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The first time I baked with dragon fruit, I did not know that it would change color when baked. My children were enchanted and I was enthralled. It sent me down a rabbit hole of research to learn all of the possible reasons why. My children, on the other hand, didn’t care. They love these “Magic Muffins.”
You’ll spoon a vibrant pink batter into the muffin liners and they’ll lighten as they bake. Because dragon fruit cannot retain its pink color when exposed to heat, I do like to add raspberries to help maintain some of the charming pink color. You could use just dragon fruit if you desire, or sub for your favorite fruit, as this recipe is delicious either way.
Good to Know:
Dragon fruit, also known as pitaya, has a bold color due to natural chemicals called Betacyanins and Anthocyanins. These are great antioxidants and protect against cellular damage in the body. While it won’t completely destroy the nutritional value in dragon fruit, heat does diminish some of the nutritional value, hence why the color dissipates during baking.
Dragon fruit is considered a superfood because it is full of fiber, probiotics, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and Healthy fatty acids. Antioxidants are essential to protect the body from cellular damage and from free radicals, which cause chronic disease and aging.
Helpful Products:
Silicone muffin pan Stainless steel muffin pan
Traditional muffin liners Tulip style muffin liners
Vibrant Dragon Fruit Muffins
Equipment
- 2 Muffin tins
- 24 cupcake liners
Ingredients
- 1 cup avocado oil
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large large egg
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 3 cups flour or cassava flour or your favorite GF 1:1 flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 1/3 cup frozen, diced dragon fruit
- 2/3 cup frozen raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Mix the oil and sugar until it looks lighter and airier. Add the egg and mix well.
- Add the milk, almond extract, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix until everything is evenly combined.
- To the wet mixture, add the all-purpose flour and baking powder, and gently mix until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Gently fold in the frozen fruit pieces until it us evenly distributed.
- Spoon the batter into muffin liners, 3/4 full.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until springy when touched.
- Remove from cupcake pan and allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes before serving.