Carrot Cake Mini Cupcakes

This is my go to recipe if I need to bake for a nice occasion such as a christening or birthday party. They are nice and small (even though a little bit more work) but make nearly 90 mini cupcakes and therefore feed a lot of people. Guests rave about them and also complain that they are on a diet while slipping the 5th one into their mouth whole. It's great!

I got the recipe from the one and only Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) -you can see it here. I have used this recipe using gluten free flour before and it has worked well. This time I was using regular flour. I looked at the reviews and ratings again and saw that it was slated by a lot of people. I was boggled as I hadn't had any issues before. Some were saying about the cupcake collapsing and them being ruined. I will admit that sometimes I have had some of the cupcakes sink in a small bit in the middle but usually they are fine. I actually had someone comment before that they liked how the middle sank because you got more icing that way, and I kind of agree!

I used the same recipe as here but used the mini cases instead of the regular cupcake cases and baked them for 11 minutes at 180 degrees in a fan oven. This varies from oven to oven so check them (with a skewer into the middle of one) after 10 minutes. If they are still very wet, add 3 minutes. If they are nearly there just give it one more minute. Adjust the time accordingly for your next tray.

Once they were cooled I piped them with the icing from this recipe (the icing is amazing) using a piping nozzle that has a medium to large circular end. I then finished them off by sprinkling some of the chopped walnuts over the top. Delicious!

Be sure to read the recipe carefully. I think the most important part is when you are adding the carrots, raisins and walnuts to the remaining flour at the end. Be sure you leave half (if not more) of the flour and mix it well. The carrots can become wet and then they end up sticking together in a clump which isn't good. I actually sometimes end up using my hands to mix it, as it ensures that everything is 'unstuck'.

Give it a try and let us know how they turn out.