Zucchini, Carrot & Matcha Muffins

When you think of matcha you think of vibrant green powder, and with water added it becomes a deep grass green.  Well, as you can see the muffins are a little more unconventional in color despite the matcha addition.  Due to the other ingredients, the matcha transforms the mixture into a dark olive green; however, the muffins are nothing short of delicious and nutritious.

Holy smokes are these muffins moist!  They retain their consistency even after being frozen so they last longer.   I tend to freeze them in bags of two and that’s the ideal combo for me as I don’t eat them quickly enough before they turn.

They’re great as a snack or if I have to be out early and don’t have time to make a complete breakfast they are a super option to tied me over till I can get back and make myself something.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the recipe!

Ingredients:

2 cups (284g) of all-purpose white flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 tbsp matcha

1/3 cup demerara sugar

1/4 cup & 2 tbsp of olive oil

2 apples peeled, stewed and mashed with a potato masher

2 large eggs

1 1/2  tsp vanilla extract

1 cup of finely shredded carrot

1 cup of unpeeled, finely shredded zucchini

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a muffin tin with paper muffin cases.
2. Cut and stew the apples in a saucepan using a tbsp of water.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and matcha then set aside.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the demerara sugar, olive oil, apples, eggs, and vanilla.
5. Stir in the carrots and zucchini, add in the flour mixture and fold the batter using a spatula until nearly combined.
6. Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cases until they’re almost full.
7. Pop them into the oven for 20 minutes. Using a toothpick insert. If it doesn’t come out clean, return it to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and leave the muffin tin to partially cool before transferring the muffins to a cooling rack.
9. Finally, enjoy with a cup of tea.

My personal choice is pairing the organic rooibos tea with these muffins, as I find the individual flavors don’t get lost.