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"Silky was pleased. She sat there brushing her beautiful, golden hair and ate sandwiches with them. She brought out a tin of Pop Cakes, which were lovely. As soon as you bit into them they went pop! and you suddenly found your mouth filled with new honey from the middle of the little cakes"
Lemon Cupcakes (Makes 12)
125g butter (room temperature – if you live in Scotland make this warmer that room temperature)
125g caster sugar
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 beaten eggs
150g plain flour
1/4 tsp of baking powder
Fizz Wiz popping candy
Sherbert Crystals
Lemon curd filling
grated rind of 2 large lemons
Juice of two lemons
10fl oz water
3 tbsps cornflour
50g sugar
2 egg yolks
40g butter
Vanilla Buttercream icing200g icing sugar (sifted)
100g salted butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsps milk or cream
To make the cupcakes:
Start by making your cupcakes. Pre-heat the oven to 82'C (gas mark 4 or 180'F). Get your paper cases ready (I used silicon cases). Put the butter and sugar together into a heavy bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add in your eggs one by one. If it looks as if it’s about to curdle (look like scrambled eggs) add in a pinch of flour. When they are beaten into the butter and
sugar mixture gradually sift in your flour and baking powder. Use a spatula and fold into the mixture. (to fold, run your spatula around the bold and cut down the middle, then turn that half of the mixture over onto the other half. This way you should delicately mix the flour in without losing the fluffy consistency and air that you have created).
Use two metal spoons, one to scoop up the mixture and the other to push it into the individual cake cases. Put into the oven for between 10 to 15 minutes. If you put a cocktail stick in the middle it should come out dry.
To make the lemon curd centre:
(The trick to making this is have all your ingredients ready before you start)
Mix the cornflour and sugar with a bit of your water until it makes a smooth paste. Add the rest of the water to a saucepan and the add in the grated lemon rind. Let this come to the boil and then simmer for a few minutes. Pour the hot lemon over the cornflour mixture and stir. Pour this back into the saucepan and keep whisking and stirring. Let this boil and bubble slightly. Take off the heat and add in your eggs, then your butter and finally the lemon juice. Keep whisking until smooth. Add more sugar if this is too tart. When your cupcakes are ready and have cooled, cut a small circle out of the centre of each of them and drop in a dollop of the lemon curd.
To make the buttercream icing:
Put your butter into a mixer and whip until creamy. Gradually sift in a couple of tablespoons of icing sugar and mix. Add in a teaspoon of milk, the vanilla and more icing sugar and mix again. Keep doing this until you reach a thick but creamy consistency. If you are going to use colouring – use a colour paste – rather than liquid colour as this ruins the consistency of your icing. Sprinkle the top of all your cakes with some Fizz Wiz popping candy (I also mixed in a bit of the Fizz Wiz into the icing mixture as well). When ready, pipe over your cupcakes.
To decorate:Sprinkle with raspberry and orange sherbet crystals. I’ve also used some Strawberry Milkshake jelly beans.
Eat immediately.
The Result:
A slight pop, more fizz than anything else, with a touch of zing from the lemon.
