As soon as we spot the first rhubarb at the supermarket or farmers’ market, a few stalks of rhubarb automatically end up in our shopping basket and come home with us. This year, instead of baking a cake, we made these delicious Rhubarb Almond Muffins. The first rhubarb was still a bit pricey, so only a few stalks made it into our kitchen. Unfortunately, not enough for a whole cake…
The prices usually settle down as the season progresses. When rhubarb is finally plentiful and the shops are offering special deals, a delicious rhubarb cake, like our Rhubarb Streusel Cheesecake, is definitely on the menu again. We love everything with rhubarb. Everything you do just tastes so delicious…
We also have a rhubarb plant on our terrace, but unfortunately, it’s not a very big or productive plant. It only creates maybe 5-6 large leaves a year, and you can only harvest about half of them so the plant can still survive. So, not really enough rhubarb to bake an entire cake. There would have been enough for these muffins, though. Perhaps I should check again in a few weeks…
Making these muffins is quite easy. The batter is absolutely straightforward and quick to prepare. I replaced some of the flour I would normally use for such a simple muffin batter with ground almonds. For even more almond flavor, I also added a few drops of almond extract. But you have to be careful with that. The extract is artificial, and if you use too much of it, it quickly negatively affects the taste of the muffins. So use it very sparingly!
And why almonds? Because they go perfectly with rhubarb! The flavors complement each other wonderfully. Similar to vanilla and rhubarb. That’s a match made in heaven…
Tips & tricks for delicious rhubarb muffins
Prepare the rhubarb correctly.
Exfoliation isn’t always necessary. Young, thin stalks usually don’t need peeling – this saves time and preserves the beautiful reddish-pink color.
Rhubarb contains a lot of liquid. If it’s very juicy, you can briefly pat the cubes dry with kitchen paper so they don’t release too much moisture into the batter.
Cut the rhubarb into small pieces. Small cubes ensure that the rhubarb is evenly distributed in the batter.
Prepare the batter correctly.
Beat the eggs and sugar thoroughly. You should beat the eggs and sugar for roughly 3-4 minutes to incorporate as many small air bubbles as possible into the batter. These guarantee light and fluffy muffins.
When adding the flour, be careful! Even though you should beat the eggs and sugar for a long time, once the flour is added, stir only very gently and not too much, otherwise the muffins will be dense and less pleasant.
Mix the liquid ingredients before hand. To ensure that the liquid ingredients are evenly distributed, mix them thoroughly beforehand.
Additional almond flavor is fine, but be careful.
Use the almond extract sparingly. A few drops are really all you need – too much will quickly make the muffins taste artificial.
You can also go more natural. If you don’t want to use artificial flavorings, you can use a little more (natural) vanilla extract and perhaps add some Amaretto to the batter. That works fine too.
Toast the almonds before hand. Briefly toasting the ground almonds in a dry pan before using them will give you a more intense flavor.
1,2,3…bake!
Preheat the oven well. The 200°C (390°F) mentioned in the recipe must be reached, otherwise the muffins won’t rise properly. The muffins require a lot of heat right from the start.
Don’t overfill the muffin tins. To prevent the batter from overflowing, only fill the paper liners about 3/4 full.
Toothpick test. To ensure the muffins are baked through properly, test with a wooden skewer or toothpick to see if any batter clings to it. It’s better to take them out of the oven slightly too early than to overbake them, though. We don’t want dry muffins.
Finish them up…!
Lightly press the rhubarb strips into the batter. This helps them adhere better and prevents them from sliding off the muffin top and getting too dark.
Sprinkle everything with some brown sugar. A little brown sugar creates a light caramelized crust – definitely recommended!
Optional crunch. If you like a crispy texture, you can sprinkle some sliced or chopped almonds on top of the muffins before baking. However, the space on the batter is limited due to the rhubarb strips, which already take up a lot of room.
Storing the muffins properly.
Fresh is best! While the rhubarb keeps the muffins moist for a long time, they simply taste best on the first day.
