Chilli chocolate cupcakes

Preheat oven to 150 C / Gas 2. Line a muffin tin with paper cases.

Mix together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, beating between each addition. Combine the flour, cocoa and cayenne pepper in a separate bowl, then sift into the butter mixture and fold to combine. Stir in a few drops of milk.

Pour into prepared tin and bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The cakes are ready when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool on wire rack before icing.

In a bowl, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and the cinnamon with the icing sugar. Beat in the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until the icing is smooth; mix in the vanilla. Spread the icing onto the cooled cupcakes in attractive swirls, and poke a small dried chilli, stem-side up, into the icing for decoration.