Though all baking has ebbs and flows of what makes the process appealing and easy for the baker, the muffin stands alone—I believe—in not being weighed down by visual pressure. By which I mean, muffins are the baked good least susceptible to yassification. Muffins should look sturdy and muffin-shaped, adorned at most with a snowfall of sieved icing sugar. No more, no less. Couple that with the necessary under-stirring and a quick oven time and they not only alleviate any baking-related stresses, muffins go so far as to alleviate other, unrelated stress you may be undergoing with their eagerness to make life easier. These carrot granola muffins do involve grating carrots, which is mildly annoying, but their flavour rewards all efforts and as you can see from the photos, you really don’t have to worry about how they look.

This recipe came about because I was idly considering whether a carrot cake profile could be incorporated into a granola recipe; then squashed that because I have no need to improve upon my existing favourite granola, which is the facsimile-of-a-facsimile of a recipe by the great Rachel Ama. The pairing stuck with me though, and the inspiration shapeshifted via Nigella Lawson’s granola muffins recipe in Feast, into this: a whole lot of texture barely contained by a light, cinnamon-y muffin.

And, as I’ve noted in the recipe, you don’t even have to start off with excess granola to make these. A mixture of nuts and seeds of your choosing is fine—though if hazelnuts specifically can make their way in there, so much the better. The carrots, and I’ve used a lot here, have a delicate, meekly floral sweetness that excels in a muffin context and works beautifully against the toasty aspects of the nuts and seeds. The result is less like carrot cake than you’d think, more humble and unassuming and breakfast-y, helped along by that warm spoonful of cinnamon.

Because of the groaning mass of mix-ins the batter has to support, these don’t rise up to the dome-capped heights you might expect; this is not failure, and though they look densely stunted, they’re still light of crumb and—importantly—utterly delicious.

If you’re after more quick bakes, I suggest my Banana, Pear, and Dark Chocolate Muffins, Breakfast Banana Bread, and Absolutely Nothing Chocolate Cake.

Carrot Granola Muffins

These hearty vegan muffins are full of textural multiplicity and are more or less one-bowl. Don’t let a lack of granola hold you back, as you can simply pack them with as many seeds and nuts as they can withstand. As always, before shopping for these or any ingredients, I recommend checking out the Boycott Aotearoa zines so you know which brands to avoid. Recipe by myself.

• 400g carrots
• 150-200g granola (see notes)
• 125ml rice bran or sunflower oil
• 125ml oat milk or milk of your choice
• 80g brown sugar
• 225g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1: Grate your 400g carrots—if you wish, alternating occasionally between the regular box grater holes and the finer-holed side, for textural interest. Tip into a large bowl along with the 150g granola and stir. Set your oven to 180C/350F and have a 12-hole muffin tin at the ready.

2: Pour the 125ml each of oil and milk into the carrot mixture, and stir again.

3: In a smaller bowl, sieve together the 225g flour, the 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, teaspoon each of baking powder and cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine, then tip this into the carrot-granola mixture and fold together decisively, without overmixing—just until the flour is incorporated. I ask you to use a second bowl here so you can fold the wet and dry ingredients together with minimal movement, and if you ask me, a bowl that’s only had flour in it barely needs more than a light dust with a tea towel…

4: Briefly swipe your muffin tin with a little oil on a paper towel, or line with little fluted paper cases if you’re nervous about the muffins sticking. Spoon the muffin mixture evenly into the 12 indents, and bake for 25 minutes. Let sit a couple minutes—no more—before gently levering out of the tin. Eat quickly, otherwise store in an airtight container and microwave back to life over the next four to five days.  

Makes 12.

Notes: This works best with a nuts-and-seeds-forward granola, and ideally one without any competing flavours (for example, chocolate granola might overwhelm here.) If you don’t have granola lying around, no problem: just use 150g-200g toasted mixed nuts and seeds, into which you’ve added a little molasses or golden syrup.

what I’ve been listening to lately:

Tempest by Ethel Cain, who I saw live on Friday with my girlfriend and…!!! Her voice is so ethereal, her use of characterisation and narrative is so powerful; this song is so heavy with dread and dirt and and I love the endless, endless outtro (she is exceptionally good at endings, see also the Comfortably Numb-esque crescendo that wraps up Gibson Girl.)

Wedding Dress by Pentangle, it sounds like it’s both sneaking up on you and sneaking away from you simultaneously and I love that shuffle-y, proto-slacker tambourine percussion.

Talk by Lucy Dacus who we also saw at Laneway last week, I can only but describe her demeanour as blissful and her set as cruelly short, this contemplative new song with its sly guitar riffs as sturdy as a carrot granola muffin was a highlight.

PS: Feeling hopeless is a luxury that serves no one but those perpetrating the hopelessness, and the people of Palestine need us more than ever. Among others, you can donate to:

• ReliefAid’s Gaza Appeal, who are connected with teams on the ground in Gaza.
• Convoys of Good, another registered NZ charity distributing aid.
• As I’ve already mentioned, you can also demonstrate your control and power through the absence of your dollars. Boycott Zine Aotearoa has helpfully put together two comprehensive free zines so you can quickly see who to studiously avoid when buying food, drinks, household items and beauty products.
• You can also check out the Pro-Palestine Business Aotearoa account by the same people for a very solid list of places to actively focus your consumer attention on.