Easy dairy-free honey muffins are simple, moist, and sweet individual honey cakes for Rosh Hashanah. This is a pareve recipe, made without butter or milk, so it's a perfect dessert for the Jewish New Year.
Jews traditionally eat honey cake on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, to symbolize the hope for a sweet new year.
This is because honey represents sweetness, and consuming sweet foods at the start of the Jewish New Year is an expression of optimism that the coming year will bring sweetness in the form of blessings and happiness.
Typically, honey cake is in the form of a honey loaf, but these muffins are perfect for single, individual servings.
And, of course, this recipe is made without dairy, so you can have it as dessert after meat meals. Also, since it's made with oil, there is no margarine either.
And honey has nutritional benefits!
You can make these honey muffins plain:
Or you can top them with glaze.
Glaze recipe
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring (vanilla extract or imitation vanilla extract)
½ tablespoon water
.
Or with streusel.
Streusel recipe
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup white granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ cup oil (or add a little more if streusel is too dry)
Or you can top them with both streusel and glaze!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about dairy-free honey muffins
Can I make these muffins ahead of time?
Yes, you can bake these muffins a day or two in advance. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature to keep them moist.
Can I freeze these honey muffins?
Yes, they freeze very well. Let them cool completely, wrap them individually, or store them in a freezer-safe bag for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Are these muffins pareve?
Yes. This recipe is for pareve honey muffins, made without milk or butter.
Why use oil instead of butter in this recipe?
Using vegetable oil instead of butter keeps the muffins completely pareve and ensures they stay extra moist.
Can I add mix-ins like raisins or nuts?
Yes, you should be able to fold in chopped walnuts, pecans, or raisins if you want for extra texture and flavor. Just keep the total amount less than one-half cup so the batter isn't weighed down.
Can I bake this recipe as a loaf instead of muffins?
Yes, you can pour the batter into a greased standard loaf pan and bake it at 350°F for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Why is honey cake eaten on Rosh Hashanah?
Honey cake is eaten on Rosh Hashanah to symbolize the hope for a sweet new year, representing optimism for blessings and happiness in the year ahead.
What are good toppings for honey muffins?
Glaze and struessel are terrific toppings for this recipe.
General FAQs and information about baking:
Why do recipes have salt in the ingredients of baked goods?
Even though salt tends to make foods, well, salty, it actually plays other roles in baking as well.
For example, the right amount of salt balances flavors in baked goods; it can bring out the sweetness of sugar and, at the same time, prevent them from tasting overly sweet. It also can help dull the bitterness of cocoa.
Salt prevents baked goods from tasting bland, while it balances the richness of the fats. It also helps develop flavor in yeast breads and works with proteins to strengthen gluten and make it more elastic.
Salt also slows down yeast fermentation because it prevents the yeast from eating up the sugars too quickly, which otherwise would cause the dough to rise too fast and then ultimately collapse, causing bread to come out flat instead of fluffy.
Salt helps baked goods stay a little fresher for a little longer and helps delay mold from growing on them.
What is the difference between white granulated sugar and brown sugar?
The short answer is that while white granulated sugar is just pure sweetness, brown sugar is white sugar with molasses mixed into it.
Here is how that change affects your baking:
- White sugar is neutrally sweet. Brown sugar tastes like rich caramel or toffee.
- White sugar makes things crisp and light. Brown sugar traps moisture, making baked goods (like brownies) dense, soft, and extra chewy.
- Brown sugar is dark and wet; white sugar is dry and clear.
Tip: If a recipe calls for brown sugar and you're completely out, you can make your own by thoroughly mixing a tablespoon of molasses into a cup of regular white granulated sugar, and that will give you light-brown sugar. If you want dark brown sugar, you need to mix in more molasses.
Can I substitute honey for granulated sugar in baking?
The short answer to this question is yes.
However, there are some things to consider, because the substitution is not 1:1.
Honey is denser and contains more fructose than white granulated sugar, so it is sweeter. Also, honey contains almost 20% liquid, so adjustments must be made for these differences.
First of all, the glucose and fructose in honey make it sweeter than granulated sugar, so you would use only ¾ of the amount of sugar in the recipe's ingredients. Second, since honey already contains liquid, you should reduce the amount of liquid that the recipe calls for by 25% to maintain consistency.
Honey is also naturally acidic, whereas granulated sugar is not, so in order to neutralize the acidity you will be adding to your baking, you can add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda per cup of honey to the ingredients.
Lastly, since honey contains simple sugars that caramelize and burn at lower temperatures than granulated sugar does, you should lower the temperature by 25 degrees from that required in the recipe. This is to help prevent the outside from baking quicker than the inside of your baked goods.
Note:
There are a few additional things to note about substituting honey for sugar, though.
