Summer and horchata go hand in hand... And I'm here with an ideal way to use the leftover tiger nut pulp and accompany horchata in the most delicious way! These tiger nut, cinnamon and apple muffins are pure fluffiness and taste delicious.
They take just a moment to make, and if you’re wondering how I can think of turning on the oven in this heat, I’ll tell you that, with such heat, why not? The oven’s warmth is barely noticeable, especially for the time it takes to make these muffins, that you have baked in 20 minutes!
What did I love about the recipe and why do I recommend it?
- They turned out SUPER fluffy, how delightful to eat them!
- Their flavor is very balanced; I think they pair well with lots of ingredients and occasions.
- It’s a great way to use leftover tiger nuts from making horchata (and tiger nuts are full of energy and add a lot of fiber!).
- The compote or grated apple already adds sweetness, so you can make them with little added sugar, brown sugar or panela.
What other versions can you make of this recipe?
Definitely try them as is, because they taste great... and if you still want to combine them with another ingredient, adding dark chocolate chips or covering them in white chocolate are two ingredients that suit them well. If you add dark chocolate, you can replace about 20 g of tiger nut with desiccated coconut, the three ingredients go great together.
You can also modify them by replacing part of the wheat flour with almond flour (it works very well with tiger nut).
You can add a teaspoon of vanilla extract if you want to give them a different flavor.
If you’re looking for a fruitier touch, you can add small pieces of fresh apple (peeled) to the batter, or replace part of the compote with mashed ripe banana.
Or if you want to scent them, add to the recipe a pinch of ground nutmeg or clove, or some lemon or orange zest.
First want to make horchata?
If you’re looking for how to make homemade horchata you’ll find the recipe on our Claudia&Julia blog, here:
How to make traditional horchata
How to make sugar-free horchata
How can you use the ground tiger nut after making horchata?
The tiger nut pulp left after making homemade horchata (also called tiger nut "orujo" or ground tiger nut) is very versatile and doesn’t deserve to be thrown away. It has fiber, natural sweetness and an earthy note that works great in many preparations (to me it’s reminiscent of almond flour, and in fact I think about how I use almond flour to make the most of tiger nut). Don’t forget that tiger nut, nutritionally and culinarily, behaves similarly to a tree nut!
Here are several ideas to reuse tiger nut easily in your daily life:
- You can use the tiger nut pulp in baking: add it to muffins, cakes, cookies or brownies to give them more moisture, fiber and a rustic touch. Use tiger nut as if it were almond flour, and you’ll succeed.
- It’s also ideal for making homemade energy bars, mixing it with dates, rolled oats and nuts.
- In homemade granola, you can combine it with oats, honey and nuts, and bake until crunchy.
- Use it as a base for cheesecake-style tarts (together with crushed cookies and butter) or cold tarts, mixed with dates and a bit of butter or oil.
- It can be added to bread or focaccia doughs like bran or whole wheat flour, adding texture and a mild nutty flavor.
- It’s very useful in vegetable burgers or meatballs, mixed with legumes or rice and using it as a partial substitute for breadcrumbs.
- You can use it for breakfast by heating milk or plant milk with a tablespoon of tiger nut, cinnamon and fruit: like porridge.
- If you won’t use it immediately, freeze it in small portions and you’ll always have a way to reuse it on hand.
Bonus option you have to try: With the ground tiger nut you can also use it as a natural exfoliant (yes, I’m talking about homemade cosmetics—mixing it with coconut oil or a little mild oil you’ll see it’s a fantastic scrub).
But let’s go straight to the recipe for these super fluffy tiger nut muffins!
Tiger nut and cinnamon muffins recipe
(for about 10-12 muffins)
Ingredients
- 120 g of ground tiger nut (leftover from horchata, well drained)
- 2 eggs
- 100 g of brown sugar (or white, or half and half)
- 100 g of unsweetened apple compote or 100 g of grated Golden apple
- 80 ml of heavy cream (min. 30% fat)
- 50 ml of mild oil (sunflower or mild olive)
- 150 g of wheat flour (or 100 g flour + 50 g ground almond)
- 10 g of baking powder
- 1 dessert tablespoon of ground cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 dessert teaspoon of white pepper
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C with top and bottom heat.
- In the KitchenAid bowl and with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs with the sugar until foamy... and don’t stop the machine at any time.
- Add the ground tiger nut, the apple compote (or grated apple), the oil and the cream.
- Fold in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt (and the baking soda if you decide to use it). Mix until you have a homogeneous batter.
- Place paper liners in the muffin tin (the Le Creuset tin bakes great because its interior is steel). Fill the muffin cups up to ¾ of their capacity. If you want, you can sprinkle a bit of sugar on top to form a crust.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool on a rack… And enjoy!
