Healthy Bran Muffins with Apple

Old Fashioned Bran Muffins - So Simple

While flipping through my Granny's handwritten Black Book of Scottish recipes on a bleak winter morning, I stumbled upon her simple bran muffin recipe. It was a pleasant surprise, as I had only ever known to use All-Bran with Mum.

Curious about Miss Adams, the original creator of the recipe, it was unusual for a UK recipe, as written in cups. So I adapted it to metric weights in grams, tested it with oil or butter instead of the shortening and reduced the sugar content as much as I dare.

The recipe simply uses milk rather than buttermilk.

As you can see from the handwriting, my granny suggested using dates. I love that squidgy concoction. She often mixed dates with apples in her recipes (see recipe for sticky toffee pudding with apple). So I added the apple for old times' sake - call me old fashioned but this adds extra moisture.

You can also see that Granny kept all sorts of mementos in that recipe book - including adverts for hair colour and newspaper cuttings of interesting cake ideas.

Are Bran Muffins Actually Healthy?

These homemade bran muffins are particularly healthy as we can control the natural sugar content and their flavour. Here's why we love them:

• As we're making the muffins from scratch, we can control the sugar content. By using shop-bought cereals, there's always added sugar. Moreover, we don't need to pre-soak it so it's quicker to make.
• It includes a grated fresh apple. Many recipes use commercial apple sauce. Even if unsweetened, in France our apple compotes contain synthetic aromas. We prefer homemade unsweetened applesauce - but in this case, it's easier to grab an apple!
• They contain oats, oat bran (a half cup) and, if using wholemeal flour, wheat bran which are all high in fibre and so can help relieve constipation. There's also no need to pre-soak the bran. For more on the health benefits, see Harvard University's Nutrition Source on Oats and below on oat bran.
• By adding a mixture of dates with the raisins, this gives the muffins a natural sweetness. The result? We can reduce the sugar even further to only 30g (2 tablespoons).
• Each muffin is packed with healthy goodies and antioxidants, containing a good amount of protein, calcium (70%), potassium (50%), vitamin D (40%), iron (20%) and fiber.

So, with just the right amount of sugar added, it's makes a guilt-free breakfast. These bran muffins are both high in fibre and contain iron.

What is Oat Bran?

Oat bran is rich in fibre and nutrients, sourced from the outer layer of the oat groat.

Wheat bran and oat bran differ in origin, with oat bran coming from oats and wheat bran from wheat. Both are good substitutes and healthy ingredients to keep on hand in your pantry.

Oat bran contains more fibre and protein than regular oats plus high in beta-glucan, a type of soluble fibre. It also has slightly more soluble fibre than wheat bran, offering heart-healthy benefits.

Pure oats are inherently gluten-free, but cross-contamination may occur during processing. In this recipe, we're also using regular flour, so if gluten sensitivity is a concern, choose certified gluten-free oat bran and gluten free flour.

For more, see the Healthline article on the health properties of oat bran.

Bran Muffin Calories

For one homemade bran muffin, count just 216 calories. It's even less if you use half fat (semi-skimmed) milk.

Healthy Bran Muffin Recipe - Step by Step

First, prepare muffin tins with 10 cavities. Either use regular tins with paper cases or use non-stick or silicone moulds that have been buttered or oiled.

Please avoid baking oil sprays as they are really not healthy (just look at their ingredients!) What's more, they go rancid very quickly and the flavour isn't pleasant. It's just as easy to rub a little vegetable oil with the fingers or with kitchen paper.

In a large bowl, weigh out all the dry ingredients and mix together.

Melt the butter in a second bowl (or use a healthy oil for baking such as olive oil). Add the rest of the wet ingredients with the melted butter and grated apple and stir the liquid just until everything is incorporated.

?Spoon into prepared muffin cups or tins and sprinkle over some oats or slivered almonds. Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin then cool further on a wire rack.

Secret To Make Muffins Moist

To make bran muffins moist, the secret is the right amount of fat. Not too much and not too little. This recipe is without buttermilk but uses full fat whole milk.

The grated fresh apple not only gives that extra healthy touch but adds moisture. Even better, add chopped dates. The sugar used also helps their texture by using dark brown sugar (or substitute for light brown sugar or cane sugar). I love using coconut sugar, which can be slightly gentler on blood sugar than white sugar.

Believe me, when you bite into a bran muffin, it's extra fudgy with the raisins adding the ultimate texture - yet they're light too.

The secret of adding fruit - or even vegetables - for extra moisture is nothing new. Try with carrots in these carrot cake muffins, also lower in sugar and with beets in my ultimate chocolate beetroot cake.

Oat Bran Muffins with Raisins

So don't forget the sultana raisins, otherwise known as golden raisins. Even better, use a half and half mix of both raisins and chopped dates. This not only makes them moist but adds natural sugar. By adding dates, we've tested the sugar content: you can reduce it even further!

Simple UK Bran Muffin Recipe - Metric vs Imperial and Cups

Don't worry about conversions, I always use weights in preference to volume - it's just easier! Trust me, it's a game changer for continued successful baking. It's important to weigh out ingredients to the nearest gram - especially when baking pastries such as a pâte sucrée sweet pastry for tarts and, of course, macarons.

For making muffins, it's not that crucial but it's the best way to practise baking with digital scales if you're not yet used to them.

The bonus is that it can also cut down on your washing up, as you can directly weigh ingredients in the mixing bowl.

So go ahead, indulge in these delicious muffins by using digital scales and never look back to measuring with cups again. However, I've added them in the recipe as a guide.

The result? A trip down memory lane with our best homemade muffins, made completely from scratch without any shop-bought cereal in sight. What's more, there's no packaged apple sauce - it's just a grated apple!

If you make the muffins the night before, just warm them slightly to serve for breakfast. They also freeze well - an extra bonus!

More muffins? Enjoy these banana oat muffins or gluten-free banana muffins with no added sugar plus walnuts or pecans.