Chocolate-orange cupcakes with red jelly noses (…and chocolate fudge icing)

One thing I have learned today. Be. More. Prepared. Like don’t try facepainting for the first time (in aid of Comic Relief’s “make your face funny for money”) on a fidgety four- year-old ten minutes before the school run. The result? Not particularly funny but just about passable as a rabbit (even though the bunny ears fell off half way to school.)

I’m pretty sure these were more successful. Red jelly noses atop a chocolate-orange polenta cupcake with chocolate fudge icing. Bake sale, anyone? They are easy to make, lighter than your average cupcake and tick the gluten- and dairy-free box too (though no-one will be able to tell). And a wibbly wobbly jelly nose could pass a moderately comical. Maybe.

Here’s the recipe:

• 150g vanilla yogurt (soya, sheep, cow, coconut)
• 1 teaspoon orange extract or the zest of an orange
• 100ml sunflower oil
• 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 100g caster sugar
• 50g light soft brown sugar
• 40g quick cook polenta (check it’s gluten-free if you need to)
• 100g gluten-free flour blend (I used Dove’s Farm) or 120g plain white flour if you aren’t gluten free
• 1 plus 1/4 teaspoons baking powder (check it’s gluten-free if you need to)
• 30g cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• for the icing: 60g good quality dark chocolate; 20g golden syrup; 40g dairy-free margarine; 75g soft light brown sugar
• for the jelly noses: 1 pack of strawberry jelly cubes (the kind you make up with hot water (I used Hartleys)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or 160C fan. Line 16 muffin tray holes with paper cake cases.
2. In a jug, make up the jelly with half the amount of water directed on the packet. Pour into 16 holes of either a silicone mini muffin tray, cake pop mould or round silicone ice cube tray. Or as a last resort do as I did and use a weaning freezer container, but it proved a bit too deep to get the jellies out easily. (Though at least I used it for something.)
3. Measure the cake ingredients into a bowl and beat together with a fork until you have a smooth cake batter.
4. Divide amongst the cases and bake for 15 minutes or until risen and firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5. To make the icing, break up the chocolate and melt with the margarine and syrup (I microwaved on high for 50 seconds then stirred until the hot butter and syrup melted the remaining lumps of chocolate.) Add the sugar and stir until you have a fudgy, spoonable paste.
6. Spoon a teaspoon of icing onto each cake then repeat before using the back of the spoon to gently cover the whole cake.
7. Ease the jellies out of their moulds onto a plate and use a pallet knife to pop on onto each cake, preferably just before the icing sets (so the jelly noses don’t slide around on the way to the bake sale like mine did!)
8. Lick the icing spoon clean with a cup of coffee whilst you survey your handiwork…