I love carrot cake, but most recipes produce a very oily and heavy cake. So I set out to create all of the flavors of the perfect carrot cake in a much healthier gluten-free and dairy-free version. Yum! I frosted these with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting in honor of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (it is traditional to eat dairy on Shavuot), and they were a huge hit. Frosted, these muffins are great for a dessert. Unfrosted, they make a great breakfast-on-the-go!
The little trick here is to use a jar of baby food (or you can cook and puree your own carrots)! The carrots are pureed to a nice texture, and it helps keep everything nice and moist so you don’t need to use oil at all. The shredded carrots add additional carroty-y goodness, plus a great texture.
Carrot Cake Muffins
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 very brown banana, pureed
1 4 oz. jar of carrot baby food
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 tsp good quality cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup millet flour
1 cup shredded carrots
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two muffin. In a mixer or large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, then mix in the banana puree, carrot juice, oil, lemon juice, ginger, and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together baking powder, xanthan gum and the sorghum, rice,and millet flours until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Stir into wet mixture until well combined. Fold in shredded carrots.
- Divide batter evenly among the muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the tops are firm and the edges are browned.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
8 oz. cold cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Directions:
- In a mixer (or using the whisk attachment of an immersion blender), beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in remaining ingredients until uniformly distributed. Add additional sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon to taste.
- Pipe or spread onto muffins immediately. If you plan to frost later, remove the frosting from the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to soften.
If you wanted to make these glutenous (is that a word?) would it be 1 3/4 c flour? Do you think you’d change the leavening agent(s)?
Thanks!!!
Great question! You could definitely use the same proportion of flour, although I’d start with 1 1/4 cups to begin with just to make sure it absorbs the liquid in the same way. Always easier to add more dry than wet.
Also for those who don’t want to buy separate gluten-free flours, you could just use 1 3/4 cups of an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix, just omit the xanthan gum if the mix already contains it.
I can attest to the yummy goodness which comprises these muffins.