National Baking Week: Tess’s Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

It’s not technically the final day of National Baking week, but as we try our hardest not to be in the studio on weekends, it will be the last update from us.  What better way to end the splurge of Tess’s delicious recipes, than with some cakes made especially for Dave’s birthday!

“Carrot cake is one of my favourite cakes so I had to try this recipe for cupcakes from ‘How to be a Domestic Goddess’ by Nigella Lawson. And yep, you guessed it…They are good for you as they’ve got one of your five a day! Yay!”

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 100g light Muscovado Sugar
• 175 ml of sunflower oil
• 2 large eggs
• 225g plain flour
• ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• zest of ½ lemon
• zest of ½ orange or satsuma
• 150g grated carrot (approx. 1 large carrot)

For the icing

• 125g cream cheese
• 250g icing sugar, sieved
• 1-2 tsp of lime juice (I used lemon juice)
• 12 walnut halves to decorate

How to make!

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with 12 cupcake cases.
2. Beat sugar and oil together, then add the eggs one at a time.
3. Add flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, salt and zests and mix well.
4. When the mixture is smooth fold in the grated carrot. At this stage, if you would like to, you can also add 100g chopped walnuts to the mix.
5. When combined, spoon into the cupcake cases and bake for about 20 mins.
6. Check regularly, mine were done in about 18 minutes.
7. Cool on a rack.

To make the icing: