I have a special place in my heart for desserts that involve vegetables. I love carrot cake and typically make it for Easter, but the spices and heartiness of typical carrot desserts makes it wholly appropriate for the fall. These muffins stray from the typical carrot dessert profile, and it’s amazing.
The sourdough discard in this recipe gives the muffins a nice tender crumb and great flavor and of course is very convenient when you have four and a half jars of old starter in your fridge…
I reduced the sugar from Deb’s version which I believe lets me appreciate the natural sweetness of the carrots even more. These make for a delicious breakfast, snack, or afternoon fall picnic item.
Carrot Tahini Sourdough Muffins
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil 1/4 cup (30 grams) well-stirred tahini
⅓ cup (55 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs 125 ml buttermilk (you can also use any plant-based milk)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
100 grams ripe sourdough starter, fed or unfed (discard)
210 grams all-purpose flour
2 cup packed coarsely grated carrots (from about 9 ounces or 5 slim carrots)
- Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Whisk olive oil, tahini and brown sugar together in the bottom of a large bowl. Whisk in eggs, then buttermilk and vanilla. Whisk in baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk in sourdough discard.
- Use a rubber spatula to stir in flour, then carrots, mixing just until combined. Do not over-mix!
- Line a 12-cup standard muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each about 3/4 of the way with batter. You’ll probably have enough for about 2 more muffins after this.
- Bake muffins for 12 to 14 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of each comes out batter-free. Muffins should be domed and lightly golden on top. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes on a rack before transferring them to the cooling rack to cool completely.