Carrot Cake Muffins - adored by children and friends !

This recipe can easily be made into one large cake, or bakes just as well as 12 muffins / cupcakes. I think they would be best referred to as muffins since there is no creaming of butter and sugar involved. These have a very high carrot content which adds loads of natural sweetness and also keeps them very moist.

Frosting really is not required - but it's quite nice to plaster some lemon buttercream or cream cheese icing on top.

Oliver and I rattled two batches of these up a fortnight ago before work one Saturday morning. One batch was for colleagues and customers and the other lot were for a friend (Mel), her husband and kids.

You can never make too many of these. They'll keep for a couple of days in the fridge ok, or freeze well.

RECIPE

280g plain flour

2 tsp baking poweder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp ground cinnamon

1egg

90ml fresh orange juice

zest of an orange 

360g carrots (1/2 coarsely grated, 1/2 fine grated)

1 tsp vanilla essence

100ml vegetable oil

Add nuts or raisins if wished.

Add oil and orange juice together and mix in the egg with a fork. To this, add the grated carrot.

Sift all the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients to the bowl. Mix in roughly with a wooden spoon - only until combined. Spoon into a lined tin or paper cupcake cases in a 12 cell muffin mould or tin

For cupcakes, bake at 180deg C fan for approx 20mins,. For a large cake - same temperature in a  http://www.siliconemoulds.com/250mm-blue-round-birthday-cake-mould-p-137.html  (but I forget how long - probably about 50 > 60 mins)