Giant Gluten Free Lemon Saffron Muffins
These gloriously-golden muffins are heavenly with lemon and saffron, and so easy to make!
Servings: 6 Giant muffins
Calories: 500kcal
Equipment
- Six 4-inch round cake pans (link below for the ones we use for these muffins)
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 Cups white sugar
- 1 Cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 Cup milk
- 1/4-1/2 tsp saffron threads loosely placed in measuring spoon, not packed in
- 1/2 Cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 Cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- 2 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix link below to the one we use. Should contain xanthan gum
- 1/2 Cup sweet rice flour
- 1/2 Cup packed blanched almond flour
- 2 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
For the glaze:
- 1 1/4 Cup sifted powdered sugar
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- 2-3 Tbsp milk
- 4-5 saffron threads
Instructions
- Make the muffin batter! It will need to rest at room temp for 30 minutes before baking. First, pour the milk into a small bowl and carefully crush all of the saffron threads between your fingers and into the milk. Stir and then let sit for at least 10 minutes for the color and flavor to develop. Then, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon juice/zest/and extract, and almond milk until thicker and smooth. Stir the saffron milk again and then pour into the batter (make sure to get all of the bits of saffron!) and stir.
- Add in the gluten free 1-1 flour, sweet rice flour, blanched almond flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until just combined (do not overmix). Then let the batter sit either on the counter for at least 30 minutes before baking (you can let it rest in the fridge for longer if you want).
- Once the batter has rested preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and place your six 4-inch cake pans on a cookie sheet. Grease each pan with cooking spray, then spoon batter into each one evenly (they should be about 3/4-5/6 full). Bake for 30-40 minutes until the tops spring back with touched (do NOT open the oven while baking or the muffins will not rise fully, only open the oven a tiny bit to check if done). Let cool nearly-completely before turning out and glazing.
- While the muffins are cooling, make the glaze! First, pour the milk into a small bowl and repeat what you did for the muffins: crush the saffron, stir it into the milk, and let sit for 10 minutes. Then, in a medium cereal bowl, stir together all of the glaze ingredients, including the now-rested saffron milk, until fully combined and very smooth (this may take some working). Check the consistency of the glaze: you're looking for a glaze that can drizzle over the muffins, but doesn't flow too quickly or it will simply run off and not hold on top of the muffins. Add more powdered sugar if it seems too thin/runny.
- Then use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the muffins, and serve! You can let the glazed muffins sit at room temp for 30-45 minutes for the glaze to harden, then put into zip-top bags and keep in the fridge or freezer for up to a week. Best-served slightly warm, so pop them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds from room temp!