Tender Carrot Cake Muffins with Crispy Streusel Topping

About The Ingredients

The complete recipe is at the bottom of this post, in the recipe card. Below is a quick recap to the key ingredients, their rule and substitutions if possible.

• Shredded carrots. Use a food processor to shred the carrots, pre-shredded carrots are too dry and because it is essentially our source of wet ingredients, the muffins might turn out dry.
• Unbleached All-purpose flour. The best flour for the job, it will soak in and retain the moisture in the recipe without losing it during baking.Avoid using cake flour, or bleached all-purpose flour.
• Vegetable oil (for the muffins). Butter may win when it comes to flavor, but oil is the best choice for a tender texture. In this recipe, the muffins get most of their flavor from the spices and the molasses in the sugar, so oil works best to keep the crumb soft and moist. Plus, we use butter for the streusel topping.
• Cinnamon. I used it for the muffins and the streusel because I like the subtle spice flavor, which means you can personalize the type of spices you add to the recipe. Keep in mind that clove, nutmeg and all spice are very distinguished and should be used in moderation (about 1/8 teaspoon of each).

Make Them

Like all muffins recipe, this is also a one bowl, two stage mixing recipe: mix the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients and bake. Still, there are a few hacks and tricks to elevate the recipe into a bakery style moist and tender muffins.

• Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature. It is the best way to ensure a cohesive blending.
• The first step is to mix the wet ingredients: sugar, eggs, oil, and carrots. Once you did that, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and allow the sugar to dissolve and bond withe the water in the ingredients. It means that less water will evaporate during baking, and the muffins will maintain its moist texture.
• When adding the dry ingredients into the wet ones, only mix to hydrate the flour, a lumpy batter is ok, and even welcomed. The lumps contain the air we mixed into the batter, which is crucial for the muffins to rise, it also means that we minimized the development of gluten.
• Once the flour is hydrated, cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 1–2 hours. The extra time allows the flour to fully absorb the moisture in the batter, so during baking the starches swell more and less moisture evaporates.
• Use your fingers, or a fork to mix the ingredients and make the streusel. It should be lumpy, and moist but not sticky.
• Fill the muffins liner all the way to the top for a round muffin tops.

Storing

• These carrot cake muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• To freeze: Wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 weeks. To thaw, leave them at room temperature for a few hours or microwave for a quick defrost.

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Tender Carrot Muffins | With Streusel Topping

Soft, moist, and packed with freshly grated carrots and warm spices, finished with a buttery, crispy streusel topping.

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 9 Muffins

Author Dikla Levy Frances

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 Cups (200g) All-purpose flour (200g)
• 1 teaspoon Baking powder
• 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Cup (200g) Light brown sugar Sugar
• 1 Large Egg at room temperature
• 1 Large Egg yolk at room temperature
• 2 Cups (200g) Shredded Carrots
• 1/2 Cup (120ml) Vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Streusel

• 5 TBS (70g) Unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 Cup (90g) All Purpose flour
• 3/4 Cup (120g) Toasted chopped nuts
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/3 Cup (70g) Light brown sugar

Instructions

Carrot Muffins

• Sift the flour (200g), cinnamon (2 teaspoons), and baking powder (1 teaspoon) in a medium bowl. Mix to incorporate.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar (200g), egg (1) and egg yolk (1) until smooth
• Drizzle in the oil (120ml) and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) and whisk to combine.
• Fold in the shredded carrots (200g). Set the mixture aside for 10-15 minutes.
• Fold in the flour mixture, and mix just until the flour is hydrated. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Make the streusel while you wait.
• Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
• Divide the batter between the muffin liner, 3/4 full (for 12 muffins), or all the way full (for 9 muffins).
• Top each muffin with the streusel.
• Bake for 20-24 minutes turning the pan halfway the baking time.

Streusel

• In a medium bowl, place the flour (90g), cinnamon (1 teaspoon), chopped nuts (120g), and sugar (70g) and use a fork to incorporate.
• Drizzle in the melted butter (70g) and use the fork (or your fingers to blend ingredients together). Set aside while making the muffins.

Notes

• All of the ingredients must be at room temperature before starting to mix.
• For added flavor, consider adding, orange zest from one orange, a handful of golden raisins or shredded coconut to the muffin batter. And during fall, you can replace some or all of the carrots with pumpkin puree for delicious pumpkin muffins.
• If you prefer a healthier option, you can substitute half of the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat flour.
• Be sure not to overmix the batter, which can result in dense and tough muffins. Mix just until the dry ingredients have been incorporated.