A colleague brought in some carrot cupcakes to work recently and it reminded me that I hadn’t done any baking with carrots for a long time, and I do love me some carrot cake! I decided to go a slightly healthier route (removing the cream cheese icing helps!) and went with carrot muffins instead, which naturally called for the addition of walnuts and raisins.
They turned out really well and made the perfect mid-afternoon snack at work, paired with a cup of peppermint tea (my current tea obsession for work days!). I was pretty popular when I showed up with a few at my parents place as well!
Recipe adapted from here
Ingredients List
- 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
- 1 cup plain flour
- 2tsp baking powder
- 1tbs cinnamon
- 1tsp ground ginger
- Pinch salt
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup apple sauce
- 1/4 cup vanilla greek yoghurt (or plain)
- 3 eggs
- 2tsp vanilla essence
- 2 large carrots
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- Oats (to sprinkle)
Steps
- Preheat oven to 180C
- Combine flours and spices in a bowl and set aside
- Beat the oil and sugar until combined then add the apple sauce and yoghurt and beat for another minute
- Add the eggs one at a time and beat well, then stir in the vanilla essence
- Fold in the flour mixture until just combined
- Grate the carrots and roughly chop the walnuts, then add to the batter with the raisins and coconut. Fold to combine.
- Spoon into lined muffin pans and sprinkle with oats
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned and a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack
- Enjoy!
Unsurprisingly these didn’t last long in my house and I’m sure it won’t be long before I whip up another batch! They would be great for school lunchboxes too, and you can easily leave out the walnuts if you need to keep them nut-free.
What’s been baking in your kitchen recently?
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!
Anna
June 9, 2014 at 10:56 am (10 years ago)Hey Liz,
Just wondering – did you completely melt the coconut oil? It’s probably pretty solid for you given it is winter in Melbourne, but mine is permenantly soft mush here in Cali. Just wondering if it would matter.
Love the oats on top!
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
June 9, 2014 at 11:26 am (10 years ago)Hey Anna,
I melted it to almost a liquid, but as long as it’s soft enough to beat easily then I think you should be right!
Lila
June 9, 2014 at 3:22 pm (10 years ago)Yum! It really is baking season isn’t it?
Lila recently posted…Little Veggie Kitchen – Pecan into the Limelight
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
June 9, 2014 at 9:15 pm (10 years ago)It really is! Must be the cooler weather, we all want to have our ovens on!
Caeli @ Little Vegan Bear
June 9, 2014 at 10:25 pm (10 years ago)How did you find the texture of these with coconut oil? I made some banana muffins last week and was just playing around with the ingredients – I used coconut oil instead of nuttelex/veg oil and some different things in place of sugar. They were really yum but the texture was quite…solid? Muffins are usually fairly dense but it didn’t seem quite right. I’m not sure if it was the oil or the other ingredients I put in!
Caeli @ Little Vegan Bear recently posted…Toasted Sunflower Pesto
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
June 10, 2014 at 10:29 am (10 years ago)These were definitely muffin-dense, not fluffy like cupcakes, but they weren’t much more dense than normal muffins if that makes sense? They have a lot in them though!
veggie mama
June 9, 2014 at 10:47 pm (10 years ago)THIS is why I need colleagues! I mean, we have a morning tea every Friday, but dammit I want free muffins on the reg.
veggie mama recently posted…The Quick Lunch: Thai Soup for One
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
June 10, 2014 at 10:30 am (10 years ago)It’s often me that is the one bringing the baked goods (which is hardly surprising I guess!) but we got a new team member recently who likes baking too, so the baked goods supplying role has been expanded which is good! More muffins for everyone!
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile
October 9, 2014 at 9:38 pm (10 years ago)I bet your parents would have loved these. And yes, you’re right – way healthier without the cream cheese (but it is soooo good!!). I love the addition of walnuts and raisins too. Thanks for joining our Fabulous Foodie Fridays party. xxx
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile recently posted…Banana and Strawberry Cake – Fabulous Foodie Fridays #22
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
October 10, 2014 at 9:07 am (10 years ago)You can always pop some cream cheese on, I won’t tell anyone! xx
Jessica @ Sweet Menu
October 10, 2014 at 11:47 am (10 years ago)Aw these look lovely! Perfect snack to take to work!
Jessica @ Sweet Menu recently posted…Homemade Chocolate Freckles
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
October 11, 2014 at 10:08 am (10 years ago)Thanks Jessica, and yep they are the ideal work (or lunchbox!) snack I think!