Carrot Cupcakes

Growing up, my mum used to make the best carrot cake with orange cream cheese frosting which was adored by everyone we knew. The cake was packed with fruit and spices and carrot and all kinds of amazingness. This recipe is my take on my mums cake using all vegan ingredients and skipping the nuts usually found in carrot cakes as I'm not a fan. I made  a batch of these cakes and took them to work having tested out the recipe on family and the reactions were priceless, I need a hidden camera in our staffroom! Any cake than makes people groan with delight has to be worth a try... 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups plain flour 

1 cup brown sugar 

1 cup caster sugar

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

2 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp ground ginger 

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 

pinch of ground cloves 

1 tsp salt 

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 cup apple sauce 

3/4 cup soy milk 

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups grated carrot

1 1/2 cups raisins 

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

zest of 1 large orange 

100g butter - I use dairy-free 

400g icing sugar 

zest of 1 large orange 

Juice of 1 large orange 

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160c fan (180c non-fan) and lay out 24 cupcake cases - my muffin tins hold 12 each so I use these. 

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, bicarb, baking powder, salt, sugars and spices then carefully fold in the applesauce, oil, milk and vanilla extract ensuring all of the flour is combined into the mix. Stir in the grated carrots, zest from 1 orange, and dried fruit, making sure it is all well coated in batter. 

2/3 fill each of the cupcake cases - I use an ice-cream scoop for this -and place in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Place the cakes on a cooling rack. 

Once the cakes have cooled, mix together the butter and icing sugar along with the remaining orange zest. Add the orange juice little by little to create a smooth and creamy icing, similar in consistency to a thick double cream. Spoon this over the top of the cupcakes and leave to set. 

When you make these, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife 

Enjoy!