Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Crumble Muffins

Two things you may not know about me: my favourite variety of cake/muffin/loaf is HANDS DOWN carrot, and I really really really love muffins. Which might be surprising, since I feel like I haven’t posted a muffin recipe on here in a MINUTE.

Seeing as they are my favourite, I’ve experimented with a variety of carrot baked good recipes over the years, but it’s taken me a while to finally nail one that checks all the boxes for me currently: made using gluten-free flours, sweetened naturally with maple syrup and coconut sugar, and packed with healthy fats and fibre. These gluten-free carrot cake muffins are also topped with the most delicious, crumbly, nutty topping to give them a perfect finishing touch.

If you’re a fan of carrot cake, I think you’re going to love these muffins. They are:

• Gluten-free: made with my favourite blend of oat flour + almond flour. I have not tested substitutions so I can’t recommend anything with confidence! If you want to make your own oat flour (which I usually do), simply blend rolled oats in your blender until you have a fine powder!

• Naturally sweetened: using a mix of pure maple syrup and coconut sugar to keep them low in unrefined sugar

• Fibre rich: from the almond flour and shredded carrots

• Full of healthy fats: from the coconut oil and coconut yogurt (or whichever plain yogurt you choose)

• Made in one bowl for easy cleanup

• So satisfying and perfectly sweet!

I hope you love these gluten-free carrot cake crumble muffins. Last time I made a full batch of 12, my boyfriend and I polished them off in a few days! They make the ideal little breakfast treat or afternoon snack, and I adore them with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Crumble Muffins

---

Ingredients

• 1 cup fine almond flour

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp oat flour

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• ½ tsp. baking soda

• ¼ tsp. sea salt

• 2 tsp. cinnamon

• ½ tsp. nutmeg or allspice

• ⅓ cup thick unsweetened yogurt (vegan coconut yogurt or plain Greek yogurt)

• ¼ cup pure maple syrup or honey

• ¼ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

• 3 tbsp. coconut oil or butter, melted + cooled

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 heaping cup shredded carrot, gently squeezed of excess moisture

For the crumble topping:

• 2 tbsp. cold butter (or vegan sub)

• 4 tbsp. coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

• 6-8 tbsp oat flour or GF/all-purpose flour

• ⅓ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Method

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together your yogurt, maple or honey, coconut sugar and melted butter or oil until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk well to combine.

To the wet mixture, add your almond flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gently stir with a spatula until the flours are incorporated into the wet. You should have a thick batter. Fold in your shredded carrots to distribute them evenly.

In a small bowl, add all of your crumble topping ingredients. Use clean hands or a fork to work the butter or coconut oil into the rest of the mixture. You should have a crumbly mixture that is slightly moist and sticks when pressed together, but doesn’t feel wet. If it seems too wet, add extra flour 1 tbsp at a time.

Divide batter among 12 muffin cups, then top each one with a spoonful or two of the crumble mixture. Bake muffins in preheated oven for 16-18 mins, or until they are set in the middle and just starting to brown around the edges.

Let muffins cool for at least 20 minutes, then serve plain or with butter or peanut/almond butter. Enjoy!

Makes 12 muffins