Indian-Spiced Parsnip Muffins

It always surprises me when people say they don't like parsnips, I figure they really must not have tried them because this vegetable is a certainly a treat in my book. Right now you can get over-wintered parsnips in the farmer's market. These parsnips have had the winter to build up sugars & are at their sweetest & tastiest making them perfect for baked goods. (They're also great roasted or mashed.)

I was inspired to make these parsnip muffins after we had the parsnip cake for dessert at our Pork Belly class Wednesday. Then Mr. Orph over at Mr. Orph's Kitchen posted a carrot cake that he flavored with a chai spice blend. I thought that was a brilliant idea & decided to use garam masala to flavor mine. Ok, we absolutely loved the favor it added to the these. Then I added pistachios for a good crunch & some raisins for a little sweetness. These muffins rose beautifully & were quite light compared to a lot of other carrot-type muffins I've had. We seriously loved these muffins!

I went back & forth about whether to call these muffins or cupcakes. Matt thought they were a little more of a muffin but topped with a little Devonshire cream like we did last night (or perhaps some cream cheese frosting) these make a really tasty dessert. Plain they were perfect with our scrambled eggs for breakfast. Next time someone tells me they don't like parsnips I'm going to give them one of these muffins without telling them what's in it & watch the conversion begin.

***Update 4/28: there was originally a mistake in the recipe with the amount of flour. It has been corrected.

Indian-Spiced Parsnip Muffins

3/4 c + 2 T all-purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 t garam marsala
6 T milk
1 t white vinegar
1 egg yolk
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 c grated parsnip
2 T chopped pistachios
2 T golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl stir the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda & garam marsala together to blend. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk the milk, vinegar, egg yolk & vanilla together. Pour into the flour mixture & stir until just blended. Fold in the parsnips, pistachios & raisins.

Prepare 6 muffin cups either with muffin papers or by buttering & flouring them. Fill the cups 3/4 full with the batter. Bake for 21 - 23 minutes until the muffins are golden brown & a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool completely on a rack before adding frosting.

Makes 6 cupcakes.

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