Brown Butter Carrot Cupcakes

To make the cupcakes:

1.  Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Let it gently melt then swirl the pan occasionally as the butter begins to foam. Allow the butter to gently heat for 3-4 minutes, it will turn a deep golden brown with a rich, nutty aroma. When you see tiny brown flecks at the bottom of the pan, remove it from the heat and leave to cool.

2.Next make the cupcake batter. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together both sugars, eggs and the browned butter, until well combined. Add the natural yogurt and vanilla extract, then whisk again until smooth and slightly thick.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together the self-raising flour, cinnamon and baking powder, then gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Fold the batter gently with a spatula until just combined - being careful not to overmix!

4. Stir in the grated carrots and sultanas until evenly distributed. The batter should be thick and slightly lumpy.

5. Preheat your oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4 and line a12-hole muffin tin with cupcake cases. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake cases, filling each about ¾ full.

6. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until they’re golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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To make the frosting

7.  While the cupcakes are cooling, make the cream cheese buttercream. Use a free-standing mixer or electric hand whisk to beat the butter for 4-5 minutes until pale and creamy.

8. Add the cream cheese and gently whisk with the butter. Then gradually add the icing sugar and vanilla extract to the butter, then and gently combine until the buttercream is silky smooth and holds its shape.

9. Transfer the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large nozzle and pipe a swirl of buttercream on top of each cupcake. Finish off by adding a edible flowers or chopped walnuts for decoration.

Top Tips

· When making the brown butter, make sure to swirl the pan as the butter foams to stop it from burning. The golden, nutty flavour gives the cupcakes that extra depth of flavour.

· To prevent the sultanas from sinking in the cupcake batter, first toss them in a teaspoon of flour before adding to the mixture. This helps them stay evenly distributed instead of sinking to the bottom.

· Be careful when whisking the cream cheese buttercream; over whisking can cause the cream cheese to slacken meaning your buttercream won’t hold up as well. It’s best to slightly chill the butter cream before piping – just pop the filled piping bag in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.

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