You don't have to feel guilty when you bite into one of these bran flake honey muffins. They are loaded with nutritious bran for a boost of fibre and sweetened with honey instead of sugar. To make them even healthier, I've included some grated apple too.
This year, I've decided to improve my diet by reducing highly processed foods like refined flour and sugar. Replacing them with less processed alternatives such as swapping white flour for wholemeal flour and refined sugar for honey is a simple change that can bring great benefits.
These are small and simple changes to make but can have a huge impact on your overall diet.
- Wholemeal flour contains more fibre than white flour, which aids healthy digestion.
- Whole grains and natural sweeteners such as honey have a lower glycemic index, which helps prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes.
- Wholemeal flour retains essential nutrients such as B vitamins, iron and magnesium which are often stripped away during refining.
- Less processed foods are typically more filling, meaning you stay full for longer and help to control appetite and reduce overeating.
So instead of a recipe for chocolate muffins (which I originally intended to develop), I decided to make these healthier bran muffins instead! They are made with Kellogg's bran flake breakfast cereal and wholemeal flour, and are sweetened with natural honey and apples!
I've also added some warming spices such as cinnamon and mixed spice, which add a lovely flavour to the muffins and also pair well with the apples.
And I have to say, these honey bran muffins are Good - with a capital 'G'.
It's a simple recipe, that follows the traditional way of making muffins in that you combine the wet and dry ingredients separately and then mix the wet ingredients into the dry.
There is actually a reason for this. The trick to light and fluffy muffins is to avoid over-mixing the batter. Combining the dry ingredients before adding the wet means there is less mixing to do to get everything combined.
So without further ado, let's make a batch of honey bran muffins.
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Ingredients
This recipe makes 15 honey bran flake muffins.
- Bran flakes - this is Kellogg's bran flake cereal, but you don't have to use Kellogg's. Any brand will be suitable. The bran flakes are soaked in milk before being added to the muffin mixture and I like to crush them with my fingers to break them up a little before soaking them.
- Honey - this is the sweetener that I used instead of sugar. You can use any brand of runny honey.
- Wholemeal flour - you can actually see the ground wheat germ in the flour.
- Milk - this is the liquid component and is used to soften the bran flakes. I use 1 and a quarter cups of milk and keep one-quarter cup aside in case the batter is too thick.
- Oil - I used rapeseed oil which apparently has even less saturated fat than olive oil! I believe rapeseed oil is marketed as canola oil in the US. Substitute with sunflower or other neutral-flavoured vegetable oil.
- Apple - washed and coarsely grated. There's no need to peel the apple first. You can use any apple - the sweeter the apple the sweeter the muffins will taste.
- Egg - helps to bind the muffins.
- Ground cinnamon and mixed spice - for additional flavour. Mixed spice contains cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and caraway. I wanted additional cinnamon flavour which is why I added extra separately. If you can't find mixed spice you could substitute it wth pumpkin pie spice mix.
- Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda - to help the muffins to rise.
**You can find the exact ingredient measurements on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Instructions
Apart from the 5 minutes needed to soak the bran flakes in milk, these muffins only take 5 minutes to mix.
Step 1: Crush the bran flakes lightly with your fingers then pour in the milk and allow them to stand for 5 minutes to soften.
Step 2: Measure all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix them lightly to combine.
Step 3: Add the honey, egg and oil to the bran flakes and milk mixture then stir it into the dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in the extra milk if the mixture is too thick.
Step 4: Finally stir in the grated apple.
Step 5: Spoon the mixture into a 12-hole muffin tray lined with paper liners.
Step 6: Bake in a preheated oven (180C/360F) for 25 minutes until nicely risen and golden. Remove from the muffin tray and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
Tips for a successful outcome
Here are my top tips to ensure your honey bran flake muffins always turn out perfectly
- Don't overmix the muffin mixture. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until they are just combined.
- The consistency of the muffin batter should not be too thick - you are looking for a thick dropping consistency. Add the extra milk only if needed. It depends on the strength and absorbency of the flour as to whether you will need it or not. You may not need all the extra milk.
- Once the batter has been mixed don't let it stand for too long before baking. The baking powder and bicarbonate of soda will start to react as soon as they are mixed with liquid so for best results the muffins should be baked immediately after mixing.
- Do not overfill the paper cases with muffin batter - about three-quarters full will be fine. The muffins will rise to fill the paper cases as they bake.
- This recipe makes 15 muffins. You can either bake them in batches or if your oven is large enough, you could bake 2 trays at once on two different shelves.
- Test for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the centre of a muffin. It should come out cleanly with no batter sticking to it. If necessary return the muffins to the oven for one or two minutes longer but be careful not to overcook them.
- Do not leave the muffins to cool in the baking tray. Remove them to a cooling rack. This will prevent any residual heat in the pan from continuing to cook the muffins.
Variations
There are quite a few ways to vary this recipe:
- Add a handful of sultanas or raisins either with the apples or replace the apples with the fruit.
- Stir in half a cup of mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, flax etc) with the apples
- Chop a few walnuts or pecans and add them in with the apples.
- Sprinkle a few rolled oats on top of the muffins before putting them into the oven.
Equipment
You will need a small bowl to soften the bran flakes in milk and a large mixing bowl to mix the muffin batter.
For baking the muffins you will need 1 or 2 12-hole muffin trays and some paper liners. I wouldn't recommend placing the muffin batter directly into the muffin trays as it may stick and be difficult to remove.
Other equipment you will need will be a spatula for mixing and a cheese grater to grate the apple.
Storage
Store the baked muffins in an air-tight container in the kitchen. They will stay fresh for up to 4 days.
The muffins are delicious served either hot or cold.
To warm the muffins either pop them in the microwave for a few seconds or place them on a baking tray in a hot oven for 5 to 7 minutes.
Baked muffins can be packed into a rigid freezer container (or placed in a single layer in a Ziploc bag) and frozen for up to 4 months.
Allow them to defrost and come to room temperature before eating, or warm them as above.
FAQ
These muffins are not overly sweet and have a lovely chewy texture. For a bit of indulgence, I sometimes split them in half and spread them with butter.
Wheat bran is a good source of many nutrients and protein and is relatively low in calories. It is also a very good source of dietary fibre. For more information read this article on the nutrition and benefits of wheat bran.
Save for later
If you would like to make these bran flake and honey muffins why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
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📋The recipe
Bran flake honey muffins
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- 1 or 2 12-hole muffin trays
- Small bowl
- Large mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Cheese grater
Ingredients
- 2 cups / 70 grams bran flake cereal
- 1¼ cups / 300 ml milk
- ¼ cup / 60 ml milk optional (only if needed)
- 2 cups / 280 grams wholemeal flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice or pumpkin spice
- ¼ cup / 60 ml rapeseed or canola oil
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- ¼ cup / 75 grams runny honey
- 1 sweet apple grated (no need to peel)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 360°F
- Crush the bran flakes lightly with your fingers then pour in the milk and allow them to stand for 5 minutes to soften.2 cups / 70 grams bran flake cereal, 1¼ cups / 300 ml milk
- Measure all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix them lightly to combine.2 cups / 280 grams wholemeal flour, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- Add the honey, egg and oil to the bran flakes and milk mixture then stir it into the dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in the extra milk if the mixture is too thick.¼ cup / 60 ml rapeseed or canola oil, 1 large egg, ¼ cup / 75 grams runny honey, ¼ cup / 60 ml milk
- Finally stir in the grated apple.1 sweet apple
- Spoon the mixture into a 12-hole muffin tray lined with paper liners.
- Bake in a preheated oven (180C/360F) for 25 minutes until nicely risen and golden.
- Remove the cooked muffins from the muffin tin and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- Don't overmix the muffin mixture. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until they are just combined.
- The consistency of the muffin batter should not be too thick - you are looking for a thick dropping consistency. Add the extra milk only if needed. It depends on the strength and absorbency of the flour as to whether you will need it or not. You may not need all the extra milk
- Once the batter has been mixed don't let it stand for too long before baking. The baking powder and bicarbonate of soda will start to react as soon as they are mixed with liquid so for best results the muffins should be baked immediately after mixing.
- Do not overfill the paper cases with muffin batter - about three-quarters full will be fine. The muffins will rise to fill the paper cases as they bake.
- This recipe makes 15 muffins. You can either bake them in batches or if your oven is large enough, you could bake 2 trays at once on two different shelves.
- Test for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the centre of a muffin. It should come out cleanly with no batter sticking to it.. If necessary return the muffins to the oven for one or two minutes longer but be careful not to overcook them.
- Do not leave the muffins to cool in the baking tray. Remove them to a cooling rack. This will prevent any residual heat in the pan from continuing to cook the muffins.
- Add a handful of sultanas or raisins either with the apples or replace the apples with the fruit.
- Stir in half a cup of mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, flax etc) with the apples
- Chop a few walnuts or pecans and add them in with the apples.
- Sprinkle a few rolled oats on top of the muffins before putting them into the oven.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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