Inside Out Carrot Cake Muffins

This month for Secret Recipe Club we were given the blog Secrets from the Cookie Princess. Colleen is a mom from Massachusetts who loves to bake treats and sweets but don't let the name of her blog deceive you she has way more than just cookies to share with everyone. I chose to make her Inside Out Carrot Cake Muffins and they didn't disappoint. She uses Fiori di Sicilia in her cream cheese filling. I had never even heard of it before so I looked it up online and is an Italian extract that combines Orange and Vanilla flavors together. I used just plain Vanilla extract as a substitute.

Ingredients for Muffins:
2 1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar - Packed
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
3/4 Tsp Ginger
3/4 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Canola Oil
1 Cup Shredded Carrots

Ingredients for Filling:
8 oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese - Softened
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat the oven to 400. Put liners in the cupcake tin and set aside. In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, both sugars, salt, spices, baking soda and baking powder) and whisk them together.

Add the wet ingredients (eggs, water, oil) into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix them together. Shred the carrots into the batter and gently mix them in until just combined.

To make the filling in a small bowl combine the softened cream cheese with the sugar and the vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.

In the cupcake liners put a half scoop of batter in the bottom. Put a heaping Tsp of filling on top of the batter. Cover the filling with another scoop of the batter so that it is completely covered.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, the tops will be firm. Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then on a baking rack for about 15 minutes. Be careful if you are having a muffin right away as the filling will be very hot.

Enjoy!!

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