Carrot loaded mini carrot cakes with a spiced honey butter! Gluten, Nut, and can be dairy and egg free.

Gee, it really has been a while between posts hasn't it?  I have to admit, having Mellymaks Facebook page has made me a little more lazy about blogging because it is so easy to type up a quick recipe with a photo and, click, its out there!
But here we are, back together again, having a good ol' chat at the kitchen bench.  With maybe a cuppa between us, or if its late enough in the day, maybe even a glass of wine!  Why not?

'What have you been up to?'
'Ah not much.  You know, nothing exciting enough to mention but enough to feel like I am run off my feet!'.
'Yep.  I hear ya!  Where does the time go?'



Anyone had this conversation recently?!  
I might have got a little off the topic from carrot cakes, but my point is, life is busy.  We all say it and feel it.  And so more than ever before we really need to keep our bodies running at optimum health to keep up with life as we now know it.  To do this we need, above all, the importance placed on good health in your family, and priority placed on it over many other things.
People often freak out when they hear what I spend on food each week, what I've spent on a juicer, the amount of food items I make from scratch, the degrees I go to to avoid processed food.... But that is because I believe so strongly in the benefits of eating real foods, and the damage done in eating overly processed foods, chemicals,etc.  When you start to make the little changes, when you start to do your research, when you start to feel the benefits, you can't help but to continue on that journey, down that path.  And when you make those little changes and they become just part of everyday life, it doesn't feel hard.  It doesn't feel like a sacrifice.  It just feels like the right thing to do!

And so with my piece said (!!), lets get back to this recipe!  The carrot cake has absolutely been done to death, I know that!  I don't know about you though, but many of the carrot cakes I have eaten in my time seem to have very little actual carrot in them!  Or is it just me who wants a carrot cake to be pretty much carrot with a couple of other things to bind them together??!!
This is a great recipe for school (and office) lunchboxes, on the go snacks, and actually if my son grabbed one for breakfast, I don't think I'd object too loudly, and would definitely prefer it over anything on offer in the cereal aisle!!
If you are avoiding eggs, the 2tbs chia seeds should do the job so just leave the egg out.  If you are avoiding dairy, use whichever milk you prefer and coconut oil in place of the butter.
I used organic sultanas on top of some of the cakes and cranberries on the rest, and both options were delicious!  Other toppings could be banana slices, goji and/or inca berries, chopped fresh dates or even a few slivers of fresh ginger sprinkled with rapadura sugar, to spice it up a bit!!

These little cakes/muffins will keep moist for a few days, stored in an airtight container.

Enjoy....

Mini carrot cakes with a spiced honey butter

Ingredients

70g brown rice (or brown rice flour if not using a TMX)
2 tbs chia seeds
300g carrots, cut into large chunks for TMX or food processor, or grated otherwise
4 fresh dates, pips removed
35g rapadura sugar (coconut, brown or raw could substitute)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg (optional)
35g softened butter (or coconut oil for those avoiding dairy)
200ml milk (any milk you prefer if avoiding dairy)
1 tsp baking powder
100g gluten free SR flour

Toppings such as sultanas, cranberries, thin slivers of fresh ginger sprinkled with sugar, fresh banana slices etc.

Method - Conventional

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Lightly grease muffin tins or run silicone muffin trays through running water and tip out excess.
2. Process carrots and dates in food processor until finely chopped, or grate carrots and finely chop dates if not using a food processor.
3. Add remaining ingredients (except toppings!) to food processor, or use electric beaters, and beat until thoroughly combined.
4. Spoon enough mixture into prepared muffin tins to fill just below the tops.  Press a few of your selected toppings into the top of each.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until cooked through (they will be quite moist inside though).
6. Turn out onto a cooling rack.  Delicious warm or cold.  

Method - Thermomix

1. Follow step 1 above.
2. Place brown rice and chia seeds into TM bowl.  Process on speed 10 for 1 minute.  Set aside.  No need to clean the TM bowl.
3. Add carrots, dates, sugar, and cinnamon to TM bowl and process on speed 7 for 10 seconds.  Scrape down.
4. Add remaining ingredients, including rice and chia mix, and process on speed 7 for a further 10-15 seconds, until thoroughly combined.
5. Follow steps 4-6 above.

SPICED HONEY BUTTER

Place a couple of tablespoons of softened good quality butter in a small bowl with your choice of spices (such as mixed spice) and a big spoon of honey (raw organic is always preferable!) and mix through.  Slice cakes in half and spread with the butter.  Especially delicious when the cakes are warm!  Alternatively use cream cheese, or even a good quality thick greek style yogurt.