramel Apple Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

Raspberry and Almond Muffins

Carrot Cake Muffins

Chocolate Chip Muffins

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