Citrus Upside Down Vegan Gluten Free Muffins

These easy upside down vegan gluten free muffins are made with coconut sugar, Gimbi Pink Grapefruit Bai Bubbles, and oranges! They’re a healthy breakfast or snack for busy mornings!

Before we dive face first into the cutest, melty-drippy-sugar coated vegan baking experience that your muffin-munching mouth has ever had, we’re going to do what good people would do when they totally CRUSH a traditional recipe for all the evers of life: a moment of split-silence.

For upside down CAKES like this gluten free pineapple upside down cake from Noshtastic.

Because upside down MUFFINS? Word on the street is that they are the NEW THANG.

Or maybe word in my brain because, as soon as my taste buds hit the ooey-gooey, caramelized-coconut sugar and sunk slowly through a BURST of juicy, fresh and vibrant MANDARIN ORANGE (<3 <3 <3 <3) and finally ended in a spicy-sweet and tender muffin, I decided that they basically were my new breakfast identity.

Split-second done. Muffins are IN DA OVEN.

Upside down muffins to be exact. That, like all the muffins that exist on planet earth, are best eaten from the BOTTOM UP. I’m just being a real human here guys. You know you do it too. The best PART of the muffin is the top. FACTFACTFACT ALWAYS.

Or, in this case. The bottom. Which is actually the top. It’ll all make sense, don’t worry.

Hang on a sec though. Before I tell you that these are made with deliciously-slurp able-all-day-long-Bai-Bubbles (Umm…SPOILER ALERT? I guess I just told you already) let me just save your baking souls. I know you’re thinking “but what if I DO want cake?” and I can already see you getting you 8-incher out from wherever you store it. It changes for me most days, depending on who unloads the dishwasher.

Side note: don’t let your husband do it. YOU’LL NEVER FIND ANYTHING EVER AGAIN.

I tried it. Like, 6 times. It tastes like unicorns running through a field of daisies. OR just really delicious. Whatever. BUT, it doesn’t really cut.

However, muffins? NO CUTTING REQUIRED.

I try to give you recipes that are all customizable to your inner-selves that like to do whatever you want. But, today, it is not that recipe. I’m going to be bossy but:

KEEP IT AS A MUFFIN.

Okay. I’m done.

We’ve discussed bad and terrible no-good ideas, so how about a few SUPER good ones. Or, like, one super EXCELLENT one:  Use Bai Bubbles in your baking. Like, the Bai Bubbles that make your muffins SO dome-y and ultra-perfect because of carbonated BUBBLES.

The same Bai Bubbles that are only 5 calories, perfectly **naturally!!** sweetened and come in flavors with pretty and exotic names like “Gimbi Pink Grapefruit.”

I don’t know what a “Gimbi” is, but with a fun-to-say name like that, I knew that I MUSTMUSTMUST use it in these muffins.

With mandarin oranges. Because the citrus combo? Completes my fall-fruit loving life for ALWAYS.

These muffins. I LOVE them. I just kind of looked down at my breakfast plate and smiled at the sight of them.

That might be speaking a little bit generously about my will power though. It was not strong enough to spend an extra 5 seconds smiling at muffins in the morning.

Honest moment: I actually wiped the drippy orange juice off my face and looked down at my plate.

EMPTY.

Recipe

Vegan Citrus Upside Down Gluten Free Muffins

5 from 4 votes

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Serves: 12

Prep: 35 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Total: 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp flax meal
• 1/4 Cup + 1 Tbsp Warm water
• 1/4 Cup + 1 Tbsp Melted coconut oil divided
• 1 1/4 Cups Coconut sugar lightly packed and divided
• 2 Mandarin oranges + zest *
• 2 1/3 Cups Oat flour sifted (215g)
• 1/2 Tbsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Ginger powder
• 2 tsps Vanilla extract
• 1 tsp Raw apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 Cup Bai Bubbles Gimbi Pink Grapefruit at room temperature **

Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk together the flax meal and warm water. Make sure to add the flax meal into the bowl first, and stir the water into it, as opposed to vise versa. Place the bowl into the refrigerator for 30 minutes so it can gel together.
• While the flax egg sits divide 1 Tbsp of melted coconut oil between the 12 cavities of a muffin tin, or 1/4 tsp melted oil per cavity. Use your fingers to lightly spread a little bit of oil up the sides of the cavity, but keep the majority of it on the bottom of the cavity, and rub around to evenly coat it.
• Divide 1/4 Cup of coconut sugar between the cavities (about 1 tsp per cavity) sprinkling evenly, just onto the bottom of each cavity.
• Zest both of the oranges into a large bowl (you'll use it later) and then peel them. Place the oranges on their side, and slice each into 6 thin slices. Gently place one slice into the bottom of each muffin cavity. Set aside and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the sifted oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger powder until well mixed. Set aside.
• Place the remaining 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil and 1 cup of coconut sugar into the large bowl with the orange zest and beat together with an electric hand mixer, just until the coconut sugar is moistened.
• Add the vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and the chilled flax egg into the sugar mixture and beat again until smooth and well mixed.
• Pour the Bai Bubbles into the oil/sugar mixture and whisk until smooth. The top will foam from the carbonation, which is normal. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth and lump-free.
• Divide the mixture between the muffin cavities, filling almost right to the top.
• Bake until a tooth pick comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes (not more, not less. You don't want the sugar to start to harden) and then turn the tins upside down onto a cooling rack to release the muffins. Lightly press the muffins down onto the rack to slightly flatten the bottoms and let cool completely.
• DEVOUR.

Tips & Notes:

Don't use navel oranges, as they aren't as sweet as mandarins, and I thought they did not taste as good. Also, you may want to grab 3 oranges just in case some of your slices are kind of ugly and thick, like mine were 🙂
* Room temperature is very important, or the coconut oil will harden when you had the Bai Bubbles.
Muffins will become very soft at room temperature so store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, or freeze.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.

Author: Taylor

Course:Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine:American

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 Want more vegan breakfasts?

Coconut Blueberry Slow Cooker Oatmeal

Vegan Cookie Dough Breakfast Bowl

Banana Split Vegan Smoothie Bowl

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