Carrot and Sultana Muffins

If your children have seen the Ooglies on television they will love the fun carrot characters decorating these deliciously moist carrot and sultana muffins.

Carrot and Sultana Muffins

Preparation time 20 mins Baking time 25-30 mins Makes 12 For the muffins: 300g plain flour 180g caster sugar 3 tsp baking powder 1½ tsp cinnamon ¾ tsp salt 3 large eggs 180ml vegetable or sunflower oil 1½ tsp vanilla extract 265g grated carrot (approx 3 large) 150g sultanas 3 tbsp demerara sugar For the decoration: 100g Marzipan Food colouring, we used Sugarflair paste in Peach Parsley sprigs Eyes are optional but require a small piece of sugar paste and a black edible pen. Method: 1 Preheat oven to 200°C /180°C fan/gas mark 6 and line a 12 hole muffin pan with cases. 2 In a large bowl sieve the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the sugar and stir to combine using a balloon whisk to ensure it is well mixed. 3 In a small bowl briefly beat the eggs, add the oil and vanilla extract and beat until all mixed together. 4 Add the wet ingredients to the dry and start to stir together, add in the grated carrot and sultanas. Mix quickly and firmly until just combined. 5 Spoon the batter mix into the cases, sprinkle the top with demerara sugar and bake for 25-30 mins. They should be golden and firm to the touch and a skewer will come out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack. 6 To make your carrot characters for decoration, colour your marzipan by adding a small amount of paste and knead through, adding more colour if needed. Take a piece of marzipan and roll into a ball approx 3cm in diameter, then place the ball in the palm of your hand. Using the side of your other hand gently roll in the centre to make it into a tube shape. Then move down and continue to roll it until it tapers into a carrot shape. If you find it gets sticky add a little icing sugar. Carrots are all different shapes and sizes so each one doesn’t have to be the same, thank goodness! 7 Make a small hole in the fat end of your carrot and add a sprig or 2 of parsley, this is best done on the day of use as it will wilt. 8 To add the eyes. Use a tiny piece of white sugar paste, roll into a ball and flatten slightly, fix in place with a little water. Add the black dot with an edible black pen. TIP: * Do not over mix the combined ingredients, they only need to be just combined. If you mix too much the texture of the baked muffin will be dense rather then light and fluffy. * You can make the carrot decoration in advance, just remember to make the hole in the end so you can add the parsley sprigs on the day of serving. Variations: You can replace the sultanas with dried fruit of your choice to personalise your bake.