Bunny Carrot Cupcakes for Easter!
Hang on, do these cupcakes have ears and a nose?! Yes, they’re mini bunny carrot cakes! A great Easter bake to make with children (or adults).
If you’re wondering what the ears are made of… they’re actually cut-open marshmallows, dipped in pink sugar. And the nose is a little Smartie. So cute, right?
This recipe was created as part of my “Recipes for Staying Home” show for RTL.
This is a recipe from my cookbook ‘Flavours of Home’.
MAKES 12
For the cupcakes:
200g carrots
50g walnuts or pecans
75g fresh pineapple
2 eggs
200g brown sugar
150ml of sunflower or vegetable oil
200g plain flour
40g desiccated coconut
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
For the frosting:
50g butter, at room temperature
90g icing sugar
160g cream cheese
sprinkles
12 marshmallows
12 red Smarties
Preheat oven to 170°C fan.
Grate the carrots. Finely chop the walnuts and the pineapple.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs at high speed, add the sugar and continue beating until pale and fluffy. Keep the whisk on at high speed, and add the oil in a steady stream.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, dessicated coconut, the cinnamon, baking powder and salt, then fold into the egg mix. Once mixed, gently incorporate the grated carrot, the pineapple and the walnuts.
Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake cases.
Transfer the mixture into the muffin tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Prepare the frosting. In a bowl, cream the butter and icing sugar together until smooth. Add the cream cheese and cream until smooth. Put in the fridge to set.
Once your cupcakes are done, put them on a wire rack and leave to cool. Once cool, spread the frosting generously over the top.
Cut the marshmallows diagonally in halves and dip each marshmallow, cut-side down, into the sprinkles. Stick onto the frosting to create little ears, then decorate with a Smartie to create a nose.
Store the cupcakes in the fridge for up to 3 days.
