Spiced carrot and pecan mini muffins

In the mood for something a bit different with your morning or afternoon cuppa? Give these mini muffins a try! The classic mix of carrot, pecan and cinnamon is already a guaranteed people pleaser and the addition of some zesty orange rind offers a nice twist! And, thanks to their smaller size, these also make a great on-the-go treat!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 2 small carrots)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp finely grated orange rind
• 60g butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
  Cream cheese icing
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 tsp orange juice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Brush a 12-cup non-stick muffin tin with a little melted butter or line with muffin cases.
2. Sift flour and cinnamon into a bowl. Mix in carrot, pecans, sugar and orange rind. In another bowl, combine butter, buttermilk and egg. Mix the butter ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined, using no more than 16 strokes. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. Make cream cheese icing by combining all the ingredients well and refrigerating until firm. Spoon or pipe an even amount onto each cooled muffin.