There are a lot of diehard carrot cake fans in the world. I am not one of them. I still enjoy carrot cake, but it is not my cake of choice. Most carrot cakes I’ve eaten are too sweet and have too much cream cheese frosting. (I recognize that cream cheese frosting fans are probably roaring in dismay.) While self-isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to try my hand at baking not carrot cake, but Oatmeal Carrot Muffins. I love baking, but usually reserve baking projects for times when I can give the baked goods away (the office, family gatherings…etc.) Isolated in my apartment, I have been resistant to baking projects, only because I know I’ll probably eat every last crumb of whatever I concoct. As a result, I made these Oatmeal Carrot Muffins fairly healthy, so I could eat all of them and not feel too bad.
About a month ago, I made my first batch of Oatmeal Carrot Muffins. I didn’t include brown sugar and I used only oat flour. The muffins tasted good, but were too dense and lacked the richness that brown sugar provides. This past weekend, I made a second batch of Oatmeal Carrot Muffins. I wanted to use brown sugar, but found none in my pantry. My usual replacement – mixing molasses with granulated sugar – was not an option, because I also didn’t have molasses. Instead, I turned to an ingredient that is one of my pantry stapes: date syrup. In Arabic, this natural sweetener is known as Silan. It gives these Oatmeal Carrot Muffins a rich caramel color and wonderful taste. I hope you’ll enjoy these muffins as much as I did!
Oatmeal Carrot Muffins with Date Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup date syrup or molasses
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts optional
- 1/2 cup chopped dates optional
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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Butter and flour the muffin pans, or use a baking spray. Set aside.
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In a bowl, add the oat flour, regular flour, old fashioned oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. Mix until combined.
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In another bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar and date syrup. Beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add yogurt. Add oil. Mix.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix. Add carrots, walnuts, and dates. Mix.
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Scoop the muffin batter into buttered and floured muffin pans. If using mini muffin pans, they will take about 10 minutes to bake. If using normal size muffin pans, they may take 15 to 20 minutes to bake. Cooking times may vary depending on your oven.
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Let the muffins cool on a wire rack. You can store the muffins in an airtight container or in the fridge for about 5 days.
Candice-
Made these muffins today with help from 7-yr-old Anthony [he grated the carrots and did all the mixing]: the yield was twelve full size muffins, and we gobbled up two each and washed them down with tea. He ran three of them, still warm, over to his 8-1/2 month pregnant mom, Maria, while she was sheetrocking a half-bathroom at her house.
Natalie and I have been having supper one or two times a week, and it just so happened that I made six quarts of yellow lentil soup last week, and we ate about a third of it. It wasn’t exactly your recipe, but close.
Sounds like you are well, as you are counting your blessings, and that is a good thing in itself.
The muffins were great; thanks!