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Tender Vegan Bran Muffins with Brown Sugar & Cinnamon

5 from 24 reader reviews
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
RESTING TIME 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 10
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Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) unsweetened soy milk
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 ½ cups (70 grams) wheat bran
  • 1 ½ cups + ⅓ cup (220 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup (107 grams) dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup (120 mL) neutral-flavoured oil (such as sunflower or grapeseed)
  • ¼ cup (60 mL) unsweetened apple sauce
  • 2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses (DO NOT use black strap)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Give it a quick stir. Then, add the wheat bran and stir until all of the bran is wet. Set aside for 15 minutes.
  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
  • Once the 15 minutes are up, add the following to the soaked bran mixture: brown sugar, oil, apple sauce, molasses, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
  • Add the wet bran mixture to the flour mixture in the large bowl. Stir until just combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl. This batter is thick! Let the batter rest on the counter for 15 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F and prepare your muffin tin by greasing 10 of the cups with cooking spray/oil or using paper liners (see notes).
  • Once the muffin batter has rested, transfer to the prepared cups in the muffin tin. The batter will go right to the top.
  • Bake the muffins at 400°F for 5 minutes. Then, lower the heat to 350°F and bake another 12-15 minutes or so. The muffins should be slightly firm when you press down on a top, and a toothpick inserted into the center of one should come out clean.
  • Let the muffins cool before enjoying.

Recipe Notes

  • In my recipe tests, using cooking spray to grease the muffin tin (rather than plain oil) made the muffin tops puff up quite a bit more. Cooking spray is typically a combination of vegetable-based oils and flour. Plain oil and muffin liners will work just fine, but the tops will not be as puffy.
  • The molasses that I use for baking is sometimes called "fancy molasses" on the carton.
  • You could add ⅔ cup dried fruit to this muffin batter! I would use all 12 muffin cups if you’re doing that. Raisins come to mind of course, but chopped dates could also be nice.
  • DO NOT forget to lower the temperature to 350°F after 5 minutes!
These vegan bran muffins have perfectly puffed up tops, a soft texture, and are just sweet enough. They are excellent with a hot cup of tea!