I’m back with more cupcakes this week, but with spring in the air this time! These lemon curd and raspberry cupcakes are moist, tangy and packed full of flavour.
A lemon sponge packed with lemon zest, is smothered in lemon curd frosting and
with a raspberry all whilst holding a secret raspberry jam filling. Lemon and raspberries are a match made in heaven to me, and are just the perfect flavours for spring.
Last week Craig was tasked with making a cake for a charity bake sale at work, and he used Edd Kimber’s recipe for a Lemon present cake. It smelt incredible, and not being able to try a slice myself meant I was daydreaming all day about it! Luckily for me, the idea for these cupcakes jumped into my head and I knew my thirst for a lemon sponge would be sated.
The cupcakes are really easy to make, and due to a cheeky lemon syrup stay super moist! The hidden raspberry jam filling also helps in that department, and cuts right through the sharp lemon curd. There’s something about a hidden filling that adds a little extra excitement to a cupcake, and its so easy to create!
The sponge is a really easy mixture to create, and is pretty thick for a cupcake recipe – so don’t be concerned! You’ll want to be careful to only mix it till everything’s combined though, otherwise you’ll end up with a tight sponge – which would be sad for all involved!
For the lemon syrup, you simply boil caster sugar and lemon juice together until all the sugar has dissolved. This doesn’t take long at all, and really helps to keep the sponge nice and moist!
The lemon curd frosting is a combination of butter, icing sugar, lemon curd and milk – only one bowl to wash up! I would definitely recommend adding the icing sugar in small increments however, unless you want to be wiping icing sugar off your kitchen walls for the next week.
So finally on with the important bit; the recipe!
Lemon Curd and Raspberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 170 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 170 g caster sugar
- 1 lemon
- 3 large eggs
- 170 g plain flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp milk
Lemon Syrup
- 50 g caster sugar
- 50 ml lemon juice about 1.5 large lemons
Frosting
- 100 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 200 g icing sugar
- 80 g lemon curd
- 1 tbsp milk
Decoration
- 70 g raspberry jam
- raspberries to garnish
Instructions
- For the cakes: Preheat the oven to Gas 4/160C Fan/180C, and line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases.
- Put the butter, sugar and lemon zest into a medium bowl and mix with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add into the wet mixture in three additions, mixing until just combined. Finally, add 1tbsp of milk and mix until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases, filling about 2/3 of the way full, then bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Test for doneness by pressing lightly on the cupcake, if it springs back its ready! Once baked, place the cupcakes on a cooling rack to completely cool.
- For the lemon syrup: Put the sugar and lemon juice into a small pan and bring to the boil. Then gently simmer until all the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- For the frosting: Place the butter in a large bowl and mix with an electric whisk until lightened and smooth. Slowly add the icing sugar, beating until incorporated, and then mix on a high speed until light and fluffy. Add the lemon curd and milk, and beat until combined.
- To assemble: Using a sharp knife cut a shallow cone shape out of each cupcake and fill the holes with jam. Replace the cone shapes onto each cupcake like a hat. Using a pastry brush, dab the lemon syrup over all the cupcakes. Finally, using a piping bag and star nozzle pipe the frosting over the cupcakes and garnish with a raspberry.
