Easter Carrot Cupcakes

I know these have been done before in the blogosphere, but I just loved the idea of making mini fondant carrots.  Plus, this cupcake recipe is really moist and filled with yummy things like nuts, pinneapple and carrot.  When you make your own little fondant carrots, make sure to create realistic little indents on the carrot!







Ingredients for Cupcake
2/3 cup plain flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup well-drained pieces pineapple, roughly diced2 tbsp pinneapple juice

Method
Preheat oven to180 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with 12 cases.  Stir flour, sugar, bicarb soda, cinnamon and nuts together in a bowl until well combined.  In a separate bowl, stir toghether the oil, egg, vanilla, carrot, pinneapple and pineapple juice until well combined.  Add this wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir together well with a wooden spoon.  Divide mixture into 12 cases.  Bake for roughly 20 - 25 minutes or until cooked through.  Allow cupcakes to cool before icing.

Ingredients for Icing
250g cream cheese
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Method
Beat all ingredients together and then spread with a spoon onto the cooled cupcakes.  Now make the fondant carrots.

Ingredients for Carrots
150g white fondant
orange food dye
12 small pieces of rocket leaves

Method
Roll the white fondant out.  Add a few drops of orange food dye and knead until orange is completely spread through and dark enough.  Now cut a small piece of orange fondant to make 1 individual carrot, roughly 6cm wide square shape.  Roll this piece around in the palm of your hand.  Make a sausage shape, but squeeze the end so it is slightly sharper than the top.  Push the top down slightly with your thumb to make it slightly more 'square' shape than the pointed shape.  Now insert a skewer into the top of the carrot so you can stick 1 small rocket leaf inside (see picture below).  With your skewer lying horizontally, press it very lightly into the carrot to create realistic indent marks.  Gently place fondant carrot onto iced cupcake.  Serve.

Making the fondant carrot