For a lighter take on classic carrot cake, try these yummy muffins! Serve them for dessert after dinner, then enjoy the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.
Ingredients
- CREAM CHEESE FILLING INGREDIENTS
- 1 12-ounce package cream cheese or non-dairy cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- MUFFINS INGREDIENTS
- 2¼ cups gluten-free baking flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup applesauce
- 1 cup milk or almond milik
- 2 cups grated carrots, with most of the liquid squeezed from them
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Mix cream cheese and brown sugar in a medium bowl and set aside.
Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a large bowl. Set aside.
In another large bowl, cream the sugars and oil. Add the vanilla, applesauce and milk, and mix again.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until everything is combined. Fold the grated carrots into the batter.
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into the bottom of each liner and use a spoon to spread it over the entire bottom. Place 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture in the center and spoon another heaping tablespoon of batter over the top. Repeat until all the batter is used up.
Bake muffins until firm and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before eating.
Nutrition Analysis: 280 cal, 15 g fat, 25 mg chol, 210 mg sodium, 33 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 20 g sugar, 4 g protein.
Isadora Lassance lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband and their orange cat, Cheeto. A regular contributor to Gluten-Free Living, she also blogs about whole food and seasonal ingredients at shelikesfood.com.
