Clean eating carrot Cake Muffins: Juicy sweet shredded carrots, crunchy walnuts and a creamy vanilla frosting.
These little handfuls of yummy are perfect for rainy days, school lunches or anytime snacks. I pack a full two cups of grated carrot into the batch and half a cup of chopped walnuts. Even though you can see the carrot shining through, it doesn't deter the fussiest of my kids fighting for the last one.
Carrot Cake Muffins With Cream Cheese Frosting
You can use this same recipe to make up a carrot cake loaf, but you will need to increase the baking time. I'm a bit too impatient so using a muffin tray means they can get on our plates faster :)
For a long time, I used to make these with no frosting at all, and everyone was happy. Without frosting, they travel well to school in lunchboxes, in cars, anywhere really. And then one day someone gave me carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting and that was it. Hooked.
So now if we're having these at home, I'll whip up a batch of cream cheese frosting and throw some left over walnut crumbs on top.
These are great if you've got guests and need something to nibble on. They look so pretty, you can pretend you spent hours in the kitchen, when they really take just minutes to put together before you let the oven take care of the rest!
The Best Flour To Use
Carrot cake is usually a little denser than other cakes and these carrot cake muffins are no exception to that. I've tried using several flours over time, since we've been Clean eating, and most work fine.
I find the best flour is either Einkorn or Buckwheat, but use what you have if it's Clean.
Are Carrot Muffins Healthy?
Like a lot of things I realised when we started Clean eating, these carrot cake muffins are healthier, yes. But healthier that what, right? Well...probably most of the snack food I used to buy from the shops.
These are made with maple syrup to sweeten (plus the carrot is super sweet naturally) and zero refined sugar is added. I use flours that have been processed as little as possible and haven't had enhancers added (read about flour enhancers here). And the rest of the ingredients are Real food ingredients.
Cream Cheese Frosting
This cream cheese frosting doesn't have the confectioners powdered sugar you find in many cream cheese frostings, because we like to keep things Clean around here. What this means for you and I, is that this frosting needs to be kept at a fairy low temperature so it stays on the muffin :)
When I make these muffins, I'll make them up and cook them but hold off frosting them until right before they're needed.
You can make the frosting ahead of time and leave it in the fridge, ready to go. You'll notice muffin decoration is not a speciality of mine and so I dollop a spoonful on each muffin and smooth it out with the back of the spoon.
Once these are frosted, they can stay out for around an hour (out of sunlight!). Pop any uneaten muffins in the fridge, and take them out 10 mins or so before you're going to eat them again. But they are better freshly frosted!
Clean Cream Cheese
Most store bought cream cheeses I've come across are clean. A few have not been. Check the back of the pack if you're unsure. Cream cheese is simply Milk and/or cream.
If you can, buy Organic cream cheese as there will have been no artificial colours or preservatives, no routine use of antibiotics given to the cows producing the milk and no genetically modified ingredients or manufactured herbicides used when producing the cream cheese.
Storing Carrot Muffins
These muffins keep like a dream for up to 3 days in an airtight food storage tin like this one. Eaten them as they are, or keep some frosting in the fridge to quickly frost one with as and when you fancy one.
These also freeze beautifully. Put your unfrosted muffins in the freezer as soon as they've cooled down totally, and they'll sit there happily for up to 4 weeks. Take them out of the freezer a few hours before you want them again to defrost, and if they're still slightly chilly, stick them in the microwave for 30 seconds to take the chill off.
Keep an eye on the microwave timer if you do this - you can't frost a warm muffin!
More Clean Eating Muffin Recipes
- Healthy blueberry muffin recipe
- Healthy banana muffin recipe
- Healthy raspberry muffins
- Healthy ginger muffins
- Healthy pumpkin spice muffins
Carrot Cake Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Carrot Grated
- 3 Eggs Beaten
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract Organic
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ Cup Butter unsalted, melted
- ¾ Cup Maple syrup
- ½ Cup Walnuts Crushed
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Mixed spice
- 1 Cup Cream cheese For frosting - Full fat. Check the labels to make sure it's Clean
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla paste For frosting
- 2 tablespoon Maple syrup For frosting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius OR 320 degrees Fahrenheit
- Beat your eggs and add the butter. Mix well
- Combine in the maple syrup
- Add the carrots and vanilla extract, mix to combine
- Add your dry ingredients and combine well, without over beating
- Divide between the muffin cases and pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked through
- Leave to cool down
- To make the frosting, beat the bream cheese with a spoon, then simply add the vanilla bean paste and maple syrup. The frosting will harden up in the fridge. Frost the muffins when they're cool
