Raspberry Coconut Almond Muffins

It’s all about comfort

Sometimes comfort foods need to be part of your breakfast/brunch regime.  Or perhaps you are having brunch and need something sweet and substantial to enjoy with coffee after your eggs.  I first had a similar raspberry muffin when visiting my brother and sister-in-law when they lived in New York.  It was years ago when I could travel on a whim and I was full of the buzz of NY city and all the things it had to offer. I swear this was the best muffin I had ever tasted.  Not too sweet, fruity with the bonus of nuts.

Full of goodness and so pretty!

It is made with wholemeal flour so there is a little whole goodness.  I didn’t make these muffins for years and somehow the recipe went by the wayside. More recently I conjured up my own version – raspberry coconut and almond muffins.  I think the original recipe called for walnuts which were delicious but I like flaked almonds and have included them here.  The original recipe didn’t include coconut either. But they did have plenty of butter, in the batter and the topping, which I think is part of the magic and I made sure I continued that tradition.

These raspberry coconut and almond muffins are wonderful when served for brunch with Baked Eggs. Or you could make them in advance for breakfast on the run.  They are buttery, nutty and fruity all at once and I think the flavour combination is wonderful. I love that there is a tartness to the raspberries.

Low sugar- such a bonus!

One change I have also made to what I remember as the original recipe is to use maple syrup or rice malt syrup instead of sugar.  I love that I use half the quantity of either syrup and that maple syrup is 80% of the sugar content compared to sugar and rice malt syrup is 50% so that is a big reduction in carbs.  But I admit to using brown sugar in the topping but it is only a couple of spoons worth. Using wholemeal flour also assists with this too.

Remember the benefits of the antioxidants in the raspberries in this muffin!  I think that is a real reason for enjoying them even more.  If you have an aversion to nuts you could leave them out and include some rolled oats in the topping instead.

These muffins look gorgeous too.  They look so pretty with the raspberries shining through. The nuts on top which are slightly golden when baked (I love almonds when they are roasted) look so inviting.  I think they are a very elegant muffin – if muffins can be elegant!

Here is a tip…

One important thing to remember in the method is to not over mix the muffin batter.  This ensures the wonderful texture and means you won’t break up the fruit too much.  I use frozen berries for convenience but fresh raspberries would be lovely.

Try them!

Imagine putting on a brunch for family or friends and serving raspberry and coconut smoothies, baked eggs and raspberry, coconut and almond muffins with coffee the way you like it.  It would be beautiful and really easy to prepare much of it in advance.

So if you are planning a wonderful brunch, maybe it’s a celebration, or if you just want to have some sweet and fruity morsels to have on hand for breakfast on the run, try baking a batch of these raspberry, coconut and almond muffins.  You won’t be disappointed!

Have you tried these muffins?  What did you think?  Be sure to drop a comment below to let me know how you find them.

Raspberry Coconut Almond Muffins – breakfast, brunch or on the go