Rubbish weather and a glut of carrots was the perfect excuse to bake yesterday.  I’d downloaded Dan Lepard’s recipe for Spelt and Carrot Cupcakes on the basis that whole meal and carrot will result in healthy cake.  Yeah right!

In readiness for baking I got the butter from the fridge to soften.  After all cupcakes are just mini cakes and use the creaming method (sugar, butter and eggs).  But no, on closer inspection this recipe called for sunflower oil which in my book makes it a muffin not a cake.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, these “muffins” would be iced which of course then makes them a cupcake.  So the question still remains, does this recipe make cupcakes or muffins?

I did a bit of internet trawling and couldn’t find a definitive answer but on balance because they are iced they probably fall more into the cupcake camp.  Although they are not so sweet and definitely have the texture of a muffin. So my head starts to spin again.

Regardless of the controversy of the difference between a cupcake and a muffin, I’d recommend you dive in and try them yourself.  I was a little sceptical of the cocoa powder which I thought might overpower the spices and make them too sweet but in fact the cake/muffin was perfectly balanced with the ever so sweet and yummy icing.  Perfect for a warming cuppa on a dreary autumn day.