These carrot cake muffins are a delicious alternative to a classic cake flavour. Bursting with flavoursome warm spices, these muffins are moist and fluffy, with an extra layer of hidden sweetness – chocolate chips, or chunks as I prefer! The recipe is uncomplicated and with a short baking time, these muffins will be ready to melt-in-your-mouth in no time at all! Take a look at my coeliac-friendly recipe below for some scrumptious carrot cake muffins that you’re guaranteed to love!
How easy are these muffins to make?
These muffins are simple to make. The wet and dry ingredients are whisked together in separate bowls before being combined. A quick fold in of the chocolate chunks and the mixture is ready to be spooned into the cases to be baked. Around 20 minutes later, they’re perfectly domed and ready to come out. At this point you can either wait until they cool or go ahead and give them a try whilst still warm (they are unbelievably delicious warm!) but be careful not to burn your mouth on those hot melted chocolate chunks!
What special equipment do I need for these muffins?
- 12 hole muffin baking tray
- Stand mixer (optional)
- 10 muffin cases ( I like to use 50x44mm)
- Small grater
What ingredients do I need?
Butter – Unsalted butter is melted and cooled before being added to the milk and egg mixture to form the wet ingredients. Make sure the butter is completely cooled to room temperature beforehand to avoid curdling with the eggs
Sugar – White caster sugar and light brown sugar are combined in this recipe to add the sweetness to the muffins
Eggs – Medium-sized free range eggs at room temperature are essential. Eggs add structure to the muffins as well as assisting in the rise during the baking process
Gluten-free flour – A gluten-free flour blend such as Doves Farm Plain Flour with added Xanthan gum or Schär- Mix C is perfect for this recipe, otherwise a standard flour blend will work fine. The most important factor is that the flour blend does not contain baking soda or baking powder if possible as this will cause too much rise and risks the muffins sinking in the middle
Vanilla paste – Vanilla essence, extract or vanilla paste can be used as long as it is gluten-free
Grated carrot – Grated carrot is the star ingredient in this recipe. Try to grate the carrot coarsely rather than fine, so as not to release too much excess water which will make the muffins rather soggy
Xanthan gum – Xanthan gum is essential for most gluten-free recipes and there are no exceptions here. Xanthan Gum is a gluten replacement for gluten-free bakes, replacing the lost elasticity and helping to hold everything together and give it a bit more stretch. Without Xanthan Gum, gluten-free bakes risk being too dry, crumbly and falling apart at the slightest touch
Salt – A pinch of salt is always needed in order to offset the sweetness of the sugar
Milk – Whole-milk (3,5%) is whisked together with the eggs and melted butter to form the wet ingredients. It adds an extra layer of moisture to the muffins which is essential in gluten-free baking
Chocolate chips or chunks – These muffins are laced with plenty of milk chocolate chips or chunks. Dark chocolate also works wonders with this recipe if you prefer a more bitter chocolate
Ground spices – Ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg adds the warm notes to these muffins
Tips and Tricks
Room temperature ingredients are essential for this recipe. If the melted butter is added to the milk and eggs while still warm, you risk curdling the mixture and cooking the eggs!
Perfectly risen muffins are possible if you follow the recipe correctly. As soon as the mixture is ready, spoon it straight into the cases and pop them in the oven immediately. The reason for this is, as soon as the wet and dry ingredients have been combined, the leavening agents (baking powder and baking soda) begin their chemical reaction, helping the muffins to rise. Leaving the mixture to rest for some time before popping it into the oven risks the muffins not rising to their full potential.
A hot oven is key to getting our muffins to rise and dome! Preheat the oven as per the recipe (220 C fan) and bake the muffins for 8 minutes on a high temperature to guarantee the best possible rise before turning down the heat and baking at a lower temperature for the remaining time so that the muffins are baked through.
Carrot Cake & Chocolate Chip Muffins
Zutaten
- 260 g gluten-free plain flour blend
- 240 g grated carrot coarse
- 120 g unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 100 g white caster sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 60 ml milk room temperature
- 100 g milk chocolate chips or chunks
- ½ tsp Xanthan Gum
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Anleitungen
For the muffins
- Preheat the oven to 220° C fan and line a muffin tray with 10 muffin cases.
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, Xanthan Gum, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg in a bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.260 g gluten-free plain flour blend, 100 g white caster sugar, 100 g light brown sugar, ½ tsp Xanthan Gum, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt, 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and vanilla extract before pouring in the melted and cooled butter in a slow steady stream, whisking continuously.120 g unsalted butter, 3 large eggs, 60 ml milk, ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Add the grated carrot to the wet ingredients and mix in thoroughly.240 g grated carrot
- Make a well in the dry ingredients before adding the wet and mixing until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks but save a spoonful for sprinkling over the top of the muffins when in the cases.100 g milk chocolate chips or chunks
- Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin cases, filling right to the top. An ice cream scoop is a great way to do this. Sprinkle a few of the extra chocolate chunks on each one.
- Bake on the middle shelf for 8 minutes at 220° C fan before turning down the temperature to 170° C fan for a further 12-15 minutes. The muffins are ready when the tops are springy to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with very few baked crumbs attached. Wet mixture is a sign that the muffins need longer to bake
Notizen
