UBC January 2024 - Carrot Muffin

Today I wanted to combine a couple of things:

• Celebrate the fact that I lost two pounds over two weeks
• Bake something
• Enjoy a sweet treat that is still somewhat healthy-ish

I was thinking carrot cake.

Are you rolling your eyes?

Let me explain. There's a huge difference between American style carrot cake and the Swiss version. 

You probably think at least two, better yet, three tiers of cake, potentially containing oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, chopped pecans and raisins, and lots of butter / cream cheese frosting like in the picture on the left?

Ours contains butter, ground almonds or hazelnuts, and if we put something on top of the cake it's a powdered sugar / lemon juice (or Kirsch) glaze. Picture on your right. Recipe and Instructions to a classic version here.

When I worked for Starbucks, our American born Food & Beverage Manager didn't want to listen to us Swiss folks, prevailed and, backed up by American born CEO and Operations Manager, brought the American version to the stores. It didn't sell. At all. I'm pretty sure the only pieces that actually sold, were purchased by American tourists. 

It's the thing you grow up with that feels normal and "right", and to us this is the classic Rüeblichueche, as we call it in Swiss German. 

Carrots happen to be the iconic veggie of the state I live in. While not every Swiss state has a veggie or fruit, some have:

• Apples from Thurgau
• Apricots and tomatoes from Valais
• Carrots from Argovia
• Cherries from Basel countryside and Zug

So forgive me for feeling extra proud of our carrot products :-)

Back to today's project. While the Swiss version may be less calorie loaded, it's still not as healthy as the name promises. Carrots are just an added ingredient to the usual cake participants, which are fats, sugars and carbs.

So how did I tackle them?

I substituted butter and half of the milk for homemade, no sugar added, apple sauce, lowering fats, but upping (fruit) sugars.

I used 60 grams (1/4 cup) of coconut sugar instead of 120 grams (1/2 cup) of regular granulated sugar. 

Coconut blossom sugar is obtained by scratching the inflorescence of the coconut palm and collecting the nectar that emerges. This is then filtered and boiled down until the liquid has completely evaporated. Regular sugar has a glycemic index of around 60, whereas coconut sugar has a slightly lower GI of 54. Coconut sugar retains quite a bit of the nutrients found in the coconut palm, such as iron, zinc, calcium and potassium.

I replaced all purpose flour by spelt flour. It's higher in protein and fiber, and even though it does contain gluten, it is easier to digest than regular wheat.

In Switzerland, we put lemon juice into our carrot cake batter. Not cinnamon. However, I happen to love cinnamon, and that's why I used a teaspoon. Did you know about the healthy benefits of cinnamon? They're being antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti diabetic, lipid-lowering, and more. There's a downside, though. A compound called coumarin is suspected to harm your liver and increase the risk of cancer. So enjoy in moderation. 

How does a regular carrot muffin compare to my slightly healthier version?

• Calories: 204 vs 160
• Fat (in grams): 12.6 vs 9.2
• Carbs (in grams): 17.5 vs 14.5
• Fiber and proteins (in grams): about the same: 2 and 4.5
• Sugars (in grams): 10.8 vs 7.7

All in all an improvement of about 20 - 25%. Not great, but it doesn't hurt either. And it feels pretty darn great to have a little benefit for the hard work I put in. 

Now the ultimate question though - how does it taste? 

I mean, half the sugar, half the milk, no butter..?

Not half bad! ;-)))

Probably not as fluffy and smooth as a regular muffin, and due to the addition of cinnamon and the coconut sugar it has a molassy, malt-y, gingerbread-like taste. Quite perfect for this dense foggy January Monday morning. 

What do you think? Do you like carrot cake? Would it be worth to make the changes I did in order to save 44 calories a piece?