Carrot Topped "Dirt" Chocolate Muffins

Baking is one of my favourite ways to unwind and relax, so over the last few months I have turned my hand to perfecting the crusty baguette, baking moist lemon loaves as well as creating the perfect biscuit snap. One of the bakes I've been most proud of are the deliciously moorish chocolate muffins that I'm going to talk about today. They've been designed to look like they're carrots peeking out of the soil - a perfect snack for those who love gardening or have an allotment. 

The chocolate muffin is soft and moist, in fact it may be my favourite recipe yet. For the topping, I swapped out the traditional buttercream icing in favour of a light layer of Nutella which makes the cake taste rich and works as 'glue' for the soil topping. For the dirt element, I crushed up Oreo's and stuck pre-made carrots made of icing out of the sponge. I think these would be easy to recreate with ready to roll paste icing or even using a strawberry covered in orange melts. 

Ingredients (Makes 6muffins) - 

125g Self-Raising Flour

20g Cocoa Powder

1tsp Baking Powder

80g Golden Caster Sugar

80g Butter 

1 Egg

90ml Milk of Choice

Crushed Oreos (around 6)

Nutella 

Carrot decoration 

Method - 

Preheat the oven until 180c. 

In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add to the egg and a milk to the mixture and stir until smooth. 

Once mixed, add the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Stir until smooth, but be careful not to over-mix too much. 

Spoon out the mixture into cases in a cupcake tin. Place in the oven for 25 minutes or until cooked all the way through. 

Immediately remove the muffins from your cupcake tin to allow to fully cool. 

In a bowl, separate your Oreos into two, scraping the white middle icing out with a knife. This isn't necessary if you don't mind white speckles in your "soil". Crush the Oreos with the end of a rolling pin. 

Once cooled, lightly cover the top of your muffins with Nutella. Press the crushed Oreos into the top of your muffins until fully covered. Add your carrot decorations and serve! 

Did you enjoy this fun, yet tasty recipe?