Carrotcake Muffins

I made these last summer when I had my brothers mums over for brunch (don't ask we are a very complicated family lol). They both loved them and so I've been meaning to share them ever since. Today I noticed an abundance of carrots in the fridge so I thought I'd knock up a batch and oh my, they were even better than I remembered.

280g self-raising flour

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

180g soft brown sugar
100g carrots grated

100g chopped pecans or walnuts
60g sultana's (optional add with the carrots)

90g unsalted butter, melted (or stork)

1 egg

260ml full fat milk
1 tsp mixed spice
zest of an orange 
40 ml of freshly squeezed orange juice
400g of full fat cream cheese
100g icing sugar
1 tbsp of runny honey

You will also need a 12-hole muffin tin lined with 10 paper cases

Preheat the oven to 170ºC gas mark 3

Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spice, baking powder, carrot , nuts and sugar in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.  

In a jug, whisk together the melted butter, egg, zest, juice and milk.

Add the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and fold together using a large metal spoon until just combined. Do not overwork the batter as the muffins will become tough and heavy.

Divide the batter between the muffin cases. Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 25-35 minutes until well risen, golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool. 

Gently fold the icing sugar and honey into half of the cream cheese, do not overwork or the cream cheese will become runny, once incorporated carefully fold the remaining cream cheese through, spoon onto the cooled  muffins just before serving.

* Top Tip make sure your cream cheese is room temp before using, to prevent overworking and causing it to split and turn runny

* For dairy free use stork & drizzle with a little icing made with orange juice and icing sugar