These delicious little treats were the second batch of muffins I made after the first batch ended up too soggy. They were very tasty, but I think that the carrot shreds have more water content than I gave them credit for, so the second time around I decided to add in some finely shredded coconut, since coconut is known to soak up moisture in recipes. You could also give coconut flour a try, but I am not sure if you would want the full 1/2 cup. Experiment.
The coconut flavor is subtle but it really compliments the rest of the flavors in this muffin quite nicely. The walnuts and golden raisins are both optional, but I would say unless you hate them, you should add them in. Their addition to this muffin reminds me of a slice of traditional carrot cake. These muffins are subtly sweet so they would be perfect for breakfast, dessert or even a little snack. Hubby was of course begging for some sort of cream cheese frosting.
I love how rustic these muffins ended up looking after baking, that is why I ended up taking off the papers before I photographed them. The outside of each muffin had such a beautiful toasted, golden brown hue with specs of the shreds of carrots shining through.
Normally when I am writing up a recipe or editing photos, I still have leftovers in the kitchen, so after I am done staring at the photos forever and craving another taste of whatever it is, I head downstairs and grab a little bite. Sadly, I made these muffins about 10 days ago, but we’ve been so busy getting ready for our pop-up shop this past weekend that I haven’t had a moment to edit the photos and write this up. So, now I think I am going to have to make another batch of these ASAP, I want them that badly.
[print_this]Gluten-Free + Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins
Makes approximately 6 large muffins
2 flaxseed eggs (or you could also just use two large eggs):
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
6 tablespoons hot water
2 cups blanched almond flour*
1/2 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)
1/4 cup olive oil (melted coconut oil or melted ghee)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseeds and water, set aside and allow to get thick and gelatinous.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add in the shredded coconut, stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup (or honey), vanilla, oil and flax seed eggs and whisk until well combined.
Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring until combined. Carefully fold in the carrots, walnuts and raisins.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup to the top if you want a nice muffin dome. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Gently pop the muffins out to continue cooling on the rack (don’t cool them longer than 5 minutes in the hot pan they’ll definitely get soggy). Enjoy a muffin after they have cooled 10 minutes, you know you want to.
I find storing muffins covered tightly in the refrigerator or freezer to be the best, especially in the heat of summer. Just pop one out as you want it, heat slightly in the microwave if you want to take the chill off and go.
*NOTE: Something I have learned from baking on my own and from reading Elana’s Pantry, is that not all almond flour (or meal) is created equal. Bob’s Red Mill makes an almond flour, though easy to find, that doesn’t seem to react quite the same as other almond flours. It doesn’t seem to rise as much and it just seems to leave recipes flat. On Elana’s recommendation I now buy Honeyville brand almond flour in a 5-lb bag from their website. [/print_this]
19 Responses
making this also !! i am going to be one cooking/baking machine this weekend! this week = exam slave, come Friday it’ll be time for ME and my fav thing to do: cook, bake, EAT!!
Carrot cake is my absolute favorite. I make a similar version, but never thought about adding maple syrup. I bet it’s just amazing!
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wow. they look so yummy ! I will make these and eat them as a school snack 🙂 Thank you !!
I loved it!
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This is one of the best recipes I have tried, but the last batch I made is burning my throat and leaving a strange after taste especially if I try to eat something else. The only thing I did differently is that I used safflower oil this time along with carrot pulp from juicing instead of shredded carrot. Could the safflower oil be the cause? This is one of my faves so I really want to figure out why and not do it again!
Hi Lori.
Gosh I have no clue why that would happen. Did you possibly put in too much nutmeg or cinnamon? Is there a chance something in there could have been spoiled? Flaxseeds, especially when preground are very susceptible to going rancid, maybe that is it? I don’t typically use safflower oil, but I cannot understand why that might happen.
Sorry I cannot give you more of a definitive answer. I wish I knew. I do hope you will try them again and that they turn out better next time for you.
Thanks for reading!
I grind my own flax seed meal and keep it in the fridge along with the seeds, but they were old and at the end of the bag so you might be on to something. I will definitely keep making them as they are one of my favorite recipes I have tried since going vegan and gluten free. Thanks!
Great recipe! Can not wait to try this with my Carrot pulp from my juicer! 🙂 The carrot will not have very much water content so i think i am going to skip the coconut. Fantastic blog!
This looks great! I’m excited to try it for myself, but my son is not only allergic to wheat/eggs/dairy, but also to almonds (lame) so I’m wondering if I could try another type of gluten-free flour in its place for him….perhaps?
Usually nut flours can only be replaced by other nut or seed flowers, so if he is only allergic to almonds try hazelnut or pecan flours. If it is all nuts, try sunflower seed flour. Hope that helps.
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Hello!! I cannot wait to try this recipe, it sounds amazing! I wanted to know however, should I be using ground flaxseed, or ground flaxseed meal..or are they considered the same thing?! Something that I am not used to baking with just yet! Thank you!!
As far as I know ground flaxseeds and flaxseed meal are the exact same thing. Hope you like this recipe!
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I would like to try these but I’ve been using Swerve (erythritol or xylitol) as sweeteners in my baking lately. They are not in liquid but in granular or powdered form. I wonder if using them would change the texture of this recipe. Do you think the maple syrup or honey adds something other than sweetness? Do you think I can sub a different powdered sweetener instead?
Can whole wheat flour be substituted for the almond flour?