- These breakfast treats from celebrated pastry chef Belinda Leong combine the best elements of a bran muffin and a classic carrot cake.
- The grated carrots not only add heft and nutrients but also help the muffins stay moist and tender.
- Wheat bran adds plenty of fiber as well as a hearty, satisfying texture and flavor.
Pastry chef Belinda Leong — of b. Patisserie in San Francisco — developed this recipe for the city’s revered Four Barrel coffeehouse. When asked to make bran muffins, she added wheat bran to her favorite carrot cake recipe and prepared it all in miniature. The result is an extraordinarily fluffy bran muffin that’s packed with carrot flavor and stays moist for days. Here, the recipe Leong shared for F&W’s 2013 cookbook America’s Greatest New Cooks.
What exactly is wheat bran?
Bran encompasses the outer layers of any cereal grain — the harder, more fiber-rich part that protects the more easily digestible interior. This part is removed when processing polished grains (like white rice and pearl barley) and milling refined flours, but it’s also what gives whole grains and whole-grain flours their flavor and nutrients. Wheat bran is a common addition to baked goods that easily boosts their insoluble fiber content.
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
These muffins are great as a nutritious, not-too-sweet breakfast or snack — but they’d be tasty with your favorite cream cheese frosting, too.
