I’ve made quite a few mistakes in my life.

Many of whom were the boys I dated. (Woof.)

A few of them were jobs. (Double woof.)

People I trusted.

Maybe a few outfit choices in my younger days.

And about a handful of some very bad haircuts.

But not all mistakes are bad. Some of my favorite mistakes often happen when I’m in the kitchen.

After a long day at work earlier this week, I was craving muffins. Looking around in my pantry I had a tart apple and some strawberries. I researched some recipes and found a gluten-free AND vegan recipe for strawberry and apple muffins. And as any person whose made a few mistakes in their past, this recipe had its own red flags.

First, it didn’t have any egg substitutes. Nor did it have enough fat. After following the recipe step by step, the consistency was quite dry. So dry that it wouldn’t even incorporate properly. I adjusted the fat content by adding some olive oil and a touch more maple syrup.

I baked off 12 of the muffins for about 30 minutes and the muffins just didn’t rise. The texture was off, a bit gritty actually. The flavor was on point, so I didn’t feel that it justified me throwing the entire batch away. Instead, I quickly went into Plan B mode and pulled the pre-baked muffin mess and greased a tart pan. Pressed the still-warm batter into the pan. Placed the crumb tart back into the oven for another 25-30 minutes. I waited till the crust was a beautiful dark golden brown and then pulled it out to cool. The resulting crumb crust was caramel-y buttery, light, sweet from the strawberries and perfectly tart from the apple.

I then prepped the cashew cheesecake batter and filled the cooled tart shell. I only placed the cheesecake in the fridge till it was just set. I topped it with freeze-dried strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar. But you can add any topping to it. Date caramel would be amazing on this. Coconut caramel would be great as well.

Mistakes aren’t all bad, you see. This one was honestly quite delightful. And it didn’t leave me heartbroken or with a bad hair day.

– Kelly Rae

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