Carrot cake has always been one of my favorites. Its moist, spicy and densely flavorful! So what could be wrong with adding more carrot cake to my everyday life? Traditional recipes have eggs, lots of oil and lots of sugar.

These muffins give me the flavor fix I want without the extras I don’t need. I use whole wheat flour instead of white, sub applesauce for most of the oil, and dropped the sugar down by adding molasses which brings with it a dose of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium and selenium. And of course there are the glorious carrots which are an excellent source of Vitamin A and Beta Carotene!

 Carrot Cake Muffins

Yield: 12 regular sized muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup non-dairy milk

1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon non-aluminum baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups grated carrot (about 4)

½ cup organic light cane sugar

2 Tablespoons molasses

1/3 cup apple sauce

2 Tablespoons coconut, or vegetable oil

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

*optional*

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped walnuts

 

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease or line (1) 12 muffin tin.

In a small bowl whisk together the non dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to allow the milk to curdle.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt and set aside.

Grate the carrot. Set aside.

In another large mixing bowl mix together the sugar, maple syrup, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk in the non-dairy milk mixture from the first step.

 Fold in the shredded carrots. *Fold in the raisins and/or nuts if you are using them.

 Fill each well approx. 2/3 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (mini muffins-12 minutes)

Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove muffins and allow them to fully cool on a rack.