Simple Pumpkin and Walnut Cupcakes

These are particularly moist and delicious cupcakes, aided by the pumpkin even though the flavour is barely noticeable. If you prefer, you can use lemon instead of orange for the icing. Alternatively, you can skip the icing altogether and eat them more like a muffin. If you’d like to freeze these, don’t put the icing on until after they’ve thawed.

Makes: 12

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 60ml milk
• 100g brown sugar
• 125ml walnut oil or 125ml olive oil, or 125ml coconut oil
• 125g pumpkin, grated
• 55g ground almonds
• 40g walnuts, chopped (optional)
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, or 1/2 teaspoon mixture of both

Orange cream cheese icing

• 150g cream cheese, softened
• 40g icing sugar, sifted
• 3 teaspoons fresh orange juice
• 1 orange, finely zested (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper or silicone cases.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar and oil. Stir in the grated pumpkin, ground almonds and walnuts (if using). Add the flour and cinnamon, and stir until just combined.

Divide the mixture among the paper cases and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean. Leave in the tin for five minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the orange cream cheese icing, beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and orange juice together in a mixing bowl until well combined and smooth. Add a little more orange juice if you like a stronger flavour.

Spread the icing over the top of the cooled cupcakes, topping each with a little orange zest, if preferred. The cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container.

Recipe taken from Something For Everyone by Louise Fulton Keats

Bring the whole family together for deliciously healthy meals with Something for Everyone. Louise Fulton Keats provides simple solutions for family meal times, from starting babies on solid foods and managing fussy toddlers, to broadening your family’s culinary horizons and avoiding having to cook two dinners every night. Each recipe contains nutritional advice to help you cater to the needs of every member of your family. Accompanied with beautiful photography throughout, Something for Everyone gives you all you need to instil a love of good food and healthy eating in your household.

You can purchase Something For Everyone at cooked.com.

Published by Hardie Grant Books.