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Nut-free carrot cupcakes

Published: 26 Sep 18
Updated: 18 Mar 24

These nut-free carrot cupcakes are slathered in cream cheese icing. Serve as part of a nut-free afternoon tea or kids’ party spread.

Food editor Jen Bedloe says: “They look truly elegant stacked up on a tiered cake stand. The cupcakes keep well and are wonderfully moist – a joy to eat.”

If you like the look of these cupcakes, you’ll love our cappuccino cupcakes (also nut free).

Easy
May 2018

Test kitchen approved

Makes 22
Hands-on time 20 min, oven time 20-22 min, plus cooling

These nut-free carrot cupcakes are slathered in cream cheese icing. Serve as part of a nut-free afternoon tea or kids’ party spread.

Food editor Jen Bedloe says: “They look truly elegant stacked up on a tiered cake stand. The cupcakes keep well and are wonderfully moist – a joy to eat.”

If you like the look of these cupcakes, you’ll love our cappuccino cupcakes (also nut free).

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 270kcals
Fat: 15.9g (5.6g saturated)
Protein: 3.5g
Carbohydrates: 27.7g (19.9g sugars)
Fibre: 0.9g
Salt: 0.4g

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Ingredients

For the cupcakes

200g grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
250ml light olive oil
4 large free-range eggs
225g light brown soft sugar
75g sultanas
75g raisins
Grated zest 1 orange
2 tsp ground mixed spice
½ tsp ground allspice
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the icing

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
250g full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature
100g icing sugar

To decorate

Sugar flowers (from the baking aisle of larger supermarkets or
at squires.co.uk)

You’ll also need…

2 x 12-hole muffin trays lined with 22 silicone cupcake holders (from cookware shops or amazon.co.uk)

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Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Using a wooden spoon, mix all the cupcake ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Use an ice cream scoop or dessertspoon to divide the batter equally among the cases. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a skewer pushed into the middle of a cake comes out clean and they feel springy.
Leave the cakes in the trays until cool enough to handle, then put onto a rack to cool completely. Once cool, pop out of the cases (then repeat with another batch if making more).
For the icing, use a wooden spoon to beat the butter in a mixing bowl until soft and fluffy. Beat in the cream cheese, then sift over the icing sugar and beat until smooth and until well combined. Spoon/pipe onto the cooled cupcakes and top with sugar flowers.

Recipe from May 2018 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 270kcals
Fat: 15.9g (5.6g saturated)
Protein: 3.5g
Carbohydrates: 27.7g (19.9g sugars)
Fibre: 0.9g
Salt: 0.4g

delicious. tips

If you want a cake for cutting (for a wedding you can put it at the top of a tiered cake stand, with cupcakes on the lower tiers), make the batter as in the recipe. Spoon all the batter into an 18cm, fully lined cake tin and bake for 60-70 minutes. Ice all over and decorate to suit your theme.
Bake the cupcakes 2-3 days ahead and keep cool in an airtight container. Or open freeze, then store in food bags for up to 1 month. Defrost, then ice up to 4 hours before serving.
If making a lot of cupcakes in advance, make them one batch at a time (unless you have two good ovens). Weigh the ingredients in advance but don’t combine them (step 1) until when you’re ready to bake or you’ll activate the raising agent too early. In step 3, you could make 3 batches of icing in a stand mixer at one go.