Carrot muffins carry a surprise dollop of marmalade

The long run of carrot cake loaded with sugar and topped with cream cheese icing in the 1970s and '80s put me off baking with carrots for many years. (Full disclosure: My wedding cake was carrot chiffon. You can guess how long ago that was.)

But this little muffin recipe popped up on the New York Times cooking site, and I was intrigued. I had made marmalade in January from ripe limes and Meyer lemons (from a recipe we first ran in 2023), and I still had some hanging around. Time to put carrots back in the spotlight.

The recipe can go the orange route or lemon, and I chose the latter, pairing the lemon zest in the batter with ground ginger. Cinnamon or cardamom also are possibilities. An extra bit of cinnamon boosts the spiciness, too.

Because of the whole wheat flour in these, they don't bake up tall, but they're not dense, either. A nice balance for any morning or a snack with tea.

Carrot muffins with marmalade

Adapted from NYT Cooking

Makes 12

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger (or cinnamon or cardamom)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (in addition to above if using cinnamon)

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed or avocado

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon or more finely grated lemon or orange zest

1 packed cup finely grated carrot (3 carrots)

1/4 to 1/2 cup marmalade of your choice

Optional mix-in: 3/4 cup chopped raisins or nuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with oil spray or butter.

Whisk together the flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda, ginger or whatever spice is chosen, and salt in a large howl.

In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, eggs, oil, brown sugar and lemon or orange zest until smooth. Gently stir in the grated carrots, and any mix-ins you may want to use.

Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture just until no streaks of flour are visible. 

Spoon batter into the prepared muffins cups, using about two-thirds of the batter. Place a heaping teaspoon of marmalade onto each cup, nestling it slightly into the batter.

Cover the marmalade with the remaining batter. 

Bake muffins for 5 minutes at 425 degrees, the reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and continue baking for 13 to 15 minutes. Muffins are ready when the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Remove the pan to a wire rack. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove them from the cups. Serve warm or at room tempeature. The muffins will keep at room temperature for 24 hours; refrigerate or freeze leftovers.