First, if you use honey rather than granulated sugar for baked goods that are supposed to be crispy, they will come out softer.
Second, you cannot "cream" if you replace granulated sugar with honey, so recipes that are meant to come out light because of creaming butter with sugar will come out denser.
Lastly, honey is still a sugar, and it has approximately 30% more calories than granulated sugar does (but this will be somewhat compensated by the fact that you will be reducing the quantity of honey versus sugar in the recipe).
What is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?
Baking soda and baking powder are both synthetic leavens that help baked goods rise, but there is a difference between them.
Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, which needs another ingredient that is acidic in order to be activated. When the baking soda touches the acid, it creates a carbon dioxide gas, which helps the baked good rise. Baking soda is between 3 and 4 times stronger than baking powder, and if too much baking soda is used, your baked good will end up with a metallic flavor.
Baking powder is baking soda that is already mixed with an acid and a stabilizer and will be activated by moisture and heat. Nowadays, baking powder is called double-acting because it activates twice-once when it gets wet (when you mix the ingredients together) and again when it heats in the oven.
Replacing one with the other can be tricky, and it's not recommended. However, if you have no choice, then do solid research for substituting one for the other for the baked good you are preparing so you don't ruin it.
What do eggs do in baking?
Eggs are made up of two parts: the whites and the yolks (the yellow).
Egg whites are made up of protein that sets when heated and helps baked goods hold their structure. The yolks are made up of fats and vitamins and help ingredients bond.
Eggs also help baked goods rise as well as keep them moist.
It is important to have the right amount of eggs when baking, because if there are too many eggs in a recipe, this can cause a rubbery, dense texture, and if there are too few eggs, this can cause a crumbly, dry texture.
The different parts of the egg will provide different textures to baked goods; using the entire egg in baking will provide moisture and help the baked good rise evenly, using extra yolks will create richer, denser textures, and extra whites will add fluffiness but may create a drier texture.
What is the difference in using oil vs. butter or margarine?
Both margarine and butter are solid fats at room temperature, and both contain more saturated fats than oil.
While margarine and butter will change from a solid to a liquid when heated, they will change back to solids when cooled again. Oil stays liquid at all temperatures. Oil also coats flour better in the preparation process before baking.
Butter "creams" better than margarine, but one cannot cream oil at all.
When converting a recipe from butter or margarine to oil, the general conversion rate is 1 to ¾ (although if you are doing more than one batch, you might need to reduce the oil because I have found that baked goods come out oily in this case).
And when converting from oil to margarine or butter, typically the ratio is 1 to 1¼, and from margarine or butter to oil, the ratio is typically 1 to ¾.
What is the difference between real vanilla extract and imitation vanilla?
Real vanilla is made from soaking vanilla beans in alcohol, imitation vanilla is synthetic, and real vanilla costs quite a bit more than imitation. Whether or not there will be a taste difference in your baking depends on the baked good, so do some research before you decide.
I personally always use the imitation as long as I have a really good brand because it's not worth it to me to spend the extra money.
Equipment useful for general baking
- a stand mixer, which I use mostly for dough and sometimes for whipping
- a hand mixer (for things that aren't dough, and I don't want to mix manually)
- a kitchen scale
- different sizes and shapes of baking pans, including loaf pans
- mixing bowls (or just large bowls-I have plastic, glass, and metal)
- cookie sheets
- pie dishes
- dry measuring cups
- liquid measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- whisks
- rubber spatulas (really good for when you don't want to leave anything in the bowl)
- rolling pins
- a baking mat for rolling out dough
- baking strips
- a good supply of baking (or parchment) paper (also round for layer cakes)
Ingredients to keep in your kitchen to be able to bake with short notice
- flour
- white granulated sugar
- brown sugar (light/dark-I usually keep dark)
- confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- cocoa powder
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground ginger
- ground cloves
- baking chocolate
- chocolate chips
- instant dry yeast
- vanilla and/or vanilla sugar
- cooking oil/cooking spray
- margarine or butter
- eggs
- honey
- instant coffee
- various extracts (real or imitation)
- a variety of toppings
Easy Dairy-Free Honey Muffins Recipe
Delicious, dairy-free honey muffins for Rosh Hashana.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup water
Streusel
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ cup oil (or add a little more if streusel is too dry)
Dairy-free glaze
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring (vanilla extract or imitation vanilla extract)
- ½ tablespoon water
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Add honey, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and water, mixing after each ingredient.
- Mix well to make sure there are no clumps.
- Pour into a greased or papered cupcake tin (approximately ¾ of the way full).
- If you are going to top with streusel, top now. If not, skip this step.
- Place in a oven that has been pre-heated to 350°F and bake for approximately 20 minutes (check sooner, just in case) or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Removed from oven and let cool
- Top glaze, if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 437Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 176mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 2gSugar: 35gProtein: 5g
