Fresh coconut Kenyan-style breakfast muffins sound like a delicious way to start our mornings! Usually when we hear the word ‘muffin’ we automatically assume that it means fattening or unhealthy. Fortunately, I’ve discovered that Kenyans are very healthy people and take pride in eating a whole foods diet. Preparing a tray of muffins so you can quickly grab one in the morning will also make life much more convenient.
You see, when I first got to Kenya, I moved around quite a bit. I met a lot of new people and this one lady served us these incredibly tasty and healthy fresh coconut muffins. I was really impressed because I didn’t realize how popular it is to live a healthy life here too.
I had to go out and find a recipe to make these myself. If you enjoy baking now and then, this is a great recipe to try because it’s really relaxing and simple to prepare. The best part about these muffins is that they’re baked with freshly grated coconut. Once you get a taste of this, there’s no going back.
Guess what? They’re even better when you leave some chunky bits. It just makes the texture of the muffins pop.
Fresh Coconut Kenyan Style Muffins
This is a really simple recipe. As with anything you cook yourself, you can always swap in or swap out certain ingredients that you’d prefer. It all depends on your preferences and health goals. Personally, I don’t like cooking with too many oils, refined sugars, and flours. Therefore, I generally use fruit or honey for sweetness, wholewheat or almond flour, and olive oil for healthy fats.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- Chia Seed
- Flaxseeds
- Bananas
- Almond/Wholewheat Flour
- Whole/Almond Milk
- Lemon/Lime Zest
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
- An egg
- Vanilla Extract
- Freshly Grated Coconut
- Bicarbonate Soda
- Baking Powder
- Cinnamon
Preparation
1. Mix 1/2 cup of room temperature whole milk/almond milk with the juice of 1 lemon. Then allow the mixture time to sit and thicken for about 10 minutes.
2. Beat 1/2 cup of raw honey with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add salt to one fresh egg (old eggs make pastries have that egg-like smell). Beat it, add to the honey-oil mixture. Now you can add some lemon/lime zest (grated skin), about 1 teaspoon. Then add 1/4 teaspoons of vanilla extract/essence. Mix well. Add the milk lemon mixture. (buttermilk)
3. In another bowl, mix 3/4 cup of sifted whole wheat/almond flour, 1 cup of freshly grated coconut, 1/2 cup of mashed overripe bananas. Now add 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (this allows your muffin mixture to rise in the oven). Finish it off with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder as well as 1 teaspoon of flax seeds, and chia seeds.
4. Now mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Donβt over mix. Cover and leave for about 30 minutes to 1 hour for the flavors to develop.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C, grease muffin pan with olive oil and dust with wheat/almond flour for best results. Bake for about 17 minutes. Start checking at 15 because ovens are often different. If fully cooked, the toothpick should come out clean after poking the muffin.
That’s it! These are so easy to make, and they are so delicious. They’re the best when they’re fresh out of the oven. Allow them some time to cool on a rack for about 30 minutes and then enjoy. Store them in a sealed bowl/jar or even a brown paper bag.
