Lemon Iced Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

I am baking all the time at the moment, its nice to have that back, my only problem is that I keep baking the same thing (mostly the flapjack from my last recipe) so I need to keep thinking up new things to try, in fact this week I have a very exciting bake for my daughters 4th birthday, it is something I have never tried before so I hope it works and I can share it here! But for now a recipe I am loving and has also been made several times over the past few weeks Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Icing and Sprinkles!

Ingredients

• 140g of Butter
• 140g of Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1tsp of Vanilla Essence
• 130g of Flour
• 10g of Baking Powder
• 150g of Icing Sugar
• 3 tbsp of Lemon Juice
• Cold Water (2-3tbsp)
• Sprinkles

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170c
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl
3. Add the eggs and vanilla essence and whisk until smooth
4. Gradually add the flour and baking powder whilst folding the mixture together gently
5. Pour equally into 12 cupcake cases
6. Bake for 14-16 minutes
7. Allow to cool
8. Once cool make the icing by sieving the icing sugar into the bowl
9. Add the lemon juice and mix
10. Then add the cold water little by little until you have a thick but smooth icing
11. Ice the cupcakes and add the sprinkle
12. Refridgerate for 15 minutes so the icing sets
13. Enjoy!

These are delicious so I recommend them highly, they also look great for a party or gathering and last for a few days so basically there is no reason not to right?

Chantelle x

Lemon Cupcake Recipe with Fondant Decorations

I had some fondant icing in the cupboard that was about to go out of date and I couldn’t just let it get thrown away so I had to do some baking. After a look through the shelves I decided on Lemon Cupcakes with Fondant Decoration:

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

• 100g of Sugar
• 100g of Butter
• 1tsp of Baking Powder
• 1/2tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 100g of Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 5tbsp of Lemon Juice

For the Buttercream Frosting (used a glue)

• 75g of Icing Sugar
• 35g of Butter
• 4tbsp of Lemon Juice

For the Decoration

• 75g of Blue Fondant Icing
• 75g of Yellow Fondant Icing

Lemon Cupcakes with Fondant Decoration

Method

1. Start by making your cupcakes by preheating the oven to 180C (Fan) and putting your cupcake cases into your tin
2. Cream the sugar and butter together in a bowl until smooth
3. Sieve in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and flour and mix until crumbly
4. Add the eggs and lemon juice and whisk until you have a smooth and even cake batter
5. Then evenly pour your cake mix into your cupcake cases
6. Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes until golden
7. Set aside and allow to cool
8. Once cool you can begin the decoration
9. To do this, start by making the buttercream
10. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and add the butter and lemon juice
11. Whisk together until smooth and fluffy, set aside
12. Then you can roll out the fondant icing on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar and cut any shapes you like
13. Once this has been done you can put the cupcakes together
14. Dollop a teaspoon full of the lemon buttercream onto each cupcake as glue for the fondant that then goes on top, as I used 2 thin layers of fondant icing I also used the buttercream between these to make sure they stuck together, but you can do this however it suits the decoration you have created!

Note: This recipe makes 12 cupcakes

These Lemon Cupcakes with Fondant Decoration were light and fluffy and looked kind of cool. But I definitely think I need to invest in some more crafting tools for cake decorating as I used a cookie cutter and it was a little on the large side.

So if you have any product recommendations, please let me know!

Lemon Meringue Cupcake Recipe

I have recently been using Pinterest a lot more again and I saw a little pin listing all different types of Cupcakes available at a little cupcake store somewhere in America and I absolutely adored it. It gave me the inspiration to create my own version and my first idea was Lemon Meringue Cupcakes and here is how I made them:

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 100g of Sugar
• 100g of Butter
• 100g of Flour
• 1tsp of Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 2 Eggs

For the Frosting

• 75g of Icing Sugar
• 25g of Butter
• 2 tbsp of Lemon Juice

For the Meringue

• 2 Egg Whites
• 120g of Sugar
• 1 tbsp of Lemon Juