Cranberry Upside-Down Muffins

These vegan muffins flip the script, literally. A spoonful of jellied cranberry sauce goes into the bottom of each muffin cup before the batter, and when you invert them after baking, that ruby-red layer becomes a glistening crown on top. It’s the same concept as a pineapple upside-down cake, scaled down to muffin size.

The batter uses soy milk, applesauce, and egg replacer instead of dairy, butter, and eggs, keeping things low-fat without sacrificing moisture. Applesauce does the job that oil or butter normally would, binding the batter and adding a subtle fruity sweetness. Rolled oats soaked in soy milk give the crumb a hearty, chewy texture with some real substance.

Cinnamon and nutmeg warm up the flavor, and cream of tartar paired with baking soda handles the rise. Mix the wet and dry ingredients just until combined. Overmixing is the fastest way to turn these from tender to tough.

Kitchen Tips

• Invert the muffins after just 2 minutes of cooling. Wait too long and the cranberry sauce glues itself to the pan and tears off when you flip.
• If using whole eggs instead of egg replacer, skip the half cup of water. The eggs provide enough moisture on their own.
• Fill each cup exactly two-thirds full. Too much batter and the muffins overflow over the cranberry sauce layer and lose the clean upside-down look.
• Grease the muffin tins well, especially the bottoms where the cranberry sauce sits. A stuck muffin means a broken cranberry top.

Variations

• Use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose for a nuttier, more fiber-rich muffin.
• Swap cranberry sauce for apple butter for a fall-flavored upside-down twist.
• Add a handful of chopped pecans on top of the cranberry sauce before adding batter for a nutty crunch layer.