I love carrot cake though the guilt of the icing not so much which is why I came up with this recipe. Well, that and because I hate waste and my juicer left a big container of lovely carrot pulp every time I made yummy carrot juice. For whatever the reason, this is a recipe is something Bugs Bunny could be fond of. It’s also dairy-free!
Cranberry-Carrot Muffins
2 1/2 cups shredded carrots or carrot pulp (like what’s leftover in your juicer)
1/3 cup cranberry sauce (whole or crushed cranberries, your choice)
1 ½ teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons unsweetened cranberry juice, at room temperature (omit if using grated carrots not post-juicer pulp)
¾ cup finely chopped dried apricots or cranberries (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar (you can use raw sugar if you prefer)
1. Preheat oven to 175C or 350F and prepare your muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Set carrot pulp in a bowl with cranberry sauce, orange zest, juice, and [optional] dried cranberries or apricots, stirring to allow soakage. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix in vegetable oil, eggs, and sugar. Blend completely. Stir in the carrot pulp. Once completely mixed, spoon into muffin cups.
4. Bake for 15-30 minutes, depending on the muffin size, or until a knife comes out clean from the center of one muffin.