What do you do when you want to eat cake lathered with thick cream cheese icing but you know that is not left in the cards of your nutrition deck for the day? Well… I decide to bake a healthier option-because the Lord knows I won’t stop thinking about that cake lathered in thick cream cheese icing until I fill my mouth with something close. So the wheels in my head start turning…what pairs with cream cheese icing…CARROT CAKE. How can I make carrot cake more nutritionally sound and still off the charts awesome?
DING DING DING Carrot “cake” muffins! I’ve been on a kick with using plain greek yogurt in EVERYTHING so I thought here we go let’s get out the yogurt. Then I thought what about the fat/butter/oil/lard aspect…da da da da my second cooking love comes to the rescue–COCONUT OIL. A little research (I hadn’t made carrot cake before!), some thinking, and a cup of coffee later I started baking these beauties.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 t. Baking soda
1/2t. Pink Himalayan salt (regular salt is ok but I like the nutrition content of Himalayan salt)
1/2T. Cinnamon
1/2t. Ginger
3/4C. Coconut Oil (solid)
1C. Coconut Sugar
1/2C. Unsweetened Apple Sauce
1/4C. Plain Greek Yogurt (I use 2% FAGE)
3 Eggs
2t. Vanilla
2C. Carrot, shredded
1/2C. Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
1/2C. Raisins
1/2C. Chopped Walnuts
Oats (amount to preference of sprinkling)
Directions:
Combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl combine blend coconut oil and sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add yogurt and applesauce. Beat until fully incorporated. Add eggs slowly, beat well. Once batter in well blended add vanilla.
DON’T WORRY if your batter looks gross-they will be delicious 😉
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until they are well combined, do not over mix the batter. Fold in the shredded carrots, coconut flakes (I like to pulse mine in a food chopper first-just preference!), raisins, and chopped walnuts.
Place liners in muffin tin, sprinkle oats in the liner, fill with batter 2/3 of the way up the paper, sprinkle oats on top. Repeat until batter is gone. Makes 20-24 muffins.
Bake on middle rack for 19-22minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy them-and be careful to not eat the whole batch alone. Be a good neighbor and share (a few).
abbeyswholelife.com 