Remember those early lockdown days? When the world seemed to shrink, and grocery store shelves were bare? Yeah, those were… interesting times. But amidst the chaos and uncertainty, there was also a surprising silver lining: a surge of home baking.
Suddenly, with bakeries closed and limited access to our favorite treats, we were all forced to become a little more self-sufficient in the kitchen. And for me, that meant experimenting with single-serving baked goods.
One of my most successful lockdown creations was this single-serving matcha muffin. I was craving that perfect bakery-style muffin – you know, the one with the domey top and soft, crumbly texture – but with a vibrant matcha flavor in every bite.
And guess what? I nailed it! This muffin was everything I dreamed of, and more. It’s moist, flavorful, and has just the right amount of sweetness. But here’s the kicker: it’s made with just one teaspoon of oil.
I know, I know, it sounds crazy. But trust me, it totally works thanks to the applesauce and all the sweet moisture it packs.
This single-serving matcha muffin is perfect for a quick breakfast or a healthy snack. Make sure not omit the optional chocolate chips if you want a dessert muffin. You can also make 2 smaller muffins out of this exact batter, just reduce baking time a few minutes.
So go ahead, give it a try and let me know what you think!
Single-serving Matcha Muffin
Equipment
- Muffin pan, ideally jumbo size (or a ramekin, small cake pan, etc. but you need to adjust baking time)
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 2 tbsp applesauce (30 g) sub mashed banana
- 1 tbsp (nut) milk (15 g) I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tbsp sugar (12 g)
- 1 tsp oil (5 g)
- drop of vanilla extract
Dry ingredients
- 1/4 cup flour (30 g) gf all purpose if desired
- 1/2 tsp matcha powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp (optional) white chocolate chips (15 g) sub any other dry mix-in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a muffin cavity/ramekin or line with liners.
- In a small bowl, mix applesauce, milk, sugar, oil, vanilla.
- In a mug mix flour, matcha, baking powder, salt until no clumps remain. Pour into the wet mixture and fold to combine, do not overmix.
- Fold in chocolate chips and transfer to muffin cavity. (Optional) sprinkle with more chocolate chips. Bake 25 minutes.
- Let the muffin cool a few minutes before handling. Enjoy!
Notes
- The recipe will make a fluffy muffin as written. But increase oil to 2 tsp for an even richer texture.
- If baking in a shallow wide dish such as a ramekin, check for done-ness at around 20 minutes.
- You can also make 2 regular sized muffins out of this recipe, reduce baking time to 20-23 minutes.
- Pro-tip: For an extra dome-y muffin, bake the first 5 minutes at 425F.