Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

This week it was my Grandma B's 80th birthday! Unfortunately the county she lives in has just gone into a local lockdown; meaning we couldn't go and visit her in her house! 

Thankfully, my Aunty managed to organise a small garden based gathering to which myself and my Mum went and surprised her! She was so happy and to make the day even better, I made cupcakes containing her two favourite flavours: Lemon Drizzle and Chocolate! 

Today's recipe is for the Lemon Drizzle cupcakes so keep an eye out for the chocolate ones in a couple of weeks! 

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 150g caster sugar
• 150g unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 3 eggs  
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1 lemon's worth of zest (reserve the lemon for the drizzle)
• 1tsp lemon extract 

For the drizzle: 

• 25g icing sugar 
• Lemon juice from the lemon reserved earlier 

For the buttercream icing: 

• 200g salted butter, softened 
• 450g icing sugar 
• 1tsp lemon extract

To decorate: 

• lemon curd 
• lemon jelly decorations 

Equipment

• 12 hole cupcake tin
• Star holed icing bag nozzle

Method

1. Line the 12-hole cupcake tin with cupcake cases and preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 4.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth using a manual or electric whisk. Add all of the eggs, flour, lemon zest and extract. Mix again until fully combined. 
3. Using 2 teaspoons, spoon even amounts of the mixture into the cases until you run out of mixture. Give them a light tap on the surface and then pop in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. 
4. Whilst the cupcakes are baking, make your drizzle. In a small bowl, mix together the icing sugar and the juice from the lemon you used for the zest earlier until well combined. Leave to the side. 
5. As soon as the cupcakes are ready, take them out of the oven and using a cocktail stick, poke approximately 3 holes in the top of each cupcake. Using a teaspoon, spoon about half a teaspoon worth of the drizzle onto the top of each cupcake so it soaks through the holes. 
6. Allow the cupcakes to now cool completely. Whilst they're doing this, make your buttercream icing. 
7. Beat the salted butter until it is light and fluffy. Sieve in the icing sugar, add the lemon extract and then beat the mixture until everything is nicely combined and ready to go. 
8. Put your icing into a piping bag topped with the star nozzle and then pipe around the top of each cupcake until you can no longer see the top of the cake (see picture). 
9. Follow this with a blob of lemon curd and one (or two) jelly lemon slices (again, see picture).
10. Make a cuppa, kick your legs up and enjoy this little moment of joy!

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCppLwLPWWEy4P8-LB14-1uQ