Rainbow Carrot Cake Muffins

Makes 10-12 Muffins

Easter just wouldn’t be Easter without eating my body weight in both chocolate and carrot cake. So these are a healthier version of a traditional carrot cake that is both gluten and refined sugar free.  I used the very handy Sweetpea Pantry baking mix, and the whole process took 8 minutes to prepare in one bowl and 12 minutes in the oven.  So the fact that these cute little guys can be in your mouth in sub twenty minutes with minimal washing up, is an absolute god-send.  They are particularly fun to make with the kids too as all of the ingredients can simply be chucked in together and mixed easily.

While these muffins aren’t going to win any awards for their high-class sophistication, they might just win the award for the easiest, yummiest and most smile-inducing.  When my kids first saw the finished product, their little eyes positively lit up with excitement.  Of course, my daughter wants EVERYTHING to be pink (from soaps to toilet paper) and my son not just wants, but actively requires all things to be blue (from toothpaste to crockery), however they know that most artificially coloured foods are strictly off limits.  So they couldn’t believe their luck with I presented them with these, secretly revelling in the fact that they were naturally coloured with some iron-rich blue spirulina and antioxidant-filled pink pitaya powder. Of course the natural colourings are entirely optional and don’t really affect the taste at all, but if you have small kids then I would highly recommend investing in some because it is a great way to sneak in some extra micronutrients all under the guise of a rainbow muffin!

One muffin provides 205 calories, 6g of protein and 2g of fibre.  Not to mention 35% and 11% of my daily Vitamin A and Vitamin C requirements respectively, which isn’t bad going for a delicious sweet treat.  

INGREDIENTS

For the Muffins

·      1 x Packet Sweetpea Pantry Carrot Cake Muffin Mix
·      2 x Eggs
·      80 mls Olive Oil
·      80 mls Water
·      3 tbsp Maple Syrup
·      45g Walnut Pieces
·      200g Carrot - Shredded

For the icing

·      180g Cream Cheese
·      30g Xylitol
·      Zest & Juice of 1 Orange
·      Optional natural colouring: 1 tsp Blue Spirulina Powder and 1 tsp Pink Pitaya Powder.

METHOD 

·     Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
·     In a large bowl, combine the muffin mix with the boiling water, oil and syrup.
·     Whisk the eggs and stir into the mix.
·     Grate the carrots into the bowl and add the chopped walnuts.
·     Stir to combine.
·     Spoon into paper muffin cases or a greased silicone muffin tray.  
·     Bake for 10-12 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
·     While the cakes are in the oven, make the frosting.
·     In a mixing bowl, zest and juice the orange.
·     Add the cream cheese and xylitol and mix until fully combined. 
·     If using superfood powders to naturally colour, then separate the frosting into 2 bowls and add the colours accordingly.  I used Pitaya powder to make the pink and blue spirulina to make the blue. 
·     Once the cakes have cooled completely, spread with the icing and enjoy! 

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories – 205
Protein – 5g 
Fat –12g
Carbohydrates – 21g
Fibre – 2g
Vitamin A – 35%
Vitamin C – 11%