These Halloween carrot muffins are easy to make and ideal if you’re looking for Halloween party food ideas or school bake sales in October. A perfect treat for the 31st (or any time of the year!) – your kids will love icing these tasty muffins with spooky designs. This recipe makes 12 muffins and will take around 1hr to prepare, bake and cool. Each soft, carrot packed muffin is topped with a spooky Halloween themed design. You can create your own designs too with sweets, writing icing and plenty of fondant. Decorating Halloween cakes is a great activity for kids to do during a Halloween party.
Ingredients
- 200g/7oz soft light brown sugar
- 200ml/7floz sunflower oil
- 2 medium eggs
- 200g/7oz plain flour
- 2.5ml/1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2.5ml/1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of salt
- 5ml/1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 200g/7oz carrots, peeled and grated
- 50g/2oz walnut pieces, chopped
- 5ml/1 tsp vanilla essence
- For the icing:
- 225g/ icing sugar, sifted
- 25g/1oz unsalted butter
- 75g/3oz chilled full fat cream cheese
- Food colouring
- For decoration
- Colour sprinkles and jelly sweets
Method
Preheat the oven to 170ºC for a fan oven or 150ºC/325ºF/gas mark 3. Line a deep 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
Place the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl, then beat together with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Sift over the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon then fold in until well mixed. Fold in the carrots, walnuts and vanilla essence.
Divide the mixture between the paper cake cases. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 mins or until golden, risen and the middle bounces back when lightly pressed. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing: Use an electric whisk to beat the icing sugar and butter together in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the cream cheese and briefly beat together again until just combined. Don’t overbeat or it will become runny. Spread the icing over the muffins, then let the kids go mad icing the cakes with spooky jelly sweets and sprinkles.
Top tip for making Halloween carrot muffins
Un-iced these muffins freeze well. Once cold pack them into a freezer proof container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour, then ice as instructed.
