Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 125 g Soft Margarine (or Butter) (at room temperature)
• 125 g Caster Sugar
• 2 Free-range Eggs (at room temperature; see Egg Size note below)
• 100 g Self-raising Flour (see Self-raising Flour note below)
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 tbsp Milk
• Zest of One Lemon
• Lemon Curd
• 150 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature)
• 300 g Icing Sugar
• 1-2 tsp Lemon Extract

Instructions

1. 1

   --- For the Cupcakes ---

2. 2

   Pre-heat your oven to 180°c and line a muffin tin with 9 cupcake cases

3. 3

   Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. 4

   Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined. Then add the milk and lemon zest.

5. 5

   Sift in the flour & baking powder. Mix until you have a smooth batter.

6. 6

   Using an ice cream scoop, fill your cupcake cases to 2/3 full ensuring the batter is evenly distributed between.

7. 7

   Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until they've risen, are golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.

8. 8

   Once cool enough to touch, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

9. 9

   When completely cool, hollow out a small circle from the top of the cupcakes with a sharp knife. Spoon in enough lemon curd to fill.

10. 10

    --- For the Icing ---

11. 11

    In a medium bowl, mix the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the lemon extract to taste. If you prefer a more intense lemon flavour you can also add a little extra lemon zest to the icing.

12. 12

    Spread or pipe the icing on top of the cupcakes, covering the lemon curd also.

13. 13

    Sprinkle with a little yellow sugar or some lemon zest to finish.