Carrot Pineapple Muffins

Canned crushed pineapple is a good thing to have in the pantry.  It works well in many baked goods and it’s one of our favourite pizza toppings.  It’s an affordable ingredient too.  I used a single can of pineapple to make both my Pineapple Ginger Cookies and these tasty muffins.

Pineapple Carrot Muffins are a welcome guest on our breakfast table.  They’re moist, flavourful, and easy to bake.  If I need something quick and easy to offer a guest, they can be assembled quickly and served while still warm; lovely with a cup of tea.

To make Pineapple Carrot Muffins, you’ll need:

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice, reserved from the drained pineapple
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of golden raisins, soaked in warm water and drained (not pictured)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then add the vegetable oil and brown sugar, stirring until well combined.  Mix in the drained crushed pineapple, the pineapple juice, and the grated carrot.  Stir again until the ingredients are well mixed.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg.  When the dry ingredients are well combined, add the golden raisins and toss them until they’re lightly coated in the flour mixture.

Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring just until they’re combined. 

Spoon the batter into a buttered muffin tin.  I got 8 large muffins out of this recipe.  If you don't have enough batter to fill all 12 muffin cups, put a little water into the empty cups.  It'll help to keep the heat evenly distributed throughout the pan and to prevent your tin from warping. 

Bake the muffins at 350˚F for about 25 minutes until they spring back when lightly touched.  Cool the muffins in the muffin tin for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Note:  This batter makes a fine loaf as well as good muffins.  To bake this recipe as a loaf, butter a loaf pan and line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper.  Butter the paper. 

Turn the batter out into the prepared pan, spreading it so that it’s an even depth throughout. 

Cook the loaf in the center of the oven, at 325˚F, for about 50 minutes.  If the loaf looks like it’s developing too much crust, cover the top of the pan with foil and put a baking pan on the rack below the rack the loaf pan is resting on.

The loaf is cooked when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

 Once the loaf is baked, allow it to cool completely in the pan before serving it.