Do not store in an airtight container. If you put them in an airtight container, the muffins will quickly become soggy. It’s better to leave a small gap to allow for some air circulation.
If you’ve now developed a craving for more rhubarb recipes, you’ll find plenty more on the blog. We bake a lot with rhubarb, and new recipes are added to our collection every year. One of the absolute highlights is definitely our Rhubarb Meringue Tart. It tastes delicious and looks absolutely fantastic… don’t you agree?
If you like donuts aka. Berliners, Krapfen, and the like, you’re surely gonna love our Rhubarb Curd Crumble Donuts. The filling is what sets these apart from other “regular” donuts. We love Rhubarb Curd and use it for all sorts of things whenever we have a few jars sitting around in the kitchen. So good!
INGREDIENTS / INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS / PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Line a muffin tin* with 12 paper liners* and set aside.
2. Clean the rhubarb and cut about 1.8 oz./50g into very small pieces. Cut the rest into strips that are as long as the diameter of the paper liners. You need three thin strips per muffin.
3. Add the eggs and sugar to a large bowl and mix until very light and fluffy – about 3-4 minutes. Mix the flour with ground almonds, baking powder, salt, and orange zest in a separate bowl. Add in several batches to the large bowl and fold in. Combine sunflower oil, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract, add it to the bowl as well and mix until well combined. Finally, add the chopped rhubarb and fold it in.
4. Divide the batter between the paper liners (each should be about 3/4 full), place the rhubarb strips on top and sprinkle with some brown sugar (optional). Bake the muffins for about 15-16 minutes. Check with a toothpick if they are baked through, then remove them from the oven. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely.
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) top/bottom heat. Fill a muffin tin* with 12 paper cases* and set aside.
2. Clean the rhubarb and cut about 50g into very small pieces/cubes – cut the rest into strips that are about as long as the diameter of the paper cases. You end up needing three strips per muffin.
3. Put the eggs with the sugar in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy – about 3-4 minutes. Mix the flour with the almonds, baking powder, salt and the organic orange zest and then add to the bowl in several portions and fold in carefully. Mix sunflower oil, milk and vanilla extract and a few drops of bitter almond oil and then add to the bowl and stir in. Finally, add the small rhubarb cubes and fold in.
4. Divide the dough between the paper cases (fill about 3/4 full) and then place three rhubarb strips on each of the dough. Sprinkle everything with a little brown sugar (optional) and then Bake for about 15-16 minutes. Use a toothpick to test whether the dough is still sticking and only remove the muffins when it comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Description
The perfect start in spring: delicious Rhubarb Almond Muffins are ideal for a coffee date in the garden when the sun comes out again after a long winter.
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (100g) sugar (fine)*
5.3 oz. (150g) spelt flour*
1.8 oz. (50g) almond flour*
2 tsp. baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1/2 organic orange, zest only
3.4 fl. oz. (100ml) sunflower oil
1.7 fl. oz. (50ml) milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract*
a few drops of almond extract*
1 large stalk of rhubarb
some brown sugar (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Line a muffin tin* with 12 paper liners* and set aside.
2. Clean the rhubarb and cut about 1.8 oz./50g into very small pieces. Cut the rest into strips that are as long as the diameter of the paper liners. You need three thin strips per muffin.
3. Add the eggs and sugar to a large bowl and mix until very light and fluffy – about 3-4 minutes. Mix the flour with ground almonds, baking powder, salt, and orange zest in a separate bowl. Add in several batches to the large bowl and fold in. Combine sunflower oil, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract, add it to the bowl as well and mix until well combined. Finally, add the chopped rhubarb and fold it in.
4. Divide the batter between the paper liners (each should be about 3/4 full), place the rhubarb strips on top and sprinkle with some brown sugar (optional). Bake the muffins for about 15-16 minutes. Check with a toothpick if they are baked through, then remove them from the oven. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely.
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