Gluten-free, oil-free masala chai carrot muffins
I don’t know what got into me last week but I suddenly needed a break from the kitchen. That rarely happens, but between recipe testing for a mini project (soon to be announced!) and a couple of food photography gigs, I’d had enough of food and needed a breather.
Sometimes a little downtime is necessary. I’ve felt uneasy about things lately, specifically this little space of mine within the world wide web. I often wonder: Are people reading? Do they enjoy my recipes? Do they even care? We’re living in a world where online content is changing and updating at warp speed—every day there are depressing news headlines making the rounds, a shocking Twitter comment or YouTube video goes viral, “new” recipes posted on a gazillion blogs—and I feel like I’m being eaten alive by social media. I just can’t keep up.
But you know what? This isn’t about being the most popular blogger, making money, or having hundreds of recipes in my archives. This isn’t about being at the top of the search engine when someone types in “vegan” (I’m not mobile-friendly anyway; thanks Google!) or being the first to post about the latest food trend or vegan discovery. When I first started this blog, my mission was (and still is) to document my favourite recipes and to show the world that veganism isn’t about restriction or deprivation. This is about putting attention and care into the recipes I create and then sharing them with you.
I’ve gotten a whole lot more out of this blog than I had ever imagined. It has connected me to an entire community of caring, compassionate and very talented individuals; it has made me fall in love with photography all over again and landed me so many awesome side projects; it has deepened my friendship with Lisa, with whom I’ve partnered on a number of fun projects, including two ebooks and a cookbook (<– pinch me); and it has given me, this very shy girl, a voice.
All this is to say that although I don’t post nearly as much as I would like to, I truly appreciate you. It’s difficult working so hard to fill a space where I feel like no one is listening. But I know you are. And for that, I am grateful. The more people sharing and reading and trying healthy, plant-based recipes means change is happening. As the popular Michael Jackson song goes, together we are healing the world and making it a better place.
What this has got to do with carrot muffins, I have no idea. But here you go, a recipe I’ve been playing with for a few months now, tinkering here and there until I felt it was just right. I’m a big fan of carrots and chai tea, so I figured putting them together in muffin form would be pretty tasty. And, indeed, they are.
Grating carrots by hand is no fun, so if you have a food processor with a grating blade this is the time to use it. These lightly sweetened, chai spiced muffins make use of my favourite flour blend (oat, buckwheat and almond) and the applesauce and moist chunks of carrots make it so there is no need for oil. They make wonderful breakfasts and snacks on the go.
P.S. You have until Wednesday, April 29 to enter my giveaway for an awesome JK Gourmet product pack, including a box of my favourite almond flour!
PrintGluten-free, oil-free masala chai carrot muffins
Yield: 8 to 10 muffins
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 chai tea bag
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
- 1/2 cup light buckwheat flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1½ cups grated carrots
- 1/3 cup pitted and chopped Medjool dates
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a muffin pan with 8 to 10 muffin liners.
- In a small saucepan, heat the almond milk over medium heat until almost boiling. Add the tea bag, cover with a lid and remove from heat. Allow to seep for a 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the tea bag and gently squeeze out any liquid. Discard tea bag. Whisk in the maple syrup, applesauce, and lemon juice.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, buckwheat flour, almond flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Fold in the grated carrots and chopped dates.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle a little coconut sugar on top of each muffin. Bake at 400F for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.