There was this very trendy cafe in the small town we lived in and it used to be my favorite. Exposed brick walls, floor-to-ceiling murals of fruits and vegetables, desserts with names like cats meow and the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee in the air. Our favorite meal there was breakfast, and the dish I used to look forward to the most was their carrot muffins. Giant-sized, bursting with carrots and golden raisins, and an elusive spice blend with distinct notes of nutmeg that I tried very hard to decode. We left that town many, many years ago but the memory of those muffins cling to me till this day.
Many attempts have been made since then to recreate those and I even toyed with the idea of calling them up and begging for the recipe! I might still do that some day when I muster up enough courage but in the meantime, my kitchen experiments continue 🙂 And although not quite those muffins, this version of my carrot muffins lie somewhere in the vicinity. Out of habit, I have tried to take a healthier route with them, subsituting almond flour for some of the all-purpose flour and reducing the amount of sugar. The carrots bring along a whole lot of natural sweetness so cutting down the amoung of added sugar wasn’t so hard.
I have made them with grating the carrots with the large holes of the grater as well as the medium ones and both work equally well. It is a bit of a workout for the arms but quite well worth it. I skipped the raisins in this version because my son isn’t a huge fan of raisins in muffins but I would urge you to add some……..it really ups the flavor.
Many recipes for muffins ask that you fill the cavities in the muffin pan until it is 3/4 full but I really like the appearance of tall muffins so I fill it all the way to the top. The trick to having the muffins dome nicely is to let the batter rest for about half an hour after mixing (a trick I picked up from America’s Test Kitchen). And speaking of mixing, use a light hand when bringing the wet and dry ingredients together. Also, a light sprinkle of sliced almonds and raw sugar to add a bit of the wow factor.
I packed a batch of these for my son to take back to his college dorm since breakfast on-the-go is the norm now and he can just grab one on his way to an 8 a.m class. I did save a few for myself and they pair perfectly wih my mid-morning or late afternoon cup of tea!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup oat bran
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped roughly
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup raw sugar*
- 3 tbsp honey (optional)
- 3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 cups grated carrots
- almonds and raw sugar to top
Instructions
Mix the all-purpose flour, almond flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, salt, toasted walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.
Lightly beat the eggs in another bowl and add the sgar, buttermilk, honey and oil. Mix until until well-blended.
Add the carrots and mix well, making sure there are no lumps of grated carrots.
Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture with a gentle hand. It's ok to have some light streaks of flour but make sure to not overmix.
Set aside for half an hour. While you are waiting, preheat the oven to 425 F and grease the cavities of a 12-cup muffin tray with oil or butter and then lightly flour.
Fill the cavities until the top, sprinkle some sliced almonds and raw sugar. Bake for approx. 18-20 mins until the tops are a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre of the muffin is clean.
After about half an hour, fill
Notes
* You can increase the amount of sugar all the way from 3/4 to 1 cup, depending on how sweet you would like the muffins to be.
