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My praline cassava flour muffins are pure melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness, y'all!! All the flavors you know and love from praline candies, all rolled up inside of a silky cream cheese muffin batter. Then, a pecan streusel topping that layers the praline flavor BOMB, taking these muffins to completely unforgettable, next-level scrumptiousness. Yep and yay...
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It Takes Its Name from a South Louisiana Favorite Dessert, Y'all...
Praline cassava flour muffins feature all of the flavors of the famous New Orleans candy in a soft, scrumptious baked good. The distinctive brown sugar, granulated sugar, pecan, vanilla, and cream flavors are all prominent in the batter and topping. So, this spin on an old, old south Louisiana favorite provides nostalgic flavors in an easy-to-eat muffin that kids and adults adore from first bite.
If you've never tried cassava flour before, you're certainly in for a treat. This naturally grain and gluten free flour is made by drying the grated cassava root vegetable. Then, it's pounded into flour that can be used at a 1:1 ratio for wheat flour.
Therefore, these incredibly delicious muffins have a 'normal' texture that no one would ever suspect were gluten free. A knockout dessert recipe, these praline cassava flour muffins are also an indulgent snack, and breakfast or brunch item.
Ingredient Essentials
- Cassava flour is the most abundant ingredient in this praline cassava flour muffins recipe. Luckily, it's not hard to come by. I always find it stocked at my local Walmart. Also, several brands that I know and trust, including Otto's and Anthony's, are available on Amazon.
- You'll need butter for the topping and the muffin batter. Since salt is the ultimate baked goods flavor enhancer, I use salted butter to cut down on the number of necessary ingredients. If you don't have salted butter on hand, just add a pinch of salt to the batter during the last blender pulse.
- This recipe calls for a small bit of almond flour. I have paired cassava flour with almond flour successfully for many years now, using them together in my banana bread and other treats. The little bit goes a long way in helping to achieve a melt-in-your-mouth muffin texture that lightens the medium-heaviness of the cassava.
- Cream cheese makes these praline cassava flour muffins extra soft, and honestly a bit surreal. So, definitely don't skip it or the muffins just won't be the same.
- I use both baking powder and baking soda in this recipe. In my opinion, they work very well together to raise the gluten free muffins slightly and help them brown evenly while baking. If you are strictly gluten free like I am, make sure that your baking powder is safe to eat before buying.
- Pecans are literally the most important ingredient in pralines. So, they really can't be substituted in these muffins without a drastic change in flavor and texture. That said, it is better to omit them completely from the recipe than to try to use another nut in their place, as the muffins will not have the same flavor and texture.
Praline Cassava Flour Muffins Substitutions
I use half-and-half in these muffins because we always have it on hand for our morning coffee. I recommend using evaporated milk as the most ideal substitute for it. You can also use heavy cream or milk, too, if that's what you have on hand.
Top Tips
There's a two-step process to praline cassava flour muffins success, y'all.
First, gather all of the ingredients together before you start baking. Double and even triple-check each ingredient against the list to make sure that you have it all together before you start to prep the muffins.
Second, be extremely careful not to overwork the muffin batter or the topping. Pulse each step in the prep process for just as long as it takes to incorporate the ingredients, and not a moment longer. The same goes for the streusel topping. Just stir the ingredients lightly until they are combined, then use immediately.
Storage
These praline muffins contain cream cheese, so you can't store them in an airtight container on the counter. They must be refrigerated after two hours. If you don't like them cold, then heat them up individually in the microwave for a few seconds until warm.
How to Make Praline Cassava Flour Muffins
Start by lining a 12-muffin pan with liners.
Then, pour the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cream cheese, and butter into a blender. Pulse for just a few seconds, or until the ingredients are combined. (If your blender isn't high-powered enough to blend these somewhat dense ingredients together, then just add the remaining wet ingredients to the blender. Pulse, then continue following the recipe as written.)
Now, add the eggs, vanilla extract, and half-and-half to the blender. Pulse for just a few seconds, using a baking spatula to clean the sides of the blender and re-pulsing, as needed.
Then, add the cassava flour and almond flour to the blender. Pulse for about 15 to 25 seconds, or until all of the ingredients are well combined.
Scrape down the side of the bowl with the spatula, if necessary, to ensure that the batter is uniform throughout.
Then, add the pecans to the blender, and give the batter a soft, final stir with the spatula to gently incorporate the nuts into the mixture.
Next, pour the batter into the muffin liners. You want to go about ⅔ full.
Now you're ready to make the topping. Pour all of the ingredients into a bowl, then stir for just a few seconds until the mixture combines.
Finally, spoon the topping equally over the batter in each of the 12 muffins. Then, slide into the oven and bake until done.
And that's it, y'all!!
The smell of these baking praline cassava flour muffins makes you giddy with anticipation. Then, once you pull them out of the oven it's all you can do to let them cool down enough so you can straight tear into one.
And it's all worth it, cause the phenomenal flavors and textures that you experience are unlike anything else you've ever had before. Yes, they taste like pralines. But, they also have their own texture play between the muffin and the topping that's all-new, and out of this world. Indeed!
Share these praline cassava flour muffins with those who can't wait to share their very best with you, too. Much food love, and see y'all on the yum side...
Other Sweet Gluten Free Treats
NOTE: This post was originally published on November 22, 2019, and updated with new pictures and content on October 30, 2023.
Praline Cassava Flour Muffins
Ingredients
For the Pecan Praline Streusel Topping
- 2 tablespoons pecan halves or pieces
- ⅓ cup cassava flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
For the Praline Cassava Flour Muffins
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup half-n-half
- 2 teaspoons gluten free vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups cassava flour
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons pecan halves or pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 12-muffin pan with muffin liners. Set aside.
- Pour the cream cheese, butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar into a blender.
- Pulse until incorporated, about 30 to 45 seconds, using a silicone spatula 1 to 2 times to scrape down the sides of the blender pitcher. (If your blender isn't powerful enough to combine these ingredients, then add the remaining wet ingredients to the blender, pulse, then continue following the recipe as written.)
- Add the eggs, half-n-half, and vanilla extract to the blender.
- Pulse until incorporated, for another 30 to 45 seconds. Use spatula again, if needed.
- Pour the cassava flour, almond flour, baking soda, and baking powder into the blender pitcher.
- Pulse for 45 to 60 seconds, until well-incorporated, using the spatula if you need it.
- Fold the remaining pecans into the batter.
- Use a retractable, 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the batter into the liners to about the two-thirds mark.
- Now, stir all of the topping ingredients together in a bowl.
- Top each muffin with about 1 tablespoon of the topping, then slide the muffin pan into the oven.
- Bake for 18 to 24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes back clean.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer muffins to a baking rack until completely cool.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.
See our full nutrition disclaimer here.
