Courgettes make these harvest style muffins moist and fluffy. This recipe is an old favourite of mine that I created while working at the Upper Valley Food Co-op in White River Junction, VT. I was asked to start a take away foods deli in the store, The Sweet Lilac Deli was born and is still going strong.

American style muffins have gotten a bad rap in the UK for being sickly sweet and stodgy. A good muffin does not have to be overly sweet and should more of a bread like texture as opposed to a cake like texture. Muffins should be relatively healthy, made with fruit or vegetables, not sweets or chocolate and can be sweet or savoury. That being said, a lot of the commercial coffee shops offer chocolate muffins and people love them. Not me, I like my muffins to be closer to the versions I grew up with. This recipe is wheat free, vegan and free of refined sugars, but does not skimp on taste or texture. Hope you enjoy.

Courgette Muffins

1 medium courgette, grated
1 medium carrot, grated
150g raisins
100g walnuts, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
125ml sunflower or vegetable oil
125ml agave or maple syrup
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tbsp baking powder
300g spelt flour

Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases or grease well.
In a large bowl, combine courgette, carrot, raisins, walnuts, vanilla extract, oil and agave syrup; mix well. In a separate bowl, combine mixed spice, baking powder and spelt flour; mix well.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and fold together with a rubber spatula until thoroughly mixed. Spoon muffin mix into muffin tin evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cocktail stick inserted into the middle muffins comes out clean.