Hummingbird Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I've been using this recipe for years and years, but as a layered cake. Originally the recipe was in an old Queenscliffe community cookbook but I did change it to suit some likes and dislikes as well as add some directions that made it easier for other's to use. I have to admit I have donated several of these cakes for silent auctions and as prizes to raffles and they were highly sought after so it can be too bad!!

I've been wanting to try it as a cupcake for a while but just haven't had the time to until finally over the weekend I made the time! They came out exactly as i hoped and have been a great hit. I'm happy to share my recipe with you, I'd love to see some of your pics too!

Hummingbird Cupcakes w Cream cheese frosting Makes 24

Preheat oven to 180 deg Celsius

2 cups Plain Flour

1 cup chopped Walnuts

1 1/2 cups Vegetable oil

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Bicarb Soda

3 Mashed Banana's

1 cup Grated Carrot

1 1/2 cups Castor Sugar

4 Eggs

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Frosting

230g Soft Butter or Margarine

230g Pure Icing Sugar

230g Soft Cream Cheese

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1. Beat the eggs in large bowl, with sugar and oil until well mixed.
2. Add carrots, nuts and banana's until blended.
3. Sift all the dry ingredients together and gradually add to the wet mixture until combined.
4. 3/4 fill cupcake papers in a cupcake pan and place in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until tested with skewer that comes out cleanly.
5. Beat together Butter/margarine and cream cheese until very pale in colour then add sifted icing sugar and vanilla essence.

Just a little note on the frosting; This recipe makes plenty, it just depends on how you would like to frost the cake. If you just want to place a dollop of frosting on the cupcake, like in the picture shown above then you would only need half the amount so halve the ingredients. But if you wish to pipe the frosting on you may need the full amount.

Enjoy!

Jacinta

RSPCA cupcake day

It's seems like it has been ages since my last post, it probably has been really! I've been very busy cupcaking for birthdays, charity days, family gatherings as well as just for fun. Recently the RSPCA cupcake day was held and it was decided that we would hold our cupcake day at my son's primary school. We held a colouring competition in the lead up to the event with awesome prizes donated by the Keren at the cupcake courier. Thanks Keren, the children were so excited to win their cup-a-cakes!!

It was great fun, we had lots of children come into the kitchen and help us throughout the day, with such wonderful ideas and so enthusiastic too! We made lots and lots of Vanilla and devil's food cupcakes but still it wasn't enough, we ended up selling out in 3 minutes!! My wonderful partner(in-crime) Ros and I both agreed that we would just have to do it all again the next week so as to ensure that everyone got a cupcake. All in all we raised hundreds of dollars for the RSPCA, a very worthwhile cause. Special thanks goes to Annie for being our official photographer!