Double Lemon Competition Cupcakes!

Brrrrr it is still SO COLD here!!  Why is Winter not over yet?!  Pretty sure last year I wrote a 'Spring are you Here?!' post as well... Although, having just checked - that was in April and I am SURE the temperatures were not as freezing cold as they have been this long long Winter! 

 

I was more than happy when my lucky cupcake competition winner decided that she would like her lemon cupcakes sooner than later... When I asked about if they were for any particular reason the competition winner told me... "They aren't for a particular occasion. It's February and nothing is yummier or makes you feel brighter than lemon, am I right?"

 

...SO TRUE!  I am also the biggest lemon fan (I believe I have mentioned that many times on this blog before hehe) so yes please lemon cupcake baking day!

 

 

So last Sunday afternoon, off to the kitchen I went and whipped up a dozen cupcakes for friend and lucky winner and 2 sneaky extra baked cupcakes for Jonathan and I ... just to taste test of course!

 

Keep scrolling through the cupcake pictures to get to the recipe at the bottom of the blog post...

 

 

 

After they cooled... I made some lemon buttercream to add to the lemony goodness of the already lemony cupcakes.  The more lemony sunshine the better right?!  Summer please.

 

 

These yummy looking half lemon jelly slices are imported all the way from good old Sainsburys.  Did you see this sneak peek on Instagram - if not - follow me HERE!!

 

A lemon cupcake on a lemon plate?!  Oh yeah.  Love lemons.

 

So all cupcakes made, piped, decorated and packaged up ready for delivery!

 

It's been a week since they were delivered... and in fact the weather got colder.  Hmmmm, double lemon cupcakes why did you not work!?  

 

Hopefully the lemon cupcakes "brightened" the winner's day, even if the weather was not physically brightened by them!! ☀





Double Lemon Cupcakes (to make a dozen regular sized cupcakes, with a little extra batter to perhaps make a tester or two!)

 

Ingredients:

 

4oz sugar

4oz unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs

Zest of 1 lemon

4oz self-raising flour

 

8oz unsalted butter

12oz icing sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon milk

 

Method:

 

1.  Preheat the oven to 375°F and line cupcake tray with cupcake cases

2.  Cream together butter and sugar in mixer until light and fluffy

3.  Beat in eggs one by one, beating well after each addition

4.  Zest lemon and add to wet mixture

5.  Sift in flour and mix only until combined

6.  Divide between cupcake cases and cook in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.  (I use the small OXO Cookie Scoop for dividing the batter, and found that 3 scoops for each cupcake case makes the perfect amount with rising to get to the top of the case, without going over the edge!)

 

While the cupcakes cool, or even ahead of the baking day you can make the buttercream ...

 

1.  Beat the butter in the mixer until soft

2.  Add the icing sugar and carefully beat together - my avoiding mess tip here is to hold a tea towel around the top of the bowl of the mixer, enclosing all of that loose powdered sugar that's blowing everywhere in...

3.  Add the lemon juice and milk and beat together until well whipped (usually at least 2-3 minutes with the mixer on medium speed).

 

Pipe or spread the buttercream on the cupcakes as you wish, decorate and enjoy!!

 

With March Break coming up, and at least a week off from piano lessons for my students, here's what I came up with last year to keep them not only actually doing piano practice, but wanting to practice ... I've started to print these off again and so far they're excited to try them out :)  Yey! ♫

 

 

Click here to read it and download the free printable!