Recipe of the Week - Carrot Muffins with Maple Syrup Frosting {Gluten Free & Dairy Free}

These muffins seem quite fitting for January, when so many people try and eat a little more healthily to try and counter-balance all the over indulgences of December. They might be cake but they are packed with carrots and we are always being told that Maple Syrup is a more healthy form of sugar. They do, however, contain plenty icing sugar in the frosting as well, but just a little layer of frosting won't do much harm will it? 
I'm not claiming them as some sort of super food though. Just justifying my reasoning for cakes in January, not that cakes ever need justifying in my opinion. And I certainly wouldn't go so far as to make the suggestion that one of the boys made when he asked if having 5 of these muffins would count as his five a day!
Carrot cakes usually have a cream cheese style frosting on them, which is obviously no good for those who are dairy free. There are dairy free alternatives for cream cheese available but our boys don't particularly like them and so I came up with the idea of Maple Syrup frosting. The flavour is not so much of the syrup but more of a subtle vanilla taste.
For some time now I have been using Oat milk in baking and cooking as my milk substitute as it doesn't have a strong flavour like Soya milk does. It also doesn't contain any added sugar. That means that when I make these muffins they aren't strictly Gluten free, just Wheat free. If you need to make these completely Gluten free then simply swap the oat milk for another milk alternative - such as soya, nut or rice - (or milk itself, if you don't need to worry about dairy).  Muffins have the added bonus of being really quick to make and are a great thing to rustle up for an after school snack.

For around 12 muffins you will need:
For the muffins
10oz Gluten Free Self Raising Flour (I always use Doves Farm) 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 egg 3 fl oz oat milk (or alternative) 4oz sugar 12oz carrots, grated  (if you have a food processor then use the grater attachment to save yourself some time!) 3 fl oz vegetable oil
For the frosting
3oz dairy free margarine 9oz icing sugar 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- Preheat your oven to 180C and put your muffin cases into a muffin tin.
- Mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
- In another bowl beat the egg and then add the oat milk, sugar, carrot and vegetable oil.
- Now pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix together. The secret to making muffins that aren't too heavy is apparently to not over mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Mix until everything is combined and no more.
- Divide between your muffin cases and bake for around 20 minutes until golden brown.
- While the muffins are baking you can get the icing made. Simply put all the icing ingredients into a bowl and beat together using an electric mixer. You could, of course, do this by hand but if you have a mixer then let it do the work for you! You might need to add a tiny drop or two of your milk alternative to help the icing come together but if you do, then just a tiny bit at a time. Once the icing has come together, continue to beat it for another minute or two as this will make your icing fluffier.
- Spread the icing on the cooled muffins.
- Enjoy!