A warm, hearty muffin can be described as one of my most comforting breakfast foods. They can be healthy – naturally sweetened and made with whole grains – or they can be naughty – full of chocolate chips and peanut butter.
It’s one of those sneaky little breakfast items that allows you to get away with eating dessert first thing in the morning.
That idea got me thinking again about a fairly common question: what is the difference between a cupcake and a muffin?
Some might keep it simple – cupcakes are frosted, and muffins are not.
Others may turn to the ingredient list to form their opinion – most muffins contain oil or shortening, while most cupcake batters start with butter and sugar.
In my mind, I differentiate between the two based on texture. To me, a muffin should have a denser crumb. I want a cupcake to be light, fluffy, and melt-in-your-mouth-y, but I like my muffins heavy and hearty.
Your miles may vary! This particular recipe breaks the ”muffins have oil” rule by substituting with unsweetened applesauce instead. Most definitely a healthier option. There’s also some grated carrots thrown in there, and if you want to jazz it up even more, you can add some chopped nuts or dried fruit.
These muffins are cooked in a hot oven – 400F – which helps with getting the peaked top that you see in this picture.
Oh, I just realized another differentiating factor between muffins and cupcakes – how they are eaten! Cupcakes are eaten at room temperature and you can just take a big ole bite out of the side, no utensils needed. But muffins are often eaten warm, sliced open and slathered with melted butter or a drizzle of honey (my favorite). Even when I don’t slice my muffins, I tend to tear pieces of them off bit by bit with my fingers instead of biting into them cupcake-style.
Here’s the recipe!
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup grated carrots
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup white all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¾ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- Optional: chopped nuts and/or raisins
- Preheat oven to 400F
- In a mixing bowl, combine grated carrots, applesauce, egg, vanilla, and brown sugar.
- In a second bowl, toss together all dry ingredients.
- Add the two mixtures together and beat just until combined. Do not over-beat (will cause muffins to be chewy)
- If desired, fold in nuts and/or raisins
- Scoop batter into greased muffin tins
- Bake for ~15 minutes
So, what do you guys think? What is the difference between cupcakes and muffins?
About Erin
I feel like making a carrot smoothie, and you just changed my mind. This is brilliant, thanks Erin
This is definitely a muffin recipe. imho cupcakes are more on the desserts/ cake-ish side, with that I guess muffins are healthier.
Ooh a carrot smoothie – do share!
I completely agree with how you differentiate muffins and cupcakes… especially the difference in textures! These look like a fabulous muffin to start any day.
It seems like texture is a popular way to distinguish the two! I like these muffins because they aren’t too sweet on their own, and since I love drizzling honey on pretty much anything.. they are the perfect vehicle.
I totally differentiate between muffins and cupcakes the same way as you – it’s all about texture! These look fantastic, and a much healthier option than most muffins. I’m going to bookmark this to try some time
Hope you enjoy them!
What a terrific recipe! I made a few small changes, but nothing major and they turned out great. Utterly delicious.
I used a cup of whole wheat white flour instead of half white/half wheat, and went heavy on the spices: more than doubled the cinnamon, doubled the nutmeg, and added a half teaspoon of ground ginger.
Incredibly delicious, hard to believe they’re so healthy too. A new breakfast staple.
I was searching for a carrot oat muffin recipe to use my leftover carrot pulp from juicing. Thank you for this recipe. I used spelt flour instead of wheat and I also added 1/2 cup more of oats and 1/4 cup of orange juice with some fresh orange rind. Turned out great! Great recipe for tweaking to suit any need. I was going to add shredded coconut but forgot