Carrot Muffin-Cupcakes (GF, V, plantbased sour cream frosting option)
Happy spring, happy Easter for those who celebrate, and happy everything, friends! It's my birthday this week, and with the holiday coming up this weekend, these scrumptious carrot muffin-cupcakes are the perfect delight to double up on!
Typically loaded with refined sugars, excess fats, and preservatives, store-bought muffins are often more like junk food, and naked cupcakes at best. With this wholesome recipe, it’s just the opposite! Made with Good Karma Flaxmilk with protein, and sweetened with nutritious Medjool dates and just a splash of pure maple syrup, these muffin-cupcakes are bursting with goodness. Serve plain as a healthy breakfast or snack, or top with a tangy-sweet frosting incorporating our Good Karma Plant-Based Sour Cream. The fresh carrot and pineapple flavors really shine, whichever way you choose to enjoy.
Despite the fact that I just announced it, I'm not actually all that into my own birthday. Don't get me wrong, it needs to have that lightly carefree, rainbow candle kind of flavor, at least a little bit, and I soooo appreciate the love. But "how old are you" is not a fun question to answer anymore, and I'd much rather celebrate others' birthdays in style. That said, Felix would be sooo disappointed if we didn't have 'real' cake on any birthday, and these are way better than a compromise. The protein-rich milk whips up in the blender with a gluten-free flour blend or oat flour and other simple ingredients to yield such a nice light texture whichever way you go, whether you opt for "naked" wholesome muffins, or creamy frosted dessert. Wishing everyone blossoms and flourishing spring feelings this week!
Carrot cake muffin-cupcakes
Yield: 12 muffins/cupcakes
1 ¼ Cups Good Karma Unsweetened Flaxmilk with Protein (you may need to reduce to 1 Cup if using a thinner plant milk)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (oat flour works, too)
1 Cup almond flour
⅓ Cup coconut sugar
2 Tablespoons flax meal
1 1/2 Teaspoons ground cinnamon
⅛ Teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 Teaspoons baking powder
½ Teaspoon baking soda
Pinch sea salt
¼ Cup liquid coconut oil, olive oil, or unsweetened applesauce
2-3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Cup shredded carrots
½ Cup shredded or finely diced pineapple
⅓ Cup unsweetened shredded coconut, optional
Optional addends: ¼ Cup ground walnuts, 1/3 Cup raisins
Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a standard muffin tin with 12 baking cups.
Measure 1 Cup Good Karma plant milk in a liquid measuring cup and stir in lemon juice. Let sit a few minutes.
Combine 1 Cup Good Karma all ingredients up through maple syrup in a high speed blender together and blend to form a thick but pourable batter. If needed, thin out with a little additional Flaxmilk.
Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl and fold in the carrots, pineapple, coconut and other addends, if using. Spoon or pour batter into the prepared tin, filling each cup generously (almost to the top).
Bake 30 minutes, or until the tops are firm to the touch. Let cool before frosting (see Sour Cream Frosting recipe below) or serving. Enjoy!
Sour Cream Frosting
1 cup vegan butter, such as Miyoko’s Creamery, softened
½ cup Good Karma Sour Cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 - 4+ cups powdered sugar
In a mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to blend vegan butter with Good Karma sour cream and vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar, beginning with 1 Cup then increasingly approximately ½ Cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency and sweetness.