Whenever you gather a group of people to eat together these days, there is always at least one food allergy, intolerance, or dislike to contend with. As a chef, I find it important to be as educated about as many different restrictive diets as possible in order to prepare decadent, delicious, healthy meals with a “lowest common denominator” approach! This week, I was cooking for a wonderful group of thirteen, and among them there was a dairy allergy, lactose intolerance, Celiac disease, peanut & cashew allergies, and a severe soy allergy – all of these in different people.
Despite priding myself on being a chef who specializes in dietary restrictions and is aware of the “ingredients in my ingredients”, this was my first time working with a soy allergy! I had not to this point fully appreciated how much soy exists in processed food. Having just thrown a handful of chocolate chips into cookie dough, the recollection of “soy lecithin” burst into my brain – and I was so sad to have to warn this super sweetie of a client away from the freshly baked vegan, gluten free, grain-free, delicious chocolate chip cookies. Luckily, he was only too thrilled to have ANOTHER muffin from the morning!
- 2 c gluten free flour – preferably rice flour based, like King Arthur’s All-Purpose GF flour mic
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ – ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ c sugar + 2 Tablespoons, separated
- ½ c oil – I used avocado for the light taste and texture
- 2 eggs
- 2 pears, chopped in small dice – can use 1½ – 2 c any chopped fruit
- 1 heaping tablespoon ground chia seeds*
- ½ c almond milk – or rice milk if you are allergic to nuts
- *I used chia here to avoid any particulates that may have been added during processing of flax meal, according to the package. If allergy is not SO severe, you may be able to use ground flax seeds just fine!
- Cupcake papers
- muffin tins
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon and set aside.
- Blend the ½ c sugar, oil, and eggs together, then add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- In another bowl, combine the pears, chia, and almond milk. Fold completely into the batter mixture.
- Using a ⅓ c measure, divide evenly among wrapper-lined muffin tins. Combine remaining 2 T sugar and cardamom, and sprinkle evenly over the top of the muffins.
- Pop into oven and bake until the top is firm yet springy, between 15 and 20 minutes, depending on the oven. You can also test with a toothpick!
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