Simple double-rhubarb muffins. With lemon icing

Muffins are a delightful kind of homemade sweets. It’s so easy to make twelve muffins, and you don’t even need to take your hand mixer out. They are immediately ready to be packed into your lunchbox so you can enjoy them at work, in the park, during a walk, and on top of that they are always perfect as a nice, small gift. They are usually simpler to make than any other cake: all you have to do is mix all the ingredients in a single bowl, pour them into a cupcake tray, and watch how they rise in the oven. And because this year I feel that rhubarb has finally grown on me (pun intended!), it’s time for a really simple, seasonal recipe for double-rhubarb muffins. Double, because I am pretty generous with fruit here and I recommend eating these muffins with an extra tablespoon of homemade, sweet and sour rhubarb jam. Optionally, as a really deluxe version, cover them with lemon tofu icing. And if you are afraid that 12 muffins is going to be too many – I have mentioned „nice gifts” before, right?

Very simple double-rhubarb muffins 

12 muffins

  • 2 cups of wheat flour
  • 3/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 tsp of sugar with vanilla
  • 1 tsp of baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 100ml rapeseed oil
  • 250ml plant-based milk
  • Juice from one lemon

  • 3-4 rhubarb stalks (around 2 cups of rhubarb cut into small cubes)
  • A tablespoon of potato starch (corn or tapioca is good too)
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp of sugar

  1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees.

  2. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add all wet ingredients: oil, plant-based milk and juice from one lemon. *

  3. Cut the rhubarb stalks into small cubes, mix in a separate bowl with a tablespoon of starch **, a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon.

  4. Add the rhubarb into the muffin batter, mix it just to combine the ingredients.

  5. Pour the muffin mix into a cupcake baking tray (alternatively use paper or silicon molds). Bake for 20/25 minutes (use a wooden stick to check if the muffins are still wet inside).

* Don’t worry, muffins won’t be too sour because of the lemon juice. Freshly squeezed juice will react with baking soda, and the result will be some beautifully grown and fluffy muffins.

** Rhubarb layered with starch won’t release a lot of juice, which means that it will stay moist and the muffins won’t be soaked with a lot of wet rhubarb.

Very simple rhubarb jam

(can be prepared while cupcakes are in the oven)

  • 3 rhubarb stalks
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • Optional: a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon

  1. Cut the rhubarb into small cubes, mix with the sugar, a pinch of salt and, optionally, a little of ground spices.

  2. Simmer in a small pot for around 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This simple jam thickens a little after cooling.

Optional: lemon tofu icing

As an extra topping, I recommend covering the muffins with this white lemon icing, then spoon of rhubarb jam and sprinkling it gently with cinnamon. That’s gonna turn ordinary seasonal muffin into a spectacular dessert.

  • 170g firm tofu
  • 3 tbsp of agave syrup (or powdered sugar)
  • pinch of salt
  • juice squeezed from one lemon

  1. Mix all the ingredients with a hand blender.

  2. If necessary, add a little bit more of the sweetener of choice – but remember that the cupcake itself is already sweet.

  3. The “tofu” taste will disappear after adding lemon and keeping the icing in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. The ingredients and flavours will combine well, creating a tasty and healthy icing.

Still hungry?