Vegan Carrot Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour. You can make these whole wheat by using 1 cup whole wheat flour and one cup all purpose, or use 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour.
• Leavening: 1 teaspoon baking soda + 2 teaspoon baking powder
• Spices: 1 teaspoon cardamom + 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar. I like these sweet, but you can cut down the sugar to up to ¾ cup if you prefer less sweetness in the muffins.
• 1 ½ cups finely grated carrots. This is about two medium carrots or three smallish carrots.
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup vegan yogurt. Make sure you use unsweetened yogurt.
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Ingredient substitutions

• For a natural sweetener, use the same quantity of maple syrup instead of sugar. The batter will be more loose but it will bake up just fine.
• You can substitute the almonds with pecans or walnuts. Toast the pecans or walnuts lightly before chopping them. You don't need to toast the sliced almonds. You can also use pumpkin seeds if you are nut-free.
• The cardamom can be replaced with an equal amount of cinnamon. Or with ground ginger for a lovely warmth.
• You can add the zest of an orange into the batter. Orange and carrots go together nicely and this will add another layer of flavor to the muffins.
• You can also stir in a half a cup of raisins into the batter. Reduce sugar by ¼ cup if you do this.
• Scatter some oats on top of the batter in the muffin tins before baking, instead of almonds, for a different look and even more healthfulness.
• I don't use flax eggs here because I find they sometimes turn muffins gummy. But if you want a health boost from flax sub the applesauce with a tablespoon of flax stirred into three tablespons of water.

How to make vegan carrot muffins

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/205 degrees Celsius.
• Place the all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom and nutmeg in a bowl and whisk.

• Add the remaining ingredients--sugar, carrots, almonds (or chopped walnuts or pecans. Save some nuts for decorating the top, if you like), oil, applesauce, vegan yogurt, vanilla and apple cider vinegar. Use a spatula to mix, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure there is no dry flour. Don't overmix. The batter will look quite thick.
• Let the batter stand five minutes. This will give the carrots a little time to express their juices and it will be easier to scoop into the muffin tins.

• Mix the batter quickly one last time, then scoop into a muffin tin lined with paper muffin liners or sprayed with oil. If you saved some almonds for the top sprinkle them on now.
• Place the muffin pan into the oven and bake five minutes, then, without opening the oven, reduce temperature to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C and bake 18 minutes more or until a toothpick in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with crumbs sticking to it.
• Let the pan stand on a rack for 5-10 minutes to cool, then unmold the muffins and place them on a rack to cool.