Carrot Cake Muffins Baked in Eggshells

Usually I’m all about taste, but every once in a while, I decide to cook something mostly for the visual impact. These muffins baked inside of eggshells were perfect for a spring brunch (where I also served scrambled eggs from the emptied out eggs – waste not, want not). You can use this technique with your favorite muffin or cupcake batter, but I decided that carrot cake muffins (a less sweet and more breakfast friendly take on classic carrot cake) with a “yolk” made from a cream cheese filling seemed like a great fit. I was pretty pleased with how these turned out, but I’d definitely do some things differently next time. The batter stuck to the eggshells which I hadn’t quite anticipated, so I think swirling a drop of oil inside them before filling would be useful. I filled my eggs using a plastic bag with the corner cut off, but I think a professional pastry tip would make this a lot easier and quicker. I also overfilled the shells, and while it’s easy enough to scrape off the overflowing muffin after they’re baked, this meant that my “yolks” didn’t end up as pretty little balls in the center of the egg as hoped, so stick to filling the eggs a little less than 2/3rds full. Learn from my mistakes so you don’t have to make them! Even with these small issues (and the hours spent emptying eggshells and piping batter in them), everyone at brunch was very impressed, and it was really fun to crack away the shell and reveal a muffin!

Carrot Cake Muffins Baked in Eggshells (adapted from Cupcake Project and King Arthur Flour)
Yield: 18 – 20 muffins

Ingredients:

• 18 – 20 extra large eggs
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup + 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp + 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
• 1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

Method:

1. Using a corkscrew or other sharp object, make a small hole in the tip of each of 18 – 20 extra large eggs, and drain out the insides, using a wooden skewer or other thin sharp object to scramble the insides and make sure they all come out. Set aside the insides of two eggs for use in the muffin batter, and refrigerate the rest of the insides for later use (perfect for a large batch of scrambled eggs).
2. Thoroughly rinse out the inside of each eggshell, then submerge in a large bowl of salt water for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, drain the eggs, rinse with cold water to remove the salt, and let dry hole side down on a towel.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. To make the cream cheese “yolk” filling, combine 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract in a small bowl, and mix thoroughly, then set aside.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 Tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the two set aside eggs, 3/4 cup water, and 1/3 cup vegetable oil.
8. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, and stir a few times to combine.
9. Fold in 1 cup grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots) and 1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger, until the batter just barely comes together.
10. Transfer the muffin batter into a pastry bag or gallon-sized plastic bag with the tip of one corner snipped off. Similarly, transfer the cream cheese filling to another pastry bag.
11. Line a baking dish (or cupcake pan) with aluminum foil, and arrange the egg shells hole side up on top, using more foil to keep them upright.
12. Carefully expand the holes in the eggs if necessary to fit the pastry tips you are using (or the snipped-off corners of the plastic bags). You will probably want to also take this opportunity to swirl a little vegetable oil in each eggshell so that the batter doesn’t stick to the shell.
13. Pipe in enough batter to fill each egg about 1/4 full.
14. Pipe in enough cream cheese “yolk” to fill each egg to about 1/2 full.
15. Top off the eggs with more batter, trying to keep the eggs only about 2/3 full.
16. Bake the eggs until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean (make sure you are testing just the muffin part, not the cream cheese “yolk”), about 15 minutes.
17. Let cool, then peel away the shell to eat! These muffins should stay good stored in the refrigerator (because of the cream cheese) for about a week; for best flavor, let come to room temperature directly before serving.