Pineapple Carrot Buttermilk Muffins: I don't remember the last time I was this excited to share a muffin recipe or any recipe for that matter because I've made the best muffins in the entire world and it's eggless too! It might look like a tall claim but I think I have finally cracked a recipe for the best muffin base. One can use this base recipe to create countless variations.
When I pause a bit now and recollect again, I think I was this happy when I first found the combination for the best egg substitute for cakes while baking this strawberry cream cake and when I first made the most light and flaky eggless blueberry scones by following a specific procedure. So this carrot pineapple muffin recipe also comes under the category of "the best way to bake" certain things.
The original recipe is for buttermilk muffins from the book The Best of Better Baking.com. This is the best $1 I have spent because I got this book from the library on a Friends of Library sale. It has a lot of bread recipes and I was not in the mood for baking with yeast and feel lucky that I saw this muffin recipe.
I had some fresh pineapple slices and decided to pair it with grated carrots to make the classic carrot pineapple muffins with walnuts. I also had half a zucchini so mixed in that too.
The recipe called for 1 egg. I usually prefer using vinegar for muffin recipes especially for muffins with fruit because they will be dense to begin with, so adding vinegar will give a less heavy texture to the muffins.
The original recipe being for a buttermilk muffin, buttermilk and vinegar both being acidic will affect the texture of the muffins too much so the next best choice was to use flax egg and increase the quantity of baking soda.
Until now I thought that the vegan blueberry muffins were the best muffins I have ever baked. It is still one of the best but this carrot pineapple muffin recipe precedes that because that recipe was from another book. I didn't make any changes to make it egg free. Whereas this eggless buttermilk muffin recipe is my variation of the recipe to make it eggless and it has turned out absolutely great!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here are the step-by-step pictures for making these mouth-watering muffins. Scroll down for the actual recipe.
1. Preheat the oven to 400F/190C for 15 minutes. Make flax egg in a small bowl and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients listed for the streusel topping.
3. Make the mix into a crumbly mixture; set aside.
4. In a large bowl whisk together the ingredients listed under the wet mix.
5. The final wet mix is ready.
6. In another large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
7. Pour wet mix into the dry ingredient mix.
8. The muffin batter is ready for toppings.
9. Fold in the carrot, pineapple and zucchini. The batter will firm up.
10. If the batter seems to be loose, add up to ¼ cup of flour in small increments to make the batter a bit stiffer.
11. Use the ⅓rd cup measure to scoop the batter and fill the muffin cups to the top.
12. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over each muffin.
13. Bake the muffin for 5 minutes at 400F and then lower the oven temperature to 350F and bake for another 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
14. Remove the muffin tin from the oven. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
15. Pineapple carrot buttermilk muffins are ready to serve!
Expert Tip
The method of baking the muffins at a higher temperature at first for few minutes and then lowering down the temperature was also new to me. So I was eagerly waiting to see how these egg free carrot pineapple muffins bake. Surprise! It rose beautifully, just like the ones you would buy in a bakery. The texture was light and airy just like any other muffin with eggs and the taste was perfect!
I can't think of another way to bake muffins hereafter. I know I will be baking these eggless pineapple carrot muffins again and again and also variations of this recipe with different fruits and nuts.
If you tried this Pineapple Carrot Buttermilk Muffins recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
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Recipe
Pineapple Carrot Buttermilk Muffins
Ingredients
Streusel Topping:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter cold
- ⅓ cup brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup walnuts finely chopped
Wet Mix:
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 and ⅓ cups light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 tablespoon citrus peel zest grated
- 1 count flax egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
Dry Mix:
- 2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup carrot grated
- ½ cup zucchini grated
- 1 cup pineapple fresh, finely chopped
Instructions
For the streusel topping:
- In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients listed for the streusel topping to make a crumbly mixture; set aside.
For the pineapple carrot muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 400F/190C for 15 minutes. Make flax egg in a small bowl and set aside.
- Line 12 muffin cup pan with paper liners and lightly grease it with non-stick cooking spray so that peeling the muffins off the liner will be easy. Also grease the top of the muffin pan because when the muffin top rises fully it will stick to the pan otherwise.
- In a large bowl whisk together the ingredients listed under the wet mix.
- In another large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Fold in the carrot, pineapple and zucchini. The batter will firm up.
- If the batter seems to be loose, add up to ¼ cup of flour in small increments to make the batter a bit stiffer.
- Use the ⅓rd cup measure to scoop the batter and fill the muffin cups to the top.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over each muffin.
- Bake the muffin for 5 minutes at 400F and then lower the oven temperature to 350F and bake for another 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Mine was done in 14 minutes.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before you can unmold it and cool it on a wire rack.
My Notes
- Can increase the sugar to 1 and ½ cups if you like it a bit sweet.
- I added zucchini because I had a small piece leftover. There are so many other variations you can bake keeping this as a base recipe. Like, cranberries, apple, banana, blueberries, strawberries, etc.
- Substitute some of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour to make healthy pineapple carrot muffins.
Marlene says
To Maryann: Can you go e me the amount of soy milk and vinegar you used? Also do you add them separately? Thank you
Maryann says
I just saw your question! I used 1 cup of plant based milk and whisked in 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Stir it well and let it sit for a few minutes. It will thicken and become a bit curdled. Whisk it again before adding to the recipe. These muffins are a favorite! The vegan blueberry muffins are excellent as well.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much, Maryann.
Angela says
What is a flax egg? Can I use a regular chicken egg?
Madhuram says
Flax egg is a mixture of flaxseed meal and water which is a vegan substitution for egg. Yes, you may use chicken egg too.
Maryann says
I’ve made this recipe twice now! So yummy! I did convert to vegan style making butter-’milk’ using soy milk and vinegar and Earth Balance for the streusel topping. No one would ever guess they are eggless or vegan. Madhuram, your recipes are gems! They come out perfectly every time even with substitutes! Thank you so much ❤️
Madhuram says
You're very welcome, Maryann. Thank you very much for your kind feedback. It's great to know that the vegan version works too.