5 minutes, a coffee☕ and a muffin! Whether it’s a busy work-day or a slow Saturday breakfast, few things parallel this little indulgence😊. And while its perfectly alright to indulge, a relatively healthy muffin tastes even sweeter! (figuratively of course) This recipe in fact, uses only a third of the sugar that goes into a typical muffin, along with raisins for natural sweetness. It also uses Cinnamon – for that warm, comforting flavour!
So what makes these muffins healthier? Less sugar overall, whole wheat instead of all-purpose flour, oil instead of butter, and carrots🥕 for fiber & vitamins! Walnuts are an optional mix in; they’re a great way to add essential nutrients and let’s be honest, a delightful crunch.
A couple of tips to getting the texture right: 1) Don’t skimp on the carrot if you want moist muffins; the grated carrot releases moisture as it bakes and prevents the muffins from drying out. 2) Allow the batter to rest for 15 – 20 mins before it bakes; this gives it a chance to aerate. 3) Use eggs. They add a lift that just isn’t possible to achieve with baking powder alone. Tips 2 & 3 give you soft, light muffins. [Bonus: Eggs = protein, making these muffins an even more nutritious brekkie option!]
Recipe: Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins
Equipment
- A measuring scale
- An oven (the Oven Toaster Grill kind)
- A whisk / wooden spoon to mix the batter
- A muffin tray (either metal or silicone)
- If using a metal muffin tray, you’ll also need muffin/ cupcake liners
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs
- 175 ml Sunflower Oil
- 75 gms Brown Sugar
- 200 gms Whole Wheat Flour [I actually used multi-grain atta]
- ¾ tsp Baking Powder
- ¾ tsp Baking Soda
- ⅛ tsp Salt [a pinch]
- ⅕ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ⅓ cup Milk [cold]
- 200 gms Grated Carrots [roughly 2 medium sized carrots, peeled and grated]
- 100 gms Raisins
- 50 gms Walnuts [chopped]
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 170° C.
- Whisk together the eggs and oil in a large bowl until well combined.
- Add the brown sugar and continue to whisk until it dissolves.
- Sift the whole wheat flour, baking powder, powdered cinnamon1 and salt into the bowl. Whisk again until it comes together as a batter.
- Add a quarter cup of cold milk to loosen the batter up.
- Fold in the grated carrot.
- Fold in the raisins and walnuts(optional). Reserve 4 – 5 tsps of chopped walnuts to top the muffins later.
- Line the baking tray with muffin liners2, and fill each cup with batter to about 3/4th its full capacity3. Top each muffin with pieces of the reserved walnut. Here's what the muffins look like before going into the oven:
- Bake at 170° C for 25 mins or until done. To check if done, poke a skewer or toothpick into the middle of a muffin and draw it out; if it comes out clean, the muffins are done! If not, bake for a further 3 – 4 mins. Here's what they look like once baked!
Recipe Notes:
1 You can definitely use store bought cinnamon powder in this recipe, but fresh ground has a much more intense flavour. So if using store bought, use 1 full tsp instead of half.
2You only need the liners if using a metal baking tray. I like using a silicone tray as it helps avoid the use of single use paper.
3We fill the muffin cups to 3/4th capacity so that there’s room for the batter to rise as it bakes. If you fill the cups all the way, the batter will rise outside the cups as it initially bakes, spill onto the tray and your muffins could fuse together.
This time around, I used a herbal, country sugar; it’s spiked with all these other natural ingredients to boost immunity. (take a look at the ingredients label in the image below!) Regular brown sugar, jaggery and palm sugar work equally well and are all healthier options compared to the processed, white kind.
As always, let me know in the comments below if you need any further instructions, or if you tried this recipe and have some feedback.🖖
