Chia-Jam filled Valentine Vanilla Muffins/Cupcakes

We all know muffins—at least when it comes to store-bought—are typically cupcakes in disguise, nutritionally. With these perfect-for-Valentine’s Day beauties, you can definitely lean more into muffin than cupcake territory if you choose, without sacrificing any flavor. Tinted ever so slightly pink with beetroot powder, these delightful bites are filled with a dollop of powerhouse chia jam, and winsomely wonderful topped or not.

I used monkfruit sugar in this recipe, but coconut sugar, or indeed regular sugar will work just fine. For the chia jam filling, I “cheated” a little bit…depending on how you interpret the word. What I did was, I added jam to my jam. Usually I make chia jam without added sugar. For something meant to be a little more of a special treat, though, I would have added a splash of maple syrup, for both texture and flavor. Instead, I stirred in some fruit-only strawberry preserves, which added to the jammy quality immensely. Feel free to find your jam and go with that.

I never used to be a fan of Valentine’s Day, for all the same reasons Galentine’s and anti-Valentine’s Day trends hold steady with their own sense of fun. Any Debbie-Downer dourness has increasingly dissipated, though, since becoming a parent. Even as a dog mom, actually, I’m finding more and more that I like valentines. I like the strawberry hearts, the pink prettiness, and the cutesy greetings. I like that we have an extra push to go a little over the top with expressions of “I love you”. We don’t need a reason to share affections, but sometimes we can use a reminder.

Today my dad is in the hospital. We are tensely waiting to find out what happened; fortunuately, we know he is conscious, and hopefully all will be well. He and my mom just visited us this past weekend and had a lovely time. Reflecting, I can’t help but think this afternoon how hard it is to say “I love you” to my parents. I tell Felix every day, all throughout the day. But growing up, that just wasn’t our way. Families have their own means of expression. For us, food spoke more resoundingly than words. It’s a pretty universal love language, but my mom is especially fluent, and I suppose I inherited that from her. Even baking from afar, I feel like the universe floats the pure and tender message of all the wholesome love being baked into something as simple as muffins turned into cupcakes. But I wonder too if that’s enough.

This Valentine’s Day and every day we can, let’s try to send love into the world where we are able to offer it. Start with self-love, every day. Be kind to ourselves, and know our self-worth. Send love to the ones we love most dearly in whatever ways we can access, and may the ripples flow outward with warmth and acceptance. Bake goodness into our days and enjoy them. Lots of love to you. xo

Valentines with wholesome love!

Chia-Jam filled Valentine Vanilla Muffins/Cupcakes
Makes 10-12

For the muffin-cupcakes:
1 Cup unsweetened almond or other plant milk
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 ½ Cup flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 Tablespoon beetroot powder (optional, for color)
½ Cup monkfruit sugar
½ Tablespoon baking powder
½ Teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
¼ Cup avocado, olive, or other oil
2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

For the jam filling:
1 Cup fresh or frozen strawberries or mixed red berries
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ Cup fruit-only preserves (optional)
*If not mixing in the jam, feel free to sweeten with a Tablespoon maple syrup if desired

To serve: optional, frosting of choice and strawberry slices (I frosted some with a sweet potato chocolate frosting and others with a maple cashew frosting)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a regular cupcake tin with liners.

Prepare the jam. Heat the fruit in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until bubbling and breaking down. Use a potato masher to mash to a jammy consistency. Stir in the chia seeds, lemon juice, and preserves. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine the almond milk and vinegar and let sit while readying the other ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, beetroot powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the milk mixture, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir to form a batter.

Spoon the batter into the lined tin about ⅔ of the way full. Bake for approximately 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool before filling.

To fill, use a small paring knife or the wide end of a jumbo piping tip to create a hole in each cupcake. You’ll want the cavities to go about halfway down each cake. Fill the holes with the chia jam. Serve as is or ice with your choice of frosting.