Recipes

Ingredients

• For the icing:
• 50g (2 oz) white chocolate
• 1 (200g) tub cream cheese, softened
• 100g (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• 500g (1 1/4 lb) icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons double cream
• For the cupcakes:
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 225g (8 oz) caster sugar
• 5 tablespoons dark brown soft sugar
• 100ml (4 fl oz) vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 250g (9 oz) grated carrots
• 125g (4 1/2 oz) crushed pineapple
• 200g (7 oz) plain flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 100g (4 oz) chopped walnuts

Preparation method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper muffin cases.
2. In small saucepan, melt white chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in white chocolate, 1 teaspoon vanilla and orange extract. Gradually beat in the icing sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Mix in double cream.
4. Beat together the eggs, caster sugar and brown sugar in a bowl, and mix in the oil and vanilla. Fold in carrots and pineapple. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Mix flour mixture into the carrot mixture until evenly moist. Fold in 1/2 of the walnuts. Transfer to the prepared muffin tin.
5. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks before topping with the icing and sprinkling with remaining walnuts.