You may have tasted Morning Glory Muffins at your local bakery or coffee shop. They date back to the 1970’s and originated at Nantucket’s Morning Glory Cafe. The original muffins contained carrots, apples, coconut, raisins and nuts. Over the years I’ve tasted many versions of the hearty breakfast muffins with countless variations of nutritious add-ins. I was inspired to make a cake version using fall harvest ingredients. I replaced the coconut with zucchini and omitted the nuts. But you can certainly add in your favorite toasted chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts. Whether or not you like raisins, you’ll love the golden raisins I used in this recipe. They’re soaked in juice prior to baking and they taste like juicy little jewels, nothing like traditional raisins. I also added a brown sugar glaze, but the cake is equally delicious without the glaze.
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servings
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- 1/4 cup (35g) golden raisins
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) apple juice or orange juice
- 1 1/8 cup (145g) all purpose flour, sifted
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly ground
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 small orange
- 2/3 cup (150ml) avocado oil or neutral oil of your choice
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (113g) finely grated carrots
- 1/2 cup (64g) shredded peeled apples
- 1/2 cup (57g) shredded zucchini, excess liquid squeezed out See note below*
- 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons (25g) packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream
- 1 dash fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup (28g) powdered sugar, sifted
Ingredients
Morning Glory Cake
Brown Sugar Glaze
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- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan** with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides.
- In a small heat proof bowl, combine the raisins and apple juice, making sure the raisins are submerged. Heat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds until the raisins are plump and hydrated. Set aside to cool to room temperature, then drain the raisins.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg until well combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, orange zest, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth and well combined. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. Fold in the carrots, apples, zucchini and the drained raisins.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Bake until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 28-35 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes then turn the cake out and transfer it to a cooling rack.
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and brown sugar together, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to bubble. Let it bubble gently for 30 seconds, then remove it from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and salt until smooth. Whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth and well combined. Spread the glaze over the cooled cake.
*Wrap the shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel or a sturdy paper towel and squeeze out the excess liquid.
**To find my favorite 8-inch cake pans, click here.
To find parchment cake rounds, click here.