It doesn’t matter what you call these, small cakes or muffins, just so long as you make them. Its a really simple recipe to achieve moist, dense, spicey carrot cake muffins.
Moist Spicy Carrot Cakes Muffins
Makes 1 cake / 12 muffins
Ingredients
– 200gms dark brown sugar (demererra works well)
– 180ml sunflower oil
– 60mls buttermilk
– 3 large eggs
– 10ml vanilla extract
– 100gms canned pineapple chunks, drained
– 200gms finely grated carrot, I use a microplane
– 1 tsp nutmeg
– 2 tsp cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 250gms cake flour
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 100gms pecan pieces, roughly chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting
– 250gms full fat cream cheese, room temperature
– 2 cups icing sugar
– 100gms butter, room temperature
– 1 tsp vanilla essence
– 1 tbsp cream
To start preheat the oven to 180°C, and place the wrack in the middle of the oven. Grease 12 large muffin tins, or 1 22cm springform cake tin.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer add the sugar and oil – mix until combined about 30-seconds. Now with the mixer running add the buttermilk once combined begin adding the eggs 1 at a time until well combined. The mixture will still be gritty, unlike when you cream butter and sugar.
In a another bowl sieve together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Then add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, using a spatula stir until just combined – don’t be temped to overwork the mixture the muffins will become chewy. Once the flour is combined fold in the drained pineapple, carrots and pecan pieces. Stir until just combined.
Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full and bake in the centre of the oven for 18-24 minutes – or until the muffins are golden on top and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Don’t overbake the muffins or they will dry out, remove from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes before removing the muffins from the tray and allowing them to cool completely.
To make the cream cheese frosting, place the softened butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer or in a large mixing bowl and blend until fluffy and combined. Once combined start adding the icing sugar in batches, blending thoroughly between additions. Now add the vanilla extract and milk and blend until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.