Kezia's Red Nose Day cupcakes

Get set for Red Nose Day with these brilliant (and extremely delicious) red velvet cupcakes from Junior Bake Off winner, Kezia!

This recipe will make approximately 24 iced cupcakes.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (gas mark 4), then line two cupcake trays with paper cupcake cases.

Add your plain flour, cocoa powder and salt to a bowl and mix well.

In a separate bowl, use an electric whisk to mix the sugar and the oil together. If you don't have an electric whisk, you can use a hand whisk!

Add the eggs into the mixture one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. You might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spoon.

Mix in the food colouring and vanilla.

Add a third of the flour mixture you prepared earlier into the bowl followed by half the buttermilk. Use your electric whisk or your hand whisk to mix until well combined.

Add another third of the flour mixture and the remaining buttermilk to the bowl and whisk well.

Finally, add the remaining third of the flour mixture and give it one final whisk!

Grab a small bowl, add the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar and stir until it turns into a foamy mixture.

Add the foamy mixture into the main batter and whisk for ten seconds with an electric mixer or a little longer with your hand whisk.

Divide the batter evenly into the cupcake cases, filling each one 3/4 full.

Grab a grown-up and place the trays in the oven. Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes, rotating the trays half way through. You can test whether they're ready by poking a skewer into the centre of one of the cupcakes. If they skewer comes out clean, they're done!

Transfer the tins to a wire cooling rack and don't remove the cupcakes until completely cool.

Your cupcakes wouldn't be complete without their Red Nose Day faces! We have chosen to use a mix of red and pink icing, but you could use any colours or flavours you want!

Add the butter to a bowl and beat for five minutes or until it's doubled in size and become light, airy and pale in colour.

Add a third of the icing sugar at a time, beating for one minute in between each addition.

Add the milk a teaspoon at a time, stirring in between. 

Add your flavourings or colours and mix until combined well.

Top tip: If you're not ready to ice your cupcakes straight away, cover the icing and pop into the fridge. It can be stored for a couple of weeks, but to bring it back up to room temperature before you start icing.

Lay a piece of cling film on a flat surface and spread your coloured icing onto it evenly. If you want a lovely swirl, place your different coloured icing side by side lengthways.

Carefully wrap the cling film up and twist at both ends.

With the help of a grown-up, use scissors to cut the end off one side to create a piping bag.

Hold the top of the piping bag with your strongest hand (the hand you write with) and hold the bag vertically over the top of a cupcake.

Using your other hand to guide the icing, carefully pipe a swirl of buttercream onto the cupcake, starting in the middle and working your way outwards. 

When you reach the end of your swirl, release the pressure on the piping bag and move on to the next cupcake.

Roll a small piece of red fondant between your hands to make a smooth ball and press it very gently in the centre of a cupcake - this will make your red nose!

With the help of a grown-up, carefully cut out shapes from the black fondant to make the eyes, eye brows and mouths for your cupcakes faces.

Top tip - to help you cut out the shapes you want, draw your shapes onto a piece of baking paper and place the baking paper on top of the fondant. Carefully cut around the paper to create your shapes.

Let us know if you're planning to make these delicious cupcakes in the comments below! We would also love to see all the amazing ways you're planning to get involved with Red Nose Day this year. Head here to get in touch and send us your photos now!