Easy Fig Muffin Tops
Made with fresh figs and a hint of cinnamon, these soft Fig Muffin Tops are an easy and tasty portable breakfast or snack.
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If you happen to think that the top of the muffin is the best part, well, then you are in the right place. I love muffin tops, so much that I wrote a whole book about them!
Well, instead of ripping the top off of a muffin and discarding the bottom (like Ellen did on Seinfeld), I just make the muffin top only.
And, as figs are in season right now in Georgia, I made a small batch of fig muffin tops.
These Fig Muffin Tops are different to most of the other muffin top recipes I have shared. Unlike the other MTs (muffin tops), these are soft.
I wanted to highlight figs in a delicate muffin top, so I opted to bake these muffin tops a bit less than I normally do. Which resulted in fig muffin tops that were pillowy soft and sinfully moist.
And, you don’t need a fancy muffin-top pan or any elaborate kitchen gadgets and gizmos to make these. You don’t even need muffin cups or any sort of paper liners!
The Only Equipment You Will Need To Make Muffin Tops:
In fact, you will only need:
- 1 large bowl or a medium bowl,
- A measuring cup set or some sort of measuring utensils to measure out a 1/2 cup and a 2/3 cup and a 1/2 teaspoon, 1/3 teaspoon, and a tablespoon.
- A spoon to mix the batter,
- A Baking tray with parchment paper or a silpat.
All the above can be found in my Amazon shop ~ check it out here.
What are the ingredients needed to make these fig muffin tops?
You will need the following 11 ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Almond flour
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Baking powder
- Egg
- Olive oil
- Almond milk
- Pure vanilla extract
- Fresh figs
Substitutions & Variations:
Why use all purpose flour and almond flour?
I choose to combine the two for 2 reasons. One, I like the taste and texture almond flour adds to these muffin tops. And, two, almond flour has more protein than AP Flour, which adds a nice protein boost to muffin tops, which in turn, tends to help to keep me fuller for longer. You can read more about the benefits of almond flour here.
Now, you don’t have to use a combination of both. I have used only all purpose flour in some muffin top recipes like these chocolate cherry ones (which were recreated by Sonali @ The Foodie Physician ~ check out her Reel here). So, please feel free to use only all-purpose flour if you prefer.
Sugar
In my cookbook, Muffin Top Mania, I have several muffin top recipes that are made with an alternative sweetener to sugar. So, if you are trying to curb your sugar intake for whatever reason, these fig muffin tops can also be made with a sugar alternative like monkfruit sweetener or erythritol.
Cinnamon
To me, just a hint of cinnamon pairs well with figs. But, if you prefer, you could use nutmeg or cardamom or even a bit of pumpkin pie spice!
If you prefer to use maple syrup or honey, then, do keep in mind that the consistency of this batter will alter greatly and it might be too runny to form into “muffin tops” on your baking tray.
Olive oil
My personal preference is that olive oil works well in these. However, melted butter could be used in place of olive oil for a richer muffin top.
Almond milk
My gut cannot handle cows milk, so I chose to use almond milk in these muffin tops. If you are trying to stick to a dairy-free diet, then any other nut milk would work. Depending on the thickness of the nut milk, you might have to use a little bit more to get the mixture of ingredients into a thick batter-like consistency. But, if you do not have any dietary preference, cow’s milk or goat’s milk would work as well.
Fresh figs vs dry figs
I love fresh ripe figs, so I used some of the black mission figs I had leftover after making this fig chutney, in these muffin tops. If you prefer dried figs, those can be used as well. Do keep in mind that dry figs tend to be a lot sweeter than fresh figs, so the amount of sugar used in the recipe might need to be altered.
Instructions:
After all the ingredients are gathered, mix together the dry ingredients. Then, add in the wet ingredients and stir.
Rinse and chop up the figs and gently fold the chopped figs into the mixture. I saved 4 slices of figs to use to adorn the tops of the muffins with, but that is totally optional. Also, totally optional, you could also add in some walnuts or pecans or any nuts, as well. Once the ingredients are mixed together, the batter should be thick – somewhere between cookie dough and cake batter.
After this, using the spoon, heap up mounds of the thick batter onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a Silpat to form the muffin tops. Then, bake!
After they are done baking, let them sit on the pan until they are cool to handle. If you try to transfer these to cool on wire racks as soon as they come out of the oven, they might fall apart. So, I usually let these cool on the baking tray for about 10–15 minutes before I transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
How to store leftovers?
Any leftover muffin tops can be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge, to keep them fresh. These muffin tops are best at room temperature, so I would not recommend heating them up more than that. However, if you want to heat these up, I would recommend placing them on a microwave-safe dish and microwaving for 15–20 seconds or so, so they lose the chill of the refrigerator. Alternately, if you have more time in the morning, you could remove a muffin top or two from the container in the fridge, and place them on a plate so they come to room temperature naturally.
Love the tops of muffins? Then, check out these other recipes
Thanks so much for stopping by. If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below what you think of it, or tag your creation on social media with @savoryspin or #savoryspin. For more fusion, spice-filled, recipe ideas, please subscribe and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 figs 2 chopped, 1 sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Gather all the ingredients together.
- Add all the dry ingredients such as the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon to a larger or medium sized bowl and stir well.
- Then, add in the wet ingredients such as the egg, almond milk, olive oil, and vanilla extract and stir well.
- Rinse, dry, and chop up the figs and gently fold the chopped figs into the mixture. I saved 4 slices of figs to use to adorn the tops of the muffins with, but that is totally optional. Once the ingredients are mixed together, the batter should be thick – somewhere between cookie dough and cake batter.
- After this, using the spoon, heap up mounds of the thick batter onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a Silpat to form the muffin tops. Then, bake at 375 degrees F for 17-19 minutes.
- After they are done baking, let them sit on the pan until they are cool to handle. If you try to transfer these to cool on wire racks as soon as they come out of the oven, they might fall apart. So, I usually let these cool on the baking tray for about 10–15 minutes before I transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
Muffin top is the best part of a muffin. These look fabulous!
These muffins look delish and the top is definitely the best part.
Can you send me some for breakfast please? I cannot wait for fig season to try these 🙂
I love how you put the sliced fig on top of each of these MTs! The appearance is really cool, and I’m certain the taste would be even better. Yum!!
This Fig Muffin Tops recipe looks delicious and easy to make! I love that you used fresh figs and cinnamon for a unique flavor. The instructions are clear, and I appreciate the tips on substitutions. Thanks for sharing!