Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins
These are delicious, easy to make muffins that are handy for breakfast on the run but also as a nice healthy treat.
Here are some ways you can change it up to suit you and your family.
You can substitute the flour to plain or whole wheat, coarse flour may be a bit to heavy and prevent rising.
Substitute with gluten free flour to make it gluten free.
Leave out the nuts to make it nut free.
Remove the eggs to make it egg free and replace with chia eggs.
Replace the yogurt with diary free yogurt i.e., coconut or vegan yogurt to make it diary free.
Ingredients
1 ¾ of plain white four or regular whole wheat flour or go half and half.
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups grated carrots, about 3large/medium carrots
½ cup roughly chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins, tossed in 1 teaspoon flour
⅓ cup sunflower or extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup Agave syrup or honey.
2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of raw or caster sugar - optional for sprinkling on top.
Instructions
1. Preheat fan oven to 200c. Use a muffin tin, greasing all 12 cups or use a non-stick tray or use paper cups.
2. Grate the carrots using a food processor which I find easier but you can grate them by hand – set aside.
3. Using a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Blend well with a hand whisk. In a separate small bowl toss the raisins with a teaspoon of flour to stop them sticking together. Add the grated carrots, chopped walnuts and floured raisins to the other ingredients and stir to combine.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oil and agave syrup or honey and beat together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then add the yogurt and vanilla and mix well.
5. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix well using a large spoon. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffins. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 15-20 mins or until muffins golden brown.
6. Cool on wire rack. Store in fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Cream Cheese Topping
If you would like to make these more of a dessert you can top them with this delicious cream cheese topping. However, if you intend on freezing I would recommend leaving the topping off as they don’t look as tasty to eat when defrosted.
Ingredients
100g of butter room temperature
100g of sieved icing sugar
1 tbsp of orange or lemon juice (optional)
200 g of full fat cream cheese
Handful of crushed walnuts for decoration (optional)
Instructions
1. Using an electric or hand whisk (which will be a bit of a work out!) blend the butter until it is lighter in colour and a creamy consistency.
2. Add in icing sugar orange or lemon juice and blend well. Start off slowly and build up the speed of the whisk to save icing sugar going everywhere.
3. Slowly with a wooden spoon stir in the cream cheese until evenly blended into a creamy texture.
4. Using a pipping bag pipe onto each individual muffin. If you can’t be bothered with all that faff, using a knife spread evenly onto each muffin.
5. Top with the crushed walnuts and some orange or lemon peel if desired.
Note: These recipes are from Cookie and Kate and BBC Good food which I have adapted to suit my taste and ingredients available.
