Carrot Bran Muffins
Please note that this batter needs to be made a day in advance, so the bran can soften and the batter can thicken.
Ingredients (Yields 12 Muffins)
1/2 cup (113g) boiling water
1/2 cup (43g) bran cereal (not flakes, preferably a wheat bran)
1/3 cup (67g) vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups (149g) Unbleached AP Flour (I use King Arthur)
1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely grated carrots
3/4 cups raisins (optional)
1 1/4 cups (283g) buttermilk
1/4 cup (53g) brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (128g) bran cereal (not flakes)
In a small mixing bowl, pour the boiling water over the half cup of cereal. When cooled, mix in the vegetable oil and egg.
While the water/bran mixture cools, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, spices (if you don’t have all the spices, that’s fine but the cinnamon is essential.) and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the raisins.
In a large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and brown sugar, and stir into the dry ingredients. Stir in remaining cereal, shredded carrots, and then the softened bran mixture. Cover the batter and refrigerate it overnight.
When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F for 15 minutes. Line a muffin tin with papers, and spray the insides of the papers. Or just grease the muffin cups themselves, if you like a crustier muffin edge.
Stir the batter once or twice, then scoop a heaping 1/4-cup of batter into each prepared muffin cup.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan.
RECIPE NOTES
I made these for a friend who wished to increase her fiber intake but she hates the taste and consistency of bran cereal. She also hates raisins and it was difficult for her to find a store-bought muffin without them. I suggested replacing the raisins with carrots and adding warm spices like cinnamon to make the muffins taste more like carrot cake. I expected these muffins to taste slightly better than sawdust but they turned out way better than anticipated. Soaking the cereal (I used Kellogg’s All Bran Original) softens the bran giving these muffins a soft and moist cake-like texture.. Making the batter the day before sounds like a pain but it’s worth it. You can also keep the batter in your refrigerator for up to a week and scoop and bake as needed. One muffin provides over 25% of the recommended daily fiber intake with only 8 grams of fat.