Preheat and Prepare: First, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

Combine Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the plain flour, light muscovado sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Breaking up any lumps in the sugar is important here.

Combine Wet Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Then, whisk in the vegetable oil and vanilla extract until everything is well combined.

Mix Batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to fold them together until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix; a few lumps are perfectly fine. What works best for me is stopping as soon as there are no dry streaks of flour left.

Fold in the Good Stuff: Gently fold in the grated carrots, grated apple, chopped pecans, and desiccated coconut (and raisins, if using). The batter will be quite thick and chunky at this point.

Fill Muffin Cases: Divide the batter evenly among the 12 prepared muffin cases. An ice cream scoop is a great tool for this, as it ensures each muffin is the same size. They should be filled almost to the top.

Bake to Perfection: Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes. You can test for doneness by inserting a wooden skewer or toothpick into the centre of a muffin – it should come out clean.

Cool Down: Once baked, let the muffins cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This prevents them from getting soggy bottoms.