Protein Carrot Cake Muffins

Roger15Z
Roger15Z Posts: 97 Member
These healthy muffins taste exactly like carrot cake! They’re sweet, perfectly tender, and full of cozy spices. Leftovers will keep for at least a week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and they freeze really well too!
½ cup + 2 tbsp (56g) coconut flour
2 scoops (84g) vanilla whey protein powder
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tbsp (15mL) pure maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla crème stevia
½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) unsweetened cashew milk
1 cup (90g) freshly grated carrots (peeled first!)

Preheat the oven to 425°F, and lightly coat 8 standard-sized muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk together the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt until no large lumps remain. Stir in the maple syrup and vanilla crème stevia. Alternate between adding the coconut flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the coconut flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the coconut flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. Gently fold in the carrots.
Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 425°F for 8 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, and continue baking for an additional 19-22 minutes, or until the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Notes: Most protein powders behave differently, especially when it comes to absorbing moisture. If you substitute a different whey-based protein powder measure based off of the weight of your brand’s scoops. You may need to add more whey protein powder if the batter is too wet OR more milk if the batter is too dry. Do not substitute plant-based protein powder; it tends to be much more absorbent and will most likely result in dry, crumbly muffins.

Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.

An additional 3 tablespoons of maple syrup may be substituted for the vanilla crème stevia. Decrease the milk to ½ cup if using this substitution. However, I highly recommend using the vanilla crème stevia because it keeps these muffins low-carb and lower in calories.

Any milk (cow, soy, almond, etc.) may be used in place of the cashew milk.

Do not substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots. They’re thicker and drier, so they will not soften while baking.

These muffins freeze really nicely. To thaw quickly, place individual muffins in the microwave for 40-50 seconds on 40% power

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low carb, high protein}

Replies

  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    edited May 2018
    Those sound great. I will have to try. carrot cake is my favorite and these are gluten free!

  • Roger15Z
    Roger15Z Posts: 97 Member
    They were delicious, I burned through the batch I made super quick lol
  • sugarnspice0613
    sugarnspice0613 Posts: 109 Member
    I love carrot cake. I bookmarked this for later as I definitely want to try this!
  • Roger15Z
    Roger15Z Posts: 97 Member
    Was definitely worth my time to make, I started pre-making them and they have become a quick breakfast staple, I put a tbsp of cream cheese icing on it and it's about 190 calories of straight deliciousness!
  • sugarnspice0613
    sugarnspice0613 Posts: 109 Member
    Did you mix up your own icing or did you use store bought?
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Looks good. As I'm not trying to go gluten free I'd try regular flour and regular milk.
  • Roger15Z
    Roger15Z Posts: 97 Member
    I used store bought cream cheese icing Betty crocker I think, also have tried with original recipe and regular milk/sugar of course reg milk and some sugar made it awesome, but less healthy lol
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
    (credit to amyshealthybaking.com)
  • Roger15Z
    Roger15Z Posts: 97 Member
    Absolutely full credit to amyshealthybaking.com her recipes are legit
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    I made these this weekend. I used regular milk and I used the entire egg instead of just the whites because I did not read the instructions well. I used all maple syrup instead of the Stevia as well. I also added raisins. They had a nice flavor, but the texture was a bit too dense. I am not sure if using only the egg white would have helped much. I will eat them, but I am not sure if I will make them again. I ate them with some whipped cream cheese spread and it was a nice combination.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    lporter229 wrote: »
    I made these this weekend. I used regular milk and I used the entire egg instead of just the whites because I did not read the instructions well. I used all maple syrup instead of the Stevia as well. I also added raisins. They had a nice flavor, but the texture was a bit too dense. I am not sure if using only the egg white would have helped much. I will eat them, but I am not sure if I will make them again. I ate them with some whipped cream cheese spread and it was a nice combination.

    the whole egg definitely would have made them dense.

    these might make good pancakes or waffles, too, depending on the thickness of the batter.
  • Roger15Z
    Roger15Z Posts: 97 Member
    Yup made the mistake of using while egg as opposed to just whites once, made them super dense, I also didn't use stevia just syrup and it still tasted awesome
  • mrdc82
    mrdc82 Posts: 2 Member
    Buddy, your measurements are soooooo confusing. One place you say 1/2 cup =150ml then 90ml=1cup 🤷‍♂️ hope this comes out right
  • mrdc82
    mrdc82 Posts: 2 Member
    Aaaah never mind 🙈I'm reading wrong 😋😋
  • akscooter40
    akscooter40 Posts: 0 Member
    Mrdc82... It said 1/2 cup~150ml
    1 cup = 90 grams
  • purplefizzy
    purplefizzy Posts: 594 Member
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    Tt around 120cal each, gonna try these.

    Tom, you ever try these?
    Any tweaks?

  • purplefizzy
    purplefizzy Posts: 594 Member
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    Tt around 120cal each, gonna try these.

    Tom, you ever try these?
    Any tweaks?

    When I made them I added:
    0.5cup diced pineapple
    0.25cup raisins
    Instead of butter used apple sauce.
    Instead of maple syrup I used Walden Farms pancake walnut syrup.
    Instead of Stevia I used powdered vanilla splenda.

    Pretty good. Nice and moist.

    Moist was what I was hoping to hear. Gonna tackle these!
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,239 Member
    I'll have to try this, as carrot cake is my crack!