Lemon Crunch Cupcakes

Isn't it funny how sometimes the most hurried and improvised of culinary creations turn out the most delicious? Like these yummy little cakes - they came about almost by accident but I'm glad they did as I'll definitely be making them again, especially now spring is here! I fancied making some cupcakes that were quick and straightforward but a bit different from ones I'd made recently, and I remembered I had a couple of lemons in the freezer (yes, you can freeze lemons! The insides go quite mushy but they still keep their flavour and juicyness), so I thought I'd have a go at lemon drizzle cakes. I then found that a) my grater was too blunt to grate the lemon zest for the sponge and b) I didn't have any icing sugar. I improvised by adding the juice to the batter instead, convinced that its acidity would stop the cakes from rising or just generally make them taste funny, but they came out beautifully with a subtle zing :) Unable to make icing, I simply created a slapdash mixture of granulated sugar and the rest of the lemon juice and plonked it on the tops of the cupcakes around 5 minutes before they were due to come out of the oven. The result was a lovely sweet but citrussy crunchy topping which is very reminiscent of the traditional pancake topping! You can use as much or as little topping as you like depending on how sweet you want the cakes but you don't need a great deal to get the texture and flavour.

I love how the topping looks like a crisp winter frost!

INGREDIENTS - makes approx. 10-12 cupcakes

For the cakes:

• 125g self-raising flour
• 115g caster/granulated sugar
• 115g butter/margarine
• 2 eggs
• Juice of half a lemon
• Pinch of baking powder

For the topping:

• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• Juice of half a lemon

METHOD

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake/muffin baking tray with 12 paper cases.
2. Whisk the butter/margarine together in a large mixing bowl until pale then whisk in the eggs.
3. Fold in the flour, lemon juice and baking powder until a batter of a soft dropping consistency has formed.
4. Drop the mixture into the cake cases using a teaspoon until they're each about two thirds full.
5. Pop in the oven and then prepare the topping by mixing the sugar and remaining lemon juice together roughly in a bowl.
6. After around 8-10 minutes, remove the cakes from the oven and spread the sugar and lemon juice mixture over the tops - this is quite fiddly as it's so sticky but I found the easiest way to do it was using my fingers.
7. Place the cakes back in the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes until a cocktail stick inserted into the sponge comes out clean.
8. When baked, place on a wire rack and leave to cool before enjoying.

Lemon Sunflower Cupcakes

I made these lovely summery cupcakes for Sunday Baking Club's (@SundayBakeClub on Twitter - go follow them for fabulous baking fun!) 'Citrus Zing' themed competition and they received a lot of compliments from other entrants :) The pretty sunflower design also provoked much cooing in admiration when I took them into work! I'd never used lemon extract before but my mum and I were given a free bottle when we went to the Good Food show back in November and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by the delicate citrus flavour it gave to the buttercream without making it taste at all synthetic. Both my dad and brother said that they were not fans of lemon but that these cakes were delicious and not too overwhelmingly 'citrussy'.

The icing technique is a heck of a lot simpler and quicker than it looks - in fact, I personally find it much easier to do than regular swirly piping. Chocolate buttons are a simple and yummy way of creating the centre of the sunflower but you could also add black/chocolate icing using the same piping technique as the petals for a more textured look. The ladybirds were a last minute addition but they make a nice colourful finishing touch and are so easy to create!

When I bake batches of cupcakes to share, I've recently started to include some mini ones because a) they're a bit more diet-friendly to those who are reluctant to splurge and b) I think they're just so cute! So I've included these as part of the recipe but obviously you can just stick to normal sized cupcakes if you don't have the required equipment.

INGREDIENTS - makes approx. 12 cupcakes + 12 mini cupcakes or 18 standard cupcakes

For the cakes:

• 6 oz self-raising flour
• 6 oz caster sugar
• 6 oz margarine/butter
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp lemon extract

For the icing/flower centres/ladybirds:

• 10 oz icing sugar
• 5 oz butter (unsalted if preferred)
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 2 tsp yellow food colouring*
• 12 large milk chocolate buttons + 12 small milk chocolate buttons
• A few red Smarties or M&Ms
• Small tube dark chocolate or black writing icing

METHOD

For the cakes:

1. Line one baking tray with 12 standard paper cake cases and another smaller muffin tray with 12 mini paper cupcake/muffin cases.^
2. Whisk the margarine/butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until pale then whisk in the eggs.
3. Fold in the flour, baking powder and lemon extract until a batter of a soft dropping consistency has formed.
4. Drop the mixture into all of the cake cases until they're each about two thirds full.
5. Pop the larger cupcakes into the oven at 180 degrees C for about 12-15 minutes until a cocktail stick inserted into the sponge comes out clean, then do the same with the mini cupcakes for about 10-12 minutes.
6. When baked, place on a wire rack and leave to cool. At this stage the cakes can be frozen for decorating at a later stage if you wish.

For the icing/flower centres/ladybirds:

1. Place the butter and lemon extract into a bowl and stir/whisk while gradually adding the icing sugar until a thick, fluffy mixture has formed.
2. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a rope or star nozzle attached and pipe little rosettes in circles around each cake, working from the outside then moving inwards to the centre, then firmly push a large chocolate button into the middle. Do the same for the mini cupcakes but using small chocolate buttons.
3. Use the dark chocolate/black writing icing tube to pipe a 'T' shape onto each Smartie/M&M then add two dots either side of each line to create the ladybirds' eyes and spots, as per the photo. Place randomly onto your chosen cakes.

* As a rule, less is more when it comes to colouring icing but I used Asda's standard liquid yellow food dye and found I needed quite a lot just to create a pale yellow shade. These measurements may vary depending on which type/brand of colouring you use and how pale or dark you want the end result to be so I'd advise adding a little at a time until you get the desired hue.

^ I'm not sure what the correct type of ovenware would be for these so I used a silicone baking tray with 12 holes designed for mini scones placed on top of a flat metal baking tray for support. This gave the mini cakes a nice even shape as they couldn't expand too much. For added structure and support, a good tip is to double layer the mini muffin cases (i.e. two per cake) - the extra ones can then be removed after baking and re-used.

Edit: I used this recipe to create my stepgrandad's birthday cake - he absolutely loved it! :)