Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients:

250g cream cheese

60ml sugar

300ml flour

125ml sugar

60ml light brown sugar, firmly packed

7.5ml baking powder

2.5ml baking soda

7.5ml ground cinnamon

5ml ground ginger

5ml salt

2 large eggs

125ml water

80ml vegetable oil
100g walnuts, chopped

250ml grated carrots, lightly packed (about 2 medium-large carrots)

12 walnut halves

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Place cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on low power for 40 seconds.

Stir in 60ml sugar.

Stir until smooth and set the filling aside while you make the muffin batter

Whisk together the following: flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt.

In a separate small bowl, add the eggs, water, and vegetable oil and whisk until well combined.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Add the chopped nuts and grated carrots and stir to combine.

Place paper muffin cups in a cupcake pan and grease the paper cups.

Put about 2 Tablespoons of muffin batter in each muffin cup and spread to cover the bottom.

Drop a heaping tablespoonsof cream cheese filling on top of the muffin batter.

Cover the cream cheese filling with enough muffin batter so the muffin cups are very full.

Add a half a walnut to the top of each muffin.

Bake for 18-22 minutes.

When they are done, a toothpick inserted into the cake part of one (not into the cream cheese filling) will come out clean and the tops of the muffins will feel firm to the touch.

Remove the muffins from the oven. Wait 30 minutes or so for the muffins to cool and for the filling to stiffen up before removing from the pan.