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.

Low Sugar Chocolate Mud Icing

Unfortunately my dad has diabetes and is therefore unable to consume my myriad teeth-rottingly sweet baked goods in large quantities. The rest of my family are fairly health-conscious too so I came up with this delicious and simple alternative to sugary buttercream using just cream cheese and dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. I've called it 'mud' because of its colour and thick, chunky consistency! Obviously if you're topping standard vanilla or chocolate sponges with it they can hardly be classified as super healthy, and there's still quite a high fat content, but it does mean a small cupcake can be enjoyed with a bit less guilt if you're watching your sugar intake without going overboard with the artifical sweetener, and the strong flavour means a little goes a long way. Generally I'm not a fan of dark chocolate containing a high percentage of cocoa myself but the slight bitterness of the icing was offset really nicely with the light sponge, and the vanilla cereal stars make very cute decorations!

There are various reduced-sugar cake recipes available online that this could be paired with. Remember: the higher the cocoa content percentage, the less sugary the chocolate but the more bitter the taste.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a health or nutrition expert so try at your own risk!

I ran out of icing when I made the cakes in the photo above so the three on the right have diabetic pineapple jam in instead :)

INGREDIENTS - to ice approx. 12 cupcakes

• 2 oz high-cocoa chocolate (minimum 60%), roughly chopped
• 5 oz cream cheese (at room temperature, full-fat works best)
• Handful of vanilla flavour star-shaped cereal (available in Tesco last time I checked)

METHOD

1. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water without letting the bottom of the bowl touch the water and stir occasionally, or place in the microwave and blast on low heat in short bursts until completely melted.
2. Place the cream cheese in a separate bowl and gradually pour in the melted chocolate while stirring until a smooth, spreadable mixture has formed.
3. Spread the icing onto each cupcake using a palette knife - make sure you work quickly as it sets very rapidly - then top with a few vanilla cereal stars if desired.

Edit: Here are some I made for my dad for Father's Day, topped with crushed sugar-free Werther's Originals :)