Last week, my mum came back from a fruit market with a punnet of feijoas. I had never heard of them before, but apparently they are from Brazil and they smell so fragrant! Naturally, I wanted to make something magical with them, but as I had never tasted them before I altered a recipe for the flavour combinations, and I came up with this vegan muffin with coconut, feijoa and nutmeg.

For those wondering, feijoa's, in my mind, kind of taste like a tart apple, and according to wikipedia, are supposed to taste like a combination of pineapple, apple and mint. But seriously guys, you have to smell feijoas. They actually smell like perfume, in a good way.

Now, to the muffin itself. It features an aquafaba egg (chickpea brine), maple syrup, vegan margarine, plus coconut and nutmeg and of course, brown rice flour. If you have never tried an aquafaba egg, usually around 60g of aquafaba equals a large egg, and is great because if you are making a normal recipe with eggs vegan it will ensure the recipe's liquid ratios are maintained, whilst also making your baked goods fluffy.

These turned out so perfect, and don't even taste gluten free or vegan. I really think the secret is the aquafaba egg! My mum (who is kind of skeptical about vegan food) even approved of them, and said they taste like flowers, in a good way.

Makes 6 cupcake sized muffins.

Recipe altered from Food to Love.

Prep: 10 minutes, baking: 20-25 minutes. Total time: 30-35 minutes.

You will need:

60 g vegan margarine
1/4 cup maple syrup
60 g aquafaba (chickpea brine, or the liquid from a tin of aquafaba)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup almond milk mixed with 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup dessicated coconut, plus more for topping
3/4 cup sifted brown rice flour
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 feijoas, peeled and diced finely

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Beat the margarine with the maple syrup and vanilla, add aquafaba and sifted flour. Beat. Add milk, nutmeg and baking powder.
2. Hand mix in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Divide mix between a greased cupcake tin, it should make 6. Top with extra coconut.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before eating.