Curious Cooking:
LEMON AND POPPYSEED CUPCAKES
WITH LUSCIOUS LEMON FROSTING
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE CAKES:
· 225g self-raising flour
· 175g golden caster sugar
· zest of 2 lemons
· Juice of 1 lemon
· 3 eggs
· 1 – 2 tbsp of poppyseeds, toasted
· 100g natural yoghurt
· 175g butter melted
METHOD:
FOR THE ICING:
· 225g good quality full fat cream cheese; chilled and straight from the fridge (it is very important
you use full fat or the icing won’t work and it must be cold or the icing will end up runny)
· 55g butter
· 30ml lemon juice
· zest of 1 lemon
· tsp of vanilla extracr
· 600g icing sugar
METHOD:
Using a spoon or spatula stir together the cream cheese, butter, juice, zest, and vanilla extract. Do not over beat or it will become runny. Add the sugar in 2 batches beating slowly until the icing thickens. Place in the fridge to firm up a little before piping,
FOR THE CAKES:
· 225g self-raising flour
· 175g golden caster sugar
· zest of 2 lemons
· Juice of 1 lemon
· 3 eggs
· 1 – 2 tbsp of poppyseeds, toasted
· 100g natural yoghurt
· 175g butter melted
METHOD:
- Heat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas mark 4 and line a muffin tin with 12 cases
- Mix together the flour, sugar, zest and poppy seeds
- In another bowl beat together the eggs and yoghurt and butter
- Add this to the dry ingredients and mix together using a wooden spoon until combined and smooth. Pour the mixture into the muffin cases. (I do this by putting the mixture from the bowl into a jug and pouring it into the cases – you spill less than spooning it in!)
- Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until cooked. (You can test this by inserting a clean skewer or knife into the cake and if it comes out clean the cakes are ready
- Leave to cool and remove from the tin
- When completely cool, pipe the icing onto the cupcakes, decorate as you wish (I used Doctor Oetker Edible Daisies – available at most supermarkets) and refrigerate to keep fresh. The should last for 2 days. (You can also freeze the cakes un-iced for up to a month)
FOR THE ICING:
· 225g good quality full fat cream cheese; chilled and straight from the fridge (it is very important
you use full fat or the icing won’t work and it must be cold or the icing will end up runny)
· 55g butter
· 30ml lemon juice
· zest of 1 lemon
· tsp of vanilla extracr
· 600g icing sugar
METHOD:
Using a spoon or spatula stir together the cream cheese, butter, juice, zest, and vanilla extract. Do not over beat or it will become runny. Add the sugar in 2 batches beating slowly until the icing thickens. Place in the fridge to firm up a little before piping,
Lucy Zirins
Photo Copyright, Mike Green
My name is Lucy Zirins. I’m a musician from Burnley, Lancashire, and one of my greatest passions apart from playing and writing music is cooking and baking. Food for me is one of life’s best bits. There is nothing like the heaven of a homemade cake; the crumble of a cookie still warm when you bite into it; the sumptious smell of a meal you know was cooked by your own fair hands.
Before I became a full time musician I worked for a café which indulged some of my interest in food, but from childhood I was fascinated. Supervised by my Master Chef Mother I used to bake with my sister, standing on a chair stolen from the dining room to reach the kitchen surface. Baking with my sister nearly always resulted in a fight over who got to eat the left over cake batter and lick the spoon! I guess I was always a diva from being a kid! But I always remember feeling so proud when I got to show off what I’d made, and being so satisfied when I finally got a taste! I still get that feeling of childhood eagerness and impatience when I put something in the oven to bake; the anticipation of the final delicious product is palpable – almost the moment I put it in I want to take it back out and see it finished and ready to eat!
Anyway, enough about me… Having become a craze amongst celebrities in the U.S and with more and more shops popping up all over the country selling the beautifully flavoured and decorated pieces of heaven; it’s fair to say, we’re cupcake crazy! So this issue I wanted to show you how to make your own.
This recipe is a recipe adapted from the Good Food Website and uses my own cream cheese icing . Enjoy!
Before I became a full time musician I worked for a café which indulged some of my interest in food, but from childhood I was fascinated. Supervised by my Master Chef Mother I used to bake with my sister, standing on a chair stolen from the dining room to reach the kitchen surface. Baking with my sister nearly always resulted in a fight over who got to eat the left over cake batter and lick the spoon! I guess I was always a diva from being a kid! But I always remember feeling so proud when I got to show off what I’d made, and being so satisfied when I finally got a taste! I still get that feeling of childhood eagerness and impatience when I put something in the oven to bake; the anticipation of the final delicious product is palpable – almost the moment I put it in I want to take it back out and see it finished and ready to eat!
Anyway, enough about me… Having become a craze amongst celebrities in the U.S and with more and more shops popping up all over the country selling the beautifully flavoured and decorated pieces of heaven; it’s fair to say, we’re cupcake crazy! So this issue I wanted to show you how to make your own.
This recipe is a recipe adapted from the Good Food Website and uses my own cream cheese icing . Enjoy!