King’s day muffins (orange carrot muffins)
It’s almost King’s Day here in the Netherlands, so that’s the perfect time to share with you these yummy orange King’s Day muffins. They are basically carrot cakes. So always tasty right?
Orange King’s Day Muffins
King’s day is a national holiday here in the Netherlands where we celebrate the King’s birthday. It’s a celebration where the color orange plays a huge role. It’s the color of the royal family so during this one day you can find all sorts of orange things in the Netherlands.
From orange cupcakes to orange hats to orange everything. It’s an orange party!
To be perfectly honest, I never do much with King’s Day. When the weather is nice I walk around town, but this year I even have an appointment with the osteopath. I suspect he doesn’t do anything on King’s Day either. Haha. But of course that doesn’t mean I can’t share with you some fun things to make on this festive orange occasion.
By the way, I have a feeling that Kings Day is not what it used to be. Or is that just me. Anyway, enough about that. Over to these delicious muffins.
Carrotcake
These orange muffins are really just carrot cakes or carrot muffins. It just depends on what you want to call it. So you can also bake it in a 20 x 20 cm baking pan if you prefer. In that case, you should allow about an hour of baking time at 160˚C. That’s a lower temperature than the muffins below. Keep that in mind. You can also bake at 180˚C but keep an eye on the oven, to make sure you will see when the cakes are done.
Orange on top
I suddenly realize that this is about the first time I’ve made something for King’s Day. So my orange repertoire is a bit sad.I do have another very Dutch specialty on the agenda to make. That will be something called ‘oranjekoek’ and is a specialty from the Fries region here.
Frosting
For the frosting for the orange King’s Day muffins, I simply use cream cheese. I mix it with powdered sugar, orange zest and a little orange juice. Just stir it loose so it’s well mixed and then spread it on the muffins. If you want you can do it fancy and pipe it on with a nozzle, but I wanted to keep it simple.
The flavor is no less with these King’s Day muffins.
King’s Day Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin tin
- silicon muffin molds
Ingredients
- 1 orange medium
- 140 gr raisins
- 125 ml sunflower oil
- 115 gr whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder plus another pinch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 140 gr light brown caster sugar
- 280 gr grated carrot
- 2 eggs
- 115 gr self rising flour
Frosting
- 200 gr cream cheese
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1,5 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- orange sprinkles as desired
- Preheat the oven to 180˚ C (350˚F). For the muffins, grate the orange and squeeze out 3 tbsp of juice. Pour the juice over the raisins in a bowl, stir in the grater and let it soak while you make the rest of the batter. The muffins are easiest to make in silicone molds which you briefly grease.
- Mix the flour with 1 tsp baking powder, baking salt and cinnamon.
- Separate one of the eggs. Put the egg whites in a small bowl and the yolks in a large bowl. Crack the remaining egg into the yolks and then add the sugar. Beat this for 1-2 minutes or until thick and frothy. Slowly pour in the oil and continue to mix on low speed until well blended. Add the flour mixture in two parts and gently stir in with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The mix will be quite stiff. Add the extra bit of baking powder to the egg whites and beat to soft peaks.
- Stir the carrot and raisins (and any remaining liquid) into the flour mixture. Fold in the egg whites, then divide the batter among the muffin tins. Pat the countertop briefly to even out the batter. Bake the muffins for about 20-30 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
- To make the frosting, stir the cream cheese with the orange juice. Add the powdered sugar and orange zest. Do not beat this for too long. Stir in the lemon juice. When the muffins are completely cooled spread the frosting over the muffins. Then – optionally – sprinkle with some more orange sprinkles.
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
Also check these muffins:
