Easter lemon cupcakes - recipe
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Prepare
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Serves
24 -
Cook
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Skill
Medium
Ingredients
- 250 g Butter (unsalted)
- 250 g Unrefined golden caster sugar
- 4 Egg(s) (free range)
- 1 tsp Lemon extract
- 250 g Self-raising white flour
- 3 tbsp Milk (semi-skimmed)
- 1 tsp Baking powder
For the decoration
- 150 g Unrefined golden caster sugar
- 3 Egg(s) (free range)
- 250 g Butter (unsalted) softened
- 1 tsp Lemon extract
- 1 tsp Food colouring yellow
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1
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F, gas mark 4). Line 2 cupcake trays with 24 cupcake cases.
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2
Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well combined. Add in the flour, baking powder and lemon extract and fold into the mixture. The mixture should be of a dropping consistency, if not add a little milk.
For this step you'll need:
- 250g Butter (unsalted) softened
- 250g Unrefined golden caster sugar
- 3 Egg(s) (free range)
- 250g Self-raising white flour
- 1tsp Baking powder
- 1tsp Lemon extract
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3
Divide the mixture between the cases and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Tip: For a real Easter treat – find ovenproof egg cups and fill up to three quarter full with the cake batter and bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked. Leave to cool and decorate with Easter treats.
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4
To make the buttercream, pour 50ml water into a saucepan and add 125g caster sugar. Place the pan on the hob and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to the boil. Wash down any sugar crystals on the side of the pan with a damp brush. Boil the mixture rapidly, without stirring it, until it reaches 121°C. Have a large bowl of cold water ready.
For this step you'll need:
- 125g Unrefined golden caster sugar
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5
When the syrup reaches over 100°C, whisk the egg whites until stiff. If possible use a table top mixer. Gradually whisk in the remaining caster sugar.
For this step you'll need:
- 25g Unrefined golden caster sugar
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6
As soon as the syrup reaches 121°C, remove the pan from the heat and sit the pan into the bowl of cold water, to prevent the syrup from getting any hotter. Only leave the pan in the water for a few seconds – if it’s left too long, it will be too thick to pour.
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7
Switch the mixer on to full speed and gradually pour in the syrup in a thin stream, taking care to pour it straight into the whisked eggs, avoiding the sides of the bowl and the whisk itself. Continue whisking the mixture for about 8-10 minutes until the bowl feels just lukewarm. If the syrup starts to become too thick to pour, return the pan to the hob very briefly, for the heat to thin it slightly.
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8
Gradually whisk in the butter. Then add the lemon extract. The meringue will collapse a little, and the mixture may look like it’s curdled, but keep whisking it until it forms a smooth fluffy buttercream. Add the yellow food colouring and stir until you reach an even colour.
For this step you'll need:
- 250g Butter (unsalted) softened
- 1tsp Lemon extract
- 1tsp Food colouring yellow
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9
Either pipe or spoon the icing over the cup cakes and decorate with little Easter treats.