Carrot cupcakes are the perfect treat to leave out on Christmas Eve but this delicious recipe will have little hands helping themselves long before Rudolph gets a chance to eat them!
Rudolph’s Carrot Cakes
Preparation time 1 hour Baking time 20-25 mins Makes 12 For the cakes:- 175g demerara sugar
- 200g self raising flour, sifted
- 1tsp baking powder
- 2tsp cinnamon
- 50g sultanas
- 2 eggs
- 120ml sunflower oil
- Zest of 1 orange
- 200g carrots, grated
- 75ml milk
- 100g butter
- 200g cream cheese
- 100g icing sugar, sifted
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 50g white ready to roll icing
- Orange and green food colouring
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4 and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
- For the cakes, mix the sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sultanas together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl beat the eggs with the oil then stir in the orange zest and carrot.
- Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. If the mixture is too dry add the milk. Fill the paper cases with the mixture so they are about ¾ full then bake for 20-25 mins until they are golden and bounce back when you gently press the tops (ask an adult to do this). Allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- For the icing, beat the butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract together in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth. Spread the icing on top of the cakes.
- For the decoration, lightly dust your work top with icing sugar then knead 40g of the ready to roll icing until it is soft. Dip the end of a skewer into the orange food colouring and gently tap the skewer over the icing until a few drops of colour fall on top of it. Knead the colouring into the icing until the colour is evenly distributed. Repeat for a darker shade.
- Roll out the icing to the thickness of about 3mm then ask an adult to help you cut out small triangles to look like carrots.
- Colour the remaining 10g of icing following step 5 but this time use green colouring. Roll out as before then cut out tiny rectangles. Make a few cuts along one long edge to create the carrot top. Stick the top of the orange triangles over the bottom, uncut edge of the green rectangles securing together with a little water. Place the carrots on top of the cakes.
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