I found huge stalks of rhubarb in the supermarket the other day and have gone a little bonkers thinking of a million different recipes I could make using this delicious vegetable.

My only issue is that in the past I have always cooked this very bitter ingredient with a lot of sugar and I now try to stick to a refined sugar free diet so will have to try a new version. My mum advised me that the best way to deal with rhubarb is to cook it first, then add sweetness, as it sucks up all the sugar and you end up putting in double if you cook it in sugar first.

My favourite natural sweeteners are honey, bananas and dates so I thought I could combine all of these to make some little breakfast muffins.

I’m always trying to use wholemeal flour when I can but if you want to make this gluten free, swap the flour and baking powder for gluten free flour, and gluten free baking powder. I am also going to try this recipe with ground almonds and bicarbonate of soda as a gluten free option. Let me know if you try it and it’s a success. I have also made this recipe dairy free as more and more people seem to be lactose intolerant these days. If you don’t have any coconut oil then use butter.

Ingredients:
(Make 4 muffins)

1 large ripe banana
50 g finely chopped dates
1/2 tsp baking powder
60 g wholemeal flour
1 medium egg
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
25 g melted coconut oil
Pinch of salt
1 large stalk of rhubarb
2 tsp honey

Turn the oven to 180 degrees and grease 4 mini muffin tins with either butter or coconut oil.

Top and tail the rhubarb and pull of any strands from the outside. It is a little like celery in that you get the stringy bits which can be tough if you don’t remove them. Chop the rhubarb into 1 cm wide chunks and place into a saucepan that has the base covered in a little water then place onto cooker and bring to the boil with lid on, then turn down the heat and cook gently for about 8-10 minutes. Rhubarb when cooked should be very soft.

Whisk the egg, melted coconut oil and vanilla paste together in one bowl and add the mashed banana. Measure out the baking powder, salt, flour and chopped dates and combine the dry and wet ingredients.

Put half a teaspoon of honey in bottom of each tin then divide the rhubarb between them. Then spoon the cake mixture on the top. Place in the oven for 22 minutes when the muffins should have risen a little and be bouncy to touch.

When cooled a little, run a palate knife around the edge of the tin and flip out upside down. Serve warm if possible with a further drizzle of honey and greek yogurt for breakfast. Alternatively use this as a breakfast on the go muffin.