These easy-to-make sourdough carrot cake muffins deliver all the classic flavors of carrot cake in cute and handy muffin form. With a slightly less sweet sugar ratio than the typical carrot cake, the warm spices and carrot flavor really shine through in these sourdough carrot muffins.
If you're looking for the perfect spring dessert, look no further. These carrot cake muffins are only topped by adding the extra embellishment of a luscious cream cheese frosting. If you need a recipe for frosting, the mascarpone frosting I use on my sourdough discard chocolate cupcakes works great.
Serve these sourdough muffins at baby showers or birthday parties to win hearts and satisfy everyone's sweet tooth.
This is only one of the many sourdough discard recipes you can find on my blog. I love to pair a sweet discard recipe like this with a savory sourdough treat like these delicious sourdough discard cheese crackers.
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📖Printable Recipe
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Carrot Cake Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 80 grams all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2.6 grams ground cinnamon
- 2.6 grams mixed spice*
- 0.55 grams ground nutmeg
- 0.55 grams ground ginger
- 130 grams granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 120 grams sourdough discard
- 50 grams coconut oil melted and cooled*
- 200 grams carrots finely grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190°C (374°F) and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg, and ginger into a large mixing bowl.
- Mix in the sugar, ensuring it's thoroughly incorporated with the sifted dry ingredients.
- In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sourdough discard, and melted coconut oil until smooth.
- Mix the grated carrots into the wet ingredients, stirring until evenly distributed into the batter.
- Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring until just combined and avoiding overmixing.
- Spoon batter into lined muffin cups, filling each to about ¾ full.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes
- Using only 130 grams of sugar (less than the usual recipe for these) slightly lowers the sweetness, allowing the natural flavors and spices to shine through more prominently. This makes the muffins less sweet but still delightfully flavorful.
- Serve these muffins warm for the best taste, and consider pairing them with a dollop of cream cheese frosting for an extra special treat.
- With this modification, the muffins retain their delightful texture and rich flavors while offering a slightly reduced sweetness, catering to a broader range of taste preferences.
Nutrition
Ingredients
I am a sucker for cinnamon and warm spices, and I've included the best of them in this sourdough muffin recipe.
- Flour: I think all-purpose flour works best in this application, but you could also try a mix of 50% whole wheat flour and 50% all-purpose flour.
- Salt: No dessert is perfectly complete without a pinch of salt to enhance all the flavors.
- Baking soda: Baking soda is the leavening agent in these muffins. It gives them just the right amount of lift.
- Cinnamon: The mainstay ingredient in every carrot cake-inspired dessert, cinnamon adds a delicious bite of spice.
- Mixed Spice: This classic blend of warm spices typically includes cinnamon, coriander seed, caraway, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, and mace.
- Additional warm spices: An extra touch of nutmeg and ginger gives these muffins the perfect pop of flavor.
- Sugar - I like to use regular granulated sugar, but you can also opt for brown sugar for even more depth.
- Eggs - Use two eggs in these muffins; I like large eggs.
- Sourdough discard: The special ingredient that sets these muffins apart from the rest is sourdough discard, which adds a complex flavor that simply enhances every dessert.
- Coconut oil: You can use neutral-flavored coconut oil or one with a subtle coconut flavor. I actually love the way the coconut flavor complements the spices.
- Shredded carrots: Carrots are the foundation of every carrot cake, of course, and these muffins are no exception. Their natural sweetness allows us to reduce some of the added granulated sugar in this recipe.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Sourdough Carrot Cake Muffins
These muffins come together quickly, and I'll walk you through the process with step-by-step instructions. Your kitchen will soon smell incredible!
Step 1. Get the oven preheated to 190°C (374°F) and line a muffin pan with paper liners. You can also grease the muffin tin with butter if you don't have liners on hand.
Step 2. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and spices together in a large bowl.
Step 3. Add the sugar to the sifted dry ingredients, whisking until it is thoroughly incorporated.
Step 4. Whisk together the eggs, sourdough discard, and melted coconut oil in another bowl until smooth. You can also use a stand mixer for this.
Step 5. Mix in the grated carrots until they are evenly distributed into the batter. I like to use a box grater to get a fine shred.
Step 6. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring until just combined and you can no longer see any dry bits of flour.
Step 7. Spoon the batter into lined muffin cups, filling about ¾ of the way full.
Step 8. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Hint: The coconut oil should be melted and allowed to cool enough to not cook the eggs when you mix them in but not so much that it re-solidifies.
Baking Schedule
If you would like to turn these into a long-fermented version of sourdough muffins, I recommend using a more active sourdough starter, mixing up the batter, and storing covered in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 3 days.
Here is an example of a baking schedule you can follow:
8 PM: Mix up the sourdough carrot cake batter following steps 1 through 6. Cover the bowl of batter tightly with plastic wrap or a lid and store in the refrigerator overnight (or longer).
6 PM (The next day): Spoon the batter into muffin tins filling about ¾ of the way full. Bake muffins for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow the muffins to cool completely if frosting, or enjoy them plain and warm.
Substitutions & Variations
Swap out the regular sugar for brown sugar for a richer flavor. Vanilla extract is another popular, though optional, addition. Try adding 1 teaspoon to the wet ingredients.
You can use a mild flavored olive oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil instead of coconut oil.
Try turning these carrot cake muffins into mini-muffins by baking them at 350°F (177°C) for 13–14 minutes or until muffins are slightly golden brown and pass the toothpick test.
💭Crucial Success Tips
Be sure not to overmix the batter. It's best to mix just until you can no longer see any powdery dry ingredients. If you are too aggressive with your mixing, it can result in a dense, tough, chewy muffin.
FAQ
Yes, I recommend mixing up the batter completely, then covering it with plastic wrap and storing it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When you are ready to bake, resume with step 7, filling the muffin tins and baking.
Absolutely, these muffins freeze beautifully. Allow the baked muffins to cool completely, and then store them in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, set the muffins on the counter and allow them to thaw. You can eat them as is or warm them up in the oven or microwave.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
How To Store Sourdough Carrot Cake Muffins
Baked and cooled muffins can be left in a covered container at room temperature for several days or extend their shelf life by storing them in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
You can also freeze these muffins. See notes for more details.
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