Love muffins

Ingredients

2 cups gluten-free plain flour
2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
½ cup almond meal
½ cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup (125mL) oil
125mL apple juice
2 granny smith apples, peeled and grated

Icing

2 cups icing sugar (gluten-free)
1-2 tablespoons water
red food colouring
heart sprinkles

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line muffin pan with muffin paper cases.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the almond meal and sugar. In a separate bowl or jug, measure out the apple juice and oil, then whisk in the eggs. Add to the dry ingredients with grated apple and mix until just combined.

Spoon into the paper cases and bake for 15-20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the muffins out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

To prepare icing, place icing sugar in a small bowl and add enough water to form a smooth spreadable paste. Add 1-2 drops of food colouring to make pink icing. Spread cold muffins with icing and sprinkle with heart shapes.

Arrange muffins in a heart shape on a large cake board and stand back while the afternoon tea guests attack!

Notes:

Another lactose-free and gluten-free recipe for my daughter and me… only 1 week to go on our dairy free trial. Use a basic vanilla cupcake recipe if you prefer for the cakes.
Muffins usually have a raised top; to make icing easier, use a serrated knife to slice the top off, giving you a nice flat surface. Leftover muffin tops can be hidden for a cook’s treat!
The pink icing and little hearts guarantee that these treats will be gone the very day of baking! Hide some for next-day lunchboxes.
Instead of the heart sprinkles (from supermarkets), you could splurge on some yummy foil-wrapped chocolate hearts.