Monday, March 7, 2011

Meatless Monday: Carrot Cake Muffins

Carrot Cake Muffins
I have a new food obsession to report--Carrot Cake Muffins.

And they're healthy, packed with carrots, walnuts, whole grains, golden raisins, and natural sweetener. It sounds too good to be true doesn't it?

I've always loved carrot cake for the rich combination of spices and fresh carrots, which somehow balance out the cake part. And now I have a way to enjoy it guilt free, thanks to Martha Rose Shulman. The recipe appeared in her Recipes For Health column in the New York Times last week.

I adapted it slightly, replacing the buttermilk with almond milk, the brown sugar with sucanat, and the canola oil with grapeseed oil, the pecans with walnuts. I also used both walnuts and raisins, instead of the either/or in the recipe.

The resulting muffins were fantastic, even prompting my husband to eat several for breakfast, a meal that he usually skips or fulfills with protein bars. I plan to make them again this week--I can't wait!


Carrot Cake Muffins
Adapted from Recipes for Health
Makes about twelve muffins
Baking time: about 25 minutes
Print Recipe

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup sucanat or raw brown (turbinado) sugar
1/3 cup grapeseed oil or canola oil
1 1/3 cups unsweetened almond milk or buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup golden raisins tossed with 1 teaspoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 cups grated carrots

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack in the upper third of the space. Oil or butter muffin tins.


Sift together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla. Using a whisk or a spatula, stir in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the raisins, walnuts, and the carrots.

Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full). Place in the oven, and bake 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen. 


Yield: Twelve muffins, depending on the size of the muffin tins.

Advance Preparation: These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator and for a few months in the freezer.

Source for Ingredients
organic whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, organic cinnamon, organic nutmeg, organic allspice, organic cloves, Kosher salt, organic sucanat, and organic vanilla extract from Whole Foods

unsweetened almond milk, golden raisins, shredded carrots, and grapeseed oil from Trader Joe's

organic eggs from West Hollywood Farmers Market

organic walnuts from Oh Nuts!

2 comments:

  1. I've made a carrot cake many times. I'm just wondering why did you toss the raisins in flour??

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    Replies
    1. It helps to keep them from sinking to the bottom/keeps them dispersed throughout the batter and the muffin. This is a great recipe—I recommend it. Healthy and tasty. xx

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