Chestnuts have always had a special place in my heart. So I needed to create a sweet recipe with them and the result are these vegan chestnut and walnutcream filled chocolate muffins.
Where I live it is very common to set up little stand or huts that sell roasted potatoes and chestnuts with the beginning of fall sesason. They sell their produce until early spring. It is such a delight to just stop by, and leave with a small bag of warm goodness on a cold day.
And while I always used to go for the potatoes as a small child, over the years I rather liked picking the chestnuts. But somehow I feel that these little “nuts” (that are actually in a different category than peanuts or tree nuts) get too less attention in the modern baking world. It is such a pitty, as they do not only contain quite a lot of health benefits, but also have this special, slightly sweet taste and chunky-creamy texture!
Muffins with a hidden surprise…
Now you know I LOVE chestnuts. But so do I LOVE surprises- the ones od a good kind only 😉
On one of my many walks, while I was dreaming up what I could bake or cook next, it suddenly came to my mind that the world needs more sweet recipes that use call for chestnuts! But they should be involved in a more, well… special way. Do you know these lollies, that hide either a surprisingly fizzy powder or chewing gum in their center? I actually never really liked lollypops as a small child, but if I had one, i always hoped it contained some kind of “surprise”. Or the chocolates, that revealed a strawberry flavoured cream or nutcream at the first bite? Whatever sort of sweet it was, I loved the ones that seemed so “simple” from the outside and hid their “true beauty” within.
And so I thought: “Make chocolate chestnut muffins, but hide the chesnuts INSIDE!”. Said, done. Ok, well my first attempt didn’t go so well- the texture was crumbly and salty and not sweet at all and the filling got too firm during the baking process (probably because I left them in the oven for *a bit* too long…). However, my second attempt worked.
It actually REALLY worked: the texture of the muffins is fluffy, they are not salty, sweet enough and have a creamy-dreamy chestnut and walnut filling. Oh, and not to forget they smell heavenly!
About these vegan chestnut and walnutcream filled chocolate muffins
When you read the ingredients you might see “aquafaba”- I think that most people already know what it is, but for those who are not familiar with the term: it is the water of cooked or canned chickpeas and forms stiff peaks when whisked with an electric mix. I haven’t tried the recipe without aquafaba, but I am pretty sure it contributes to a more fluffy texture of the muffins!
I hope you give chestnuts a try and chance to win your heart (if they haven’t already!) and if you like surprise-centers as much as I do, I am sure you’ll love them! Just in case you need more fall-inspired recipes, these might be the right ones for you:
In case you make these muffins, make sure to tag me Instagram so I can see your beautiful creation and/or leave a comment how you like the recipe!
ALL THE BEST
Vegan Chestnut& walnutcream filled chocolate muffins
Ingredients
batter
- 125 g flour *
- 1 heaped Tsp baking powder
- 1/2 Tsp baking soda
- 40 g cacao powder
- 75 g coconut sugar **
- 125 g apple sauce unsweetened
- 1 Tbsp ground flaxseeds
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) almond milk unsweetened
- 1 heaped Tbsp (20g) cashew butter
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) aquafaba
chestnut& walnutcream filling
- 100 g packaged and steamed chestnuts
- 60 g walnutbutter
- 60 g date- or maplesyrup
- 1 Tsp vanilla extract
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) almond milk unsweetened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Mix flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of water and let stand for 10 minutes.
- In a larger bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Add wet ingredients except aquafaba into a different (smaller) bowl. When flaxseeds are ready, add the too and give it a good mix.
- Combine mix and dry ingredients. In a clean bowl beat auqafaba with an electric whisk untilstiff peaks form. Fold into the batter.
- For the filling simply blend together chestnuts, walnutbutter, almondmilk and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour about 3/4 of a tablespoon into each of the 12 preapared muffinforms. Divide filling evenly between them, making sure it is placed in the middle of each muffin. Cover the fillings evenly with the rest of the batter. Top with crushed walnuts.
- Decrease temperature to 180C. Bake muffins on the middle rack for about 20 minutes. Let cool completely and Enjoy!
They taste delicious 😋
Oh thank you!