So I’ve been messing around with this recipe for about a week now, and I think I’ve got it! There’s nothing like the challenge of trying to make a cake-like concoction without eggs. or xanthan gum. or even my beloved nut flours that are such great standbys. Nope. This time I was going to see if I could pull off a muffin that held together, and had none of those ingredients.
Ridiculous? Um. Kinda.
My first attempt I totally caved in and used nut flours, and I have to say, it was pretty good. Didn’t rise very high but the texture was so cake-like. For those of you who can have nuts, I’ve included it here.
My second attempt, I wanted so badly to find something that would give the batter structure! Nut flours always give structure and without them, I’m kinda lost. GF Grain flours would just end up sinking into a gloopy mess without them in vegan recipes. And then it hit me- what if I cooked a whole grain and used that to hold up the muffin? bingo. genius. I cooked up some quinoa in apple juice to sweeten it. The first time I pureed the cooked quinoa with the other wet ingredients- um. Kinda heavy and gloopy. BUT my fab buddy M. suggested I just gently mix them with the wet ingredients instead, to preserve the structure of the grain and add the structure to the batter. She was totally right- it worked!
Ok, so, now that you have the background on these puppies, lets get baking! I totally want to try this with millet, amaranth, and some blueberries or dried apricots…. wheels are turning :D
So, the first recipe, is the nut free version. The second recipe is the nut based version. Here we go! Two for the price of one :)
MyRealFoodLife.com
Carrot Muffins- Nut Free
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa and 1 ½ cups apple juice (use 2 cups if you didn’t soak the quinoa in water over night)
- 1/3 cup olive oil (or oil of your choice)
- ¼ cup agave nectar non vegan: use 3 tbsp honey
- 1 ½ firmly packed cups of grated carrot
- 2 tsp agar agar powder non vegan: use unflavoured gelatin
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 tsp apple cider vinegar
Dry Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup white rice flour (if you find it too mealy for you, sub another light GF flour)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional, for flavour)
Directions
- Soak the quinoa in water over night to remove the saponin, or rinse very well before cooking. If you didn’t soak it, cook the quinoa with 2 cups of apple juice. If you did soak the quinoa, cook it with 1 1/2 cups apple juice. Boil in pot over medium heat till the apple juice is absorbed (takes about 15-20 min).
- Grate the carrots while the quinoa is cooking.
- When the quinoa is ready, add to a bowl with all the other wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- While the wet ingredients are gelling, assemble the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix thoroughly- you may wish to sift them to make sure.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Scoop into muffin cups, makes 12 muffins. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan immediately and let cool. They taste best when they are completely cool- it gives the agar powder time to set.
- Happy Breakfast! :)
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MyRealFoodLife.com
Carrot Muffins – Nut containing version
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil (or oil of your choice)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp agar agar powder non vegan: use unflavoured gelatin powder
- 1+ ½ packed cups of grated carrot
- 1/4 cup agave nectar non vegan: 3 tbsp honey
Dry Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca starch
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/3 + ¼ cup coconut flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Directions
- Mix the wet ingredients first, to give the agar powder or gelatin time to swell.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Sift to remove lumps.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Bake at 350 degress for 20-22 minutes.
- Turn out onto cooling racks to dry. Done!
hi there sunflower!
you can use non-dairy milk (rice, almond , hemp cashew etc…), or you can use water mixed with a little bit (1tbsp) of honey- that will work well :)
Happy baking!
alea
I have many allergies and am looking for new recipes all the time, I found this recipe and is sounds so wonderful, I use all the ingredients in my other baking, and have them on hand. But I do not have the apple juice, is there a replacement I could use, or could I boil some apples up and then puree them ?
Hi there Sophie- you’re an O-town girl too? thats terrific! :D If you ever want to come visit me at the Main Farmers Market i’ll save you a treat! ;)
OK, so agar powder- you can blend the strands in a coffee gridner, hwoever, I foudn the powder is really fine when you buy it already ground, so it might make a smoother result. Kowloon market on Somerset has packs of it for 1.59, and i saw another asian grocer selling packs for 1.39 (the packs are about 3 tbsp). Hope that helps!! so great to meet you :D
So exciting to find a blogger who lives close to me!
Agar powder…can I process agar flakes to make that? Or is it better to buy agar powder?
Thank you :)
Hiya Ricki!
They’re pretty yummy :) As for xanthan gum- I’e decided to cut it out of all of my baking. Its made from the mold that causes blackrot on vegetables. (http://onibasu.com/archives/nn/82280.html) . Since I have a mold sensitivity, the stuff makes me dizzy and pretty sick. I also found some information linking it to excitotoxicity of the neurons, and it being linked to MSG ( see last page) http://www.sota.com/files/pdf/life_excitotoxins.pdf , may be grown on wheat or corn or soy or cause allergic reactions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthan_gum, http://www.celiac.com/articles/21710/1/Could-Xanthan-Gum-Sensitivity-be-Complicating-your-Celiac-Disease-Recovery/Page1.html.
Overall, the stuff kinda worries me. I promised myself only to eat real food, and it seems xanthan gum has a bad effect on my gut. Apparently even Gluten Free Girl is cutting it out as well- I read the comments on her page and was surprised by the number of people who said they couldn’t digest it either- http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-whole-grain-muffins/
So, no xanthan for me :)
Definitely intriguing! I love whole grains in baking, too. Using applejuice is a great idea. :) Well, they look terrific, and I can’t wait to try them! Is there a reason you’re not using xanthan? Just wondering.
i know- how crazy eh? the quinoa is a great magic ingredient! :) I’m loking forward to trying the same thing with millet now too! :)
A muffin using quinoa?? Such a great idea! Excited to give these a try.