PUMPKIN-PIE CUPCAKES

Serves 12, prep 40 mins, cook 25 mins

WHAT YOU NEED

450g Kent pumpkin, peeled, deseeded, cut into 3cm pieces

2 cups self-raising flour

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Extra ground cinnamon, to decorate

FROSTING 250g packet cream cheese, chopped, at room temperature

125g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature

1 cup icing-sugar mixture

1 Line a 12-hole muffin pan (1/3-cup capacity) with paper cases.

2 Steam or microwave pumpkin until tender. Drain. Place in a medium bowl. Mash until smooth. (You will need 1 cup mashed pumpkin.) Cool.

3 Sift flour, baking powder and spices into a large bowl. Stir in sugar. Combine oil, eggs and pumpkin in a large jug. Mix well. Add to flour mixture. Gently fold until just combined. Divide evenly among paper cases.

4 Cook in a moderately slow oven (160⁰C) for about 25 minutes or until cooked when tested. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.

5 To make frosting, beat cheese and butter in the small bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually beat in icing sugar until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm star nozzle. 6 Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon.