To make these muffins, start by preheating your oven to 425°F (218°C) and spraying a 12-hole muffin pan with nonstick spray or lining with greased/sprayed cupcake liners. NB: it’s important to grease the paper liner to prevent the muffin from sticking to these.

Pour boiling water over the raisins and allow to soak for about 15 minutes then drain and set aside.

This recipe yields 14-16 muffins, so you may need to prepare a second muffin pan or bake in batches.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and seed mix if you are using.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, honey, oil, mashed up banana, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla until well combined. Add in the grated carrots and apples and stir to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir a few times with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Then add the raisins and pecans and fold everything together until just combined and no pockets of flour remain.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan using an ice cream scoop to get an accurate portion, filling each liner all the way to the top.

Bake for 5 minutes at 200C/ 425°F, then reduce the oven temperature to 180C / 177°C and continue baking for an additional 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

The total bake time should be around 23-25 minutes. Once done, allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes:

You can also store leftover muffins at room temperature for up to 5 days (in a sealed container), or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

To freeze the muffins, simply put them in a Ziploc plastic bag store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.

For mini muffins, bake for 13-14 minutes at 180C /350F the entire time.