VLOG: the New York Times on carrot cake muffins

If you read The New York Times, you may have seen this recipe printed on March 1, 2011.  They are described as "spicy whole-grain muffins [that] are just sweet enough, unlike most cloying carrot cakes. And these are packed with carrots."  I made some modifications to the recipe by omitting the turbinado sugar and golden raisins.  I replaced them with light brown sugar and sweetened coconut.  The end result was a slightly moist muffin that had a bare hint of sweetness.  It's a great breakfast muffin that is probably best accompanied by jam or butter.  I, however, found the touch of sweetness to be sufficient.  The muffin does tend to dry out and develop a sticky residue after a couple of days.  The article does say that "these keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator and for a few months in the freezer."  So I would recommend that once these are baked, that they be frozen and microwaved when ready to eat.




The NYTimes Carrot Cake Muffin
Recipe adapted from The New York Times
Ingredients for 12 standard sized muffins + 24 mini muffins
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup sweetened coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups grated carrots

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack in the upper third of the space. Place muffin liners in the  muffin tin.
2) Pulverize together the whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3) In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the coconut, pecans and the carrots.
4) Using a #20 ice cream scoop, fill the muffin cups to just below the top (about 4/5 full).  Place in the oven, and bake 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.  Bake mini muffins for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.