Carrot cake muffins

Carrot cake muffins were moist, sweet, aromatic, packed with nuts, raisins and of course carrots. Topped with mascarpone cheese frosting and decorated with walnut looked looked very elegant. The recipe comes from 'Easy muffins' cookbook.

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 280g flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• pinch of salt
• 115g brown sugar
• 200g grated carrot (about 2 medium size carrots)
• 50g chopped walnuts
• 50 raisins
• 2 eggs
• 175ml milk
• 6 tbsp flavourless oil like grape seed oil, sunflower oil
• 1 orange juice (about 50 ml)

Peel of the carrots and grate them. Set aside. Chop the walnuts and set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Sift the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and salt into a big bowl. Add the sugar and whisk well. Then stir in the carrots well. Gently stir in the walnuts and raisins.

In separate jug whisk the eggs add the milk, oil, orange juice and whisk well. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients bowl. Stir gently until just combined. Do not over mix.

Spoon the batter into paper cases. Bake for 20 minutes. After that time poke the muffins with with toothpick if it comes out clean it means that cake is bake din the middle. Transfer the muffins into wire rack and leave them to cool down.

In a meantime prepare the frosting.

Ingredients for frosting:

• 140g mascarpone cheese
• 35g icing sugar

Put the icing sugar and cheese into a small bowl and whisk the with a fork. Be gentle as sugar may dust all around. Whisk until light and fluffy.

When the muffins are cooled place a spoon of frosting on each muffin top and spread. Decorate with the walnuts. Enjoy !