Spiced apple cupcakes

MAKES 12 PREP 30 mins plus chilling COOK 35 mins MORE EFFORT G uniced

V125g butter, softened 100g caster sugar

50g brown sugar

2 eggs

200g self-raising lour

1 tsp baking powder

150g apples, peeled, cored and

grated (prepared weight) 2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground ginger

For the buttercream icing 200g butter, softened 400g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

For the decorations green and brown fondant

2 tbsp icing sugar for dusting red and green sanding sugar ( ind

online or in specialist shops) 1 First, make the decorations. Roll out the green fondant on a surface dusted with the sugar to a 1/2cm thickness. Cut out 12 small ‘leaves’ using a cutter or knife. Set aside on some baking parchment. Roll the brown fondant into 12 x 1cm ‘stalks’. Set aside with the leaves.

2 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Line six holes of a 12-hole cupcake tin with red cases, and the other six with green. For the cake batter, beat the butter and both sugars with an electric whisk until light and flu y. Slowly mix in the eggs, then fold in the flour, baking powder, grated apple and spices until fully incorporated.

3 Fill the cases three-quarters full and bake for 30-35 mins, or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin. Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat the butter until light and creamy, then add the sugar and vanilla, and beat for 5 mins more until flu y and pale. 4 Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle. Working from the outside towards the centre, pipe the icing in a swirl over the cupcakes, applying a good amount of pressure to the bag. Use a small palette knife to smooth the icing into neat domes, then chill the cupcakes for 30 mins to firm up. 5 Tip the red and green sanding sugars into separate bowls. Dip the tops of the cupcakes with the red cases into the red sugar, and those with green cases into the green sugar, turning to fully coat the icing. 6 Make little indentations in the top of the icing for the fondant stalks, and add the leaves around them.

PER SERVING 477 kcals • fat 23g • saturates 14g • carbs 63g • sugars 50g • ibre 1g • protein 3g • salt 0.8g

1 tbsp dark rum

3 tbsp chocolate sprinkles

or chocolate vermicelli

1 Heat the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of just simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. 2 Remove from the heat, and mix in the cake crumbs and rum. Leave to cool at room temperature until the mixture is firm enough to roll into balls, about 1 hr – don’t worry if it splits slightly. If you’re short of time, chill the mixture for up to 30 mins, stirring every 10 mins, until firm.

3 If the mixture splits, stir again until smooth. Put the sprinkles in a shallow dish. Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls, then roll in the sprinkles to coat. Will keep in a cool, dry place in an airtight container for up to a week.

PER SERVING (20) 124 kcals • fat 9g • saturates 5g • carbs 8g • sugars 5g • ibre 1g • protein 1g • salt 0.1g