Kindergarten Confidential: Carrot Cake Muffins
Waving Hello Peeps!
As I’m off on the ##FPPlayAmbassador press trip – you know, cruising around the Western Caribbean – I asked some of my favourite bloggers to help keep my blog fresh while I’m away.
Today’s guest post is courtesy of one of my very favourite bloggers: Shauna MacKenzie from Kindergarten Confidential. Whether you’re a mommy looking for well-balanced, nutritious (and delicious) snacks – or just trying to find inspiration to get out of a food rut – you’ll want to follow her blog for sage advice, tips, and meal ideas everyone can make. Her recipes for Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches, Baby Bok Choy and Mini Cheesecakes are in heavy rotation chez moi!
Blog Blurb: “When my son came home from Kindergarten with a list of nut-free snack ideas suggested by the school, I was disgusted by the amount of junk food listed. Do hot dogs really belong in a young child’s lunch bag? If the thought of preparing healthy, nut-free school snacks makes you cringe, worry not! I’m here to help with snack & lunch ideas, easy recipes, and tips to simplify this part of your busy life. Open your mind to delicious, healthy food that will stay with your busy bees throughout the day!”
Click here to visit Kindergarten Confidential.
Today Shauna so sweetly shared her recipe for Carrot Cake Muffins. Is it a muffin… or cake? You decide!
We all know that carrots are a delicious, über healthy vegetable that we should all be consuming daily. The convenience alone is good reason for daily snacking, along with high sources of fibre and vitamins.
We all know, as well, that children are easily bored by eating the same foods week after week. They may be tired of eating carrots raw with dip, or steamed and served with dinner. Get your little ones ready with their aprons and wooden spoons, and bake up a batch of Carrot Cake Muffins! I am ready and willing to share the absolute best carrot cake recipe EVER, given to me by my mother long, long ago. She still has the original Toronto Star newspaper clipping and this recipe has been passed along to family and friends with great results!
The recipe below is for a traditional carrot cake, cream cheese icing included – yum! I have provided instructions on making muffins. I ice the muffins for dessert or to treat my co-workers. For Aidan’s school snack I leave them plain, slicing into three portions. The muffins are very moist, full of flavour and they do not fall apart. He never misses the icing, but I sometimes spread a little in between the slices for an extra special treat.
Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups grated carrots
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon (I sometimes use Pumpkin Pie Spice instead)
3/4 cups vegetable or canola oil
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, baking soda and cinnamon in a small bowl.
3. Combine sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl, mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mix until just combined (do not over mix).
5. Add grated carrots and mix until just combined.
6. Pour batter into two round cake pans. I like to line them with aluminum foil (the pans stay clean and the cakes don’t stick at all).
7. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Check at 45 minutes with a toothpick. Cakes are ready when toothpick comes out of cake clean.
8. Allow cakes to cool completely before icing. The cake can be halved easily once cooled – it will not fall apart. Perfect for making a gorgeous 4-tiered cake.
** This recipe makes 21 muffins. Bake at the same temperature for no more than 45 minutes. Allow to cool before icing. Muffins will freeze well in a freezer bag for a convenient snack option.
Cream Cheese Icing (optional…if you can resist!)
Ingredients:
1 package of cream cheese (use full fat, not low fat), room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp juice (any citrus juice or juice blend will do)
Directions:
1. Using a mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla and juice until creamy.
2. Add the icing sugar in four parts, mixing well before adding each one.
3. Ice cake immediately or cover the icing in a bowl and refrigerate for up to 4 days. The icing also freezes well in a zip-seal plastic bag or container.
** This icing is also delicious on chocolate brownies or chocolate cupcakes.
*TIPS*
1. Before sending your little one with homemade baked goods for a school snack or with their lunch, check with their teacher to make sure that this is allowed. Many schools have banned homemade baked goods, due to high numbers of children with nut allergies.
2. Freeze extra muffins in a freezer bag for quick and easy breakfast options.
The icing looks awesome. :)
Hi Natasha, I icing is so good I could eat it with a spoon! It’s easy to make, and it’s a great icing for almost any flavour cupcake or cake!
The muffins look yum!! I just bought some carrots from the farmer’s market yesterday and I will definitely try this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Marissa, thx for commenting! It’s a great way to put carrots to use! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
I am in love with cream cheese icing. Those look good.
It’s so good! When I make it, my boys wait at my feet so that they don’t miss out on licking the beaters :)
Looks great :) Really hot dogs?
Hot dogs was on the list! Marshmallows also made the list…I was shocked!
While I question the nutrition of the recipe, it sure does look DELICIOUS!
Hi Lisa, this recipe is certainly an indulgence, not something that I make weekly (unless I receive numerous requests from family or friends!). I do prefer to send my 7-year old with a lunch bag full of fresh veggies rather than baked goodies, but I also like to send a surprise treat once in a while. This recipe has been in my family for decades, and it’s just too good not to share :)
Yum! I love all your recipes! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Margaret! Lena has some awesome recipes, many making weekly appearances in my kitchen! I’m thrilled that she is sharing my own recipe with her readers!
Shauna, thank you so much for sharing this scrumptious recipe, and for your thoughtful interaction on the comments! You are simply divine. Miss you – coffee when I return? xo
Miss you too! And thanks for the opportunity to share with your awesome readers! Lattes for sure when you return :)
we LOVE carrot muffins! I think maybe once they’re iced they become cupcakes? ;)
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Kat E., you are so right – the cream cheese icing definitely turns them into cupcakes! Enjoy!
Oh wow! I am a huge fan of carrot cake/muffins. This sounds like a recipe I would really enjoy.
Thank you for sharing! ♥
Soozle – I hope you like the recipe, I’d love to hear your feedback!
Omgosh these look so declicious! I adore carrot cake but haven’t ever made them in the form of muffins or cupcakes! good idea!
Anne Taylor – I love making a classic 4-layer carrot cake for special occasions, but muffins are easy to store/freeze and my kids love them!
I love carrot cake with cream cheese icing. I’ll have to try making these.
Kaitlin – The icing is tangy and sweet, and spreads like a dream! Enjoy :)
Thanks for the recipe.
Shirley – I’m so glad that Lena was kind enough to share my recipe with her readers!
These look yummy. Will be baking these this week.
Hi Shannon! It was great chatting with you at SCCTO! Enjoy the recipe :)
I NEED to make this now! My little guy was asking for carrot cake muffin the other day and my other go to recipe was so time consuming. Definitely going to try this recipe. Thanks!
Jeannie – grating the carrots is the most time consuming part. Otherwise, it is a fairly easy recipe! Hope your little guy enjoys them!
Oh. Em. Gee. These look SO good! I am definitely going to have to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing, Shauna!
You’re very welcome Diana! They are extremely addictive!
These look amazing!! I have been mulling over what I’m going to do with my bag of carrots and now I know! Thanks for sharing!
They are good without the icing Cassandra! My son loves them plain for breakfast or as a school snack!
Hi Victoria, hope you enjoy the cake! It’s my favourite way to use up a bag of carrots :)
These look really good even without the icing :)
Every time i look at this post I want those muffins. I rarely have cream cheese icing. But it is my favorite.
I crave them all the time Jennifer! That’s why I’m happy when family asks me to make them – I get to eat them too!!
OMG gaaaaahh I love carrot cake! Thanks for the recipe!!
LOL! Enjoy Rebby :)
Just had a carrot muffin today, but I bet your’s are so much better! The one I bought didn’t have the cream cheese frosting :( Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Looks delicious! Going to try it, need to get more veggies into my kids!
There’s nothing like homemade Patti! These are moist and so yummy!
Finding a carrot cake recipe that is moist and does not fall apart has been a chore. These muffins look delicious. Excited to give it a try and see if it warrants the seal approval and an entry in my favorites cookbook. Thanks for posting. Always looking for tried and true recipes.
Hi Eva, these muffins (and in cake form as well) do not fall apart. It’s a dense, moist cake that holds up well. It’s the one cake that I can slice (to make a 4-layer cake) that doesn’t fall apart in my hands. Enjoy!
Carrot cake muffins are one of my favourites! Thanks for sharing the recipe!! I’m definitely going to make these :)
Hi Lina, I hope you like the recipe!
YUM! Delish!!!
CANNOT WAIT to try this! Looks so yummy and my little guy loves to help me bake!
I am making theses this weekend and cant wait!!!
A baking session is scheduled with my little 4yo daughter for this weekend! Thanks for the recipe :)
I am looking for a new healthy snack, I would go very light on the icing, I am going to give these a try ! Yum !
These sound really good
These look awesome! I love carrot cake and putting it as a muffin is just that much better. Thanks for sharing :-)
I need to try these. My daughter loves carrot muffins.
How yummy! I think I will make these soon.