I am not much of a baker. I really hate measuring and since this is non-negotiable in baking, I tend to steer towards cooking instead. I love that cooking is pure imagination. If I add too much or too little of an ingredient, I can easily change it up without destroying the overall product. This is not the case in baking. One screw up or missing ingredient and you might have ruined the whole dish.

I have been forcing myself to do more baking and was excited to learn that this month’s Recipe Redux topic was ‘Stick with Maple-Honey Sweetness’. Using either maple syrup or honey in recipes. Real maple syrup is undeniable in recipes, adding a subtle, natural sweetness to savory dishes and moistness to baked ones. I had a few recipes in mind involving butternut squash and maple syrup but decided to go with a baked good instead.

I recently saw Carrot Cake muffins from the Fat Free Vegan blog and was inspired to come up with my own recipe. I love carrot cake and rarely eat muffins. Honestly, I don’t get muffins. I don’t think they are filling enough for a meal and are often too sweet and too large. That being said,  I was determined to make a muffin that didn’t act like a cupcake. The oat crumble on top is a indulgent treat, so feel free to omit it.

Carrot Cake Muffins

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour or Spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground clover
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground flax seed

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp. canola oil
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup + 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup freshly grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Crumble Topping
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. pure maple syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prep a muffin tin with liners.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients except carrots, raisins, walnuts.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir together. Add the carrots, walnuts and raisins. Gently stir until just combined.

Spoon the batter 2/3 of the way up into the muffin liners.

Make the crumble:
Combine the flour, oats, and brown sugar. Melt the butter and add the maple syrup. Stir in the butter and maple syrup and mix with a fork. Using your fingers, gently crumble the mixture to the top of the muffin.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 22 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 12 regular size muffins, 6 large muffins. If you decide to make large muffins, reduce the heat to 375 and cook an additional 6-7 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean.

Make sure to check out the rest of the Redux recipes this month, all guaranteed to be healthy and delicious!

getthe InLinkz code