Halloween cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4.

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, beat eggs, oil and syrup. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in carrots. Fill a greased or paper-lined muffin tin 2/3 full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from tin to wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the icing according to recipe. Take 2/3 of the icing and ice the cooled cakes. Divide the remaining icing, colouring 1/3 green and 2/3 orange.

Using a icing bag or a plastic bag with the corner cut off, pipe the orange icing onto the iced cupcakes, making a round pumpkin shape. Doing the same with the green icing, make a little stem and leaf at the top of each pumpkin. Draw faces onto the pumpkins with the black writing icing.