Sweet Potato, Carrot & Apple Spelt (or Wholemeal) Muffins

2013-10-02
  • Yield : 12 muffins
  • Servings : 12
  • Prep Time : 20m
  • Cook Time : 25m
  • Ready In : 45m

There’s a lovely new cafe near me that make some scrumptious spelt muffins but at $4 a pop I decided I could make my own. Sweet potato, carrot and apple was the combination that sprung to mind and they turned out beautifully.  Of course a tad smaller than the cafe variety but that was partly the point.  They contain waaayy less added sugar than any other sweet muffin I’ve made before.  George has enjoyed them as a snack a couple of times this week and wasn’t interested at all in sharing them with me.

Nutrition Note:  Spelt flour is easily digested, high in protein and contains a wide range of nutrients, including B vitamins, manganese and selenium, making it a healthy whole-grain choice for the family.

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potato
  • 1 1/2 tbsp olive or coconut oil
  • 1 cup spelt flour (or wholemeal flour)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
  • 1 carrot, grated
  • 1 apple, peeled and grated
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 eggs

Method

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a muffin tray with muffin cases. -

Step 2

Steam or boil the sweet potato until soft then mash, stir through the oil and set aside. -

Step 3

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, cinnamon, chia seeds, carrot and apple. -

Step 4

In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs and milk. Add the sweet potato and stir to combine. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Spoon mixture into the muffin cases and bake for 25-30 minutes. -

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Recipe Comments

  1. posted by Stephanie on October 5, 2013

    Hubby made these yesterday for a picnic and they were a huge hit with everyone…and that was leaving all the sugar out (as we still can’t get our toddler to use toothpaste!!)…thanks so much!! 🙂

      Reply
    • posted by Jess on October 7, 2013

      Hi Stephanie, so pleased to hear they were hit at your picnic and love that your hubby cooks 🙂 It’s also great news they were a hit without the sugar too. Thank you, Jx

        Reply
  2. posted by Jackie on October 14, 2013

    My 14 month old son loves muffins and these were a hit. I was warming one up in the microwave for him and he kept saying “yum, yum, yum, yum” until it was all gone!

      Reply
  3. posted by Helen on December 21, 2013

    I just made these muffins, following the instructions well. Delicious, but almost pudding like, cooked but very soft after 30 minutes in the oven. We’ll see how they are when cool. Next time, I might have less sweet potatoes and more flour. Maybe no milk or carrot? Less moisture, in any case.

      Reply
    • posted by Jess on December 22, 2013

      Hi Helen, glad you enjoyed the flavour. If you after less moisture, I think slightly less sweet potato and/or more flour could work or try squeezing out the juice from the carrot and apple before you add to the mix. Please let us know how you go if you make them again 🙂 Jx

        Reply
    • posted by Rodanthi on November 16, 2014

      Ditto. I put them back in the oven for another 30min and still wet on the inside. Just tossed them in the bin

        Reply
  4. posted by Lauren on January 2, 2014

    Hi, wanting to try this recipe but Ive got regular plain flour not wholemeal. Would I have to modify the recipe to change the flour?

      Reply
    • posted by Allie on January 2, 2014

      Hi Lauren, these should be fine with regular plain flour 🙂 enjoy Ax

        Reply
  5. posted by Margaux on February 15, 2014

    I haven’t introduced eggs or milk to my seven month old yet but would really like to make something like this. Can you suggest some substitutes for those ingredients? And can I use a rice flour instead?

      Reply
    • posted by Jess on February 19, 2014

      Hi Margaux,
      Bananas (1 ripe banana=1 egg) and apple puree (1 tbsp=1 egg) can be used as egg substitutes as can egg replacer. For the milk you could try formula or expressed breast milk. Unfortunately I can’t give you any advice regarding using rice flour. I don’t think it is a suitable choice to be used in baking recipes. I hope this helps, Jx

        Reply
  6. posted by Alan on March 20, 2014

    I just made these, I had to add 1/3 cup more flour as the mix was quite liquidy. I also added Cacao as well approx 3tbsp. They did not rise very well. Would you suggest increasing the amount of baking or bicarb as I have increased the volumes of ingredients or simply reduce the volumes per cupcake and increase the quantites rather than trying to get everything into the twelve casings?

      Reply
  7. posted by Di on April 7, 2014

    hi I just made these (without carrot because I didn’t have any) and I love the flavour! However I have a question about consistency -should it be a very firm mix? I substituted chia meal and water for the eggs and ended up with a very firm (almost like a wet dough) batter. I added more milk to compensate but the finished product didn’t rise so maybe it was meant to be a firm mix after all?

      Reply
  8. posted by Theo on April 16, 2014

    I just came across this recipe and planning to make it for the family. While going through all the comments which I appreciate very much I would like add that when using spelt flour for baking I always mix it with oat flour, usually 1/2 or 3/4 of the amount of spelt used. After making them I would most def post to share my experience. Once again thanks for this lovely recipe

      Reply
  9. posted by F Tiller on June 2, 2014

    I used beetroot instead of apple & a mix of brown rice flour, buckwheat flour & besan flour to make up the cupof flour total! I didn’t include sugar, but the next time id add a little salt. More a savory muffin this way.

      Reply
  10. posted by Heidi on August 10, 2014

    These are so yummy and my 18 month old Hannah loved them and she’s not normally a big muffin fan, I used organic wholemeal flour and they were perfect.

      Reply
  11. posted by Grace on September 5, 2014

    My 9 month old just tried these. They are a winner and he likes them. The only thing is the mixture stuck to the muffin cases once cooked. Any suggestions please?

      Reply
  12. posted by cristina on October 22, 2014

    DI – i also added heaps more milk at the end bc through out i found the mix rather dry. I assumed its ment to be like normal muffin batter.

    How hard can it be to make muffins. Im sad i tried really hard 🙁 🙁

      Reply
  13. posted by Gemma on October 28, 2014

    Made these and very yummy!! Turned out a bit soggy, like someone else above next time I’ll put less milk or wring the carrot and apple mix first. And mine have also stuck to the paper cases.

      Reply
  14. posted by Erin on February 25, 2015

    Tried this recipe last night and mine turned out soggy on the inside, even though I used less sweet potato and 1/4 cup more flour than the recipe suggested. I baked them for an extra 20 minutes but it did not help. If I try the recipe again i would use less milk and maybe 1 cup of sweet potato? Plus I would squeeze out the extra liquid in the apple

      Reply
  15. posted by hayley on April 29, 2015

    Just made these for my son, more like a pudding texture. My 2yo is eating one now and likes it so I’m happy 🙂

      Reply
  16. posted by Bree on May 9, 2015

    I’m assuming these can be frozen, right?

      Reply
  17. posted by Sarah Hollis on July 14, 2015

    We love these at our place! I have to make sure I wrap them and put them in the freezer or they all get eaten straight away. First time I made them I used the paper cases but found they stuck so second time I just put the mixture straight into the muffin tins and turned out perfect.

      Reply
  18. posted by Jodie on August 1, 2015

    Made these a few times and they are delicious and a great way to get the family eating some veg! Have to say they work out better (for me) in mini muffin trays, as that way they don’t seem to sink in the middle 🙂
    PS. Love ur website xx

      Reply
  19. posted by Bec on September 1, 2015

    Just made these, was looking for breakfast options to take to daycare for my girl who cant have eggs. I liked these as alot of veggies to flour. Alot of recipes are only 1/2 cup veg to 2 cups flour. I only did 1 cup sweet potato (by accident, read the recipe wrong) and made it egg free by subbing milk for buttermilk for extra rise and 2 tbsp ground flax combined with 4 tbsp water for the eggs. Put in mini muffin pan so expected to cook in about 15 mins. I ended up cooking for 35 minutes till they were way overbrowned. Complete flop. Still completely wet inside and stuck horribly to the wrappers.

      Reply
  20. posted by Sami's mum on January 14, 2016

    Yum! It tasted nice and you know they’re healthy. Next time I might try omitting the sugar altogether because it’s almost too sweet with two tablespoon of sugar.

      Reply
  21. posted by sarah on February 9, 2016

    Would these be best kept in the fridge or pantry?

      Reply
  22. posted by Rachel @ The Mama Files on February 22, 2016

    Thank you, thank you, thank you… My toddler has basically eaten Sao biscuits for days and today I can go to bed happy knowing there are veggies in his tummy! Very yummy muffins 🙂

      Reply
  23. posted by Kiki on April 13, 2016

    I’ve just made these taking into account the comments regarding moisture, I have used 145g wholemeal flour and made sure the sweet potato was drained well before mashing. I didn’t remove moisture from carrot or apple, instead I only used 1/4 cup of milk. I used a very sweet apple so didn’t add any sugar. I’ve cooked for only 25 min and they are perfect!

      Reply
  24. posted by Danielle on May 17, 2016

    When I can say my child ate some vegetables for breakfast it feels like I’m winning. Thanks for the recipe! I did end up having to cook them longer (by 20-30 minutes), but they are yummy. Next time I will squeeze out excess liquid, and maybe add oats to soak up some of the liquid??? Do you think that will help?

      Reply
  25. posted by Megan on August 4, 2022

    Just curious when you say 180C would this be 160 fan forced?

      Reply
    • posted by Jessica on August 4, 2022

      yes, 160 fan forced 🙂

        Reply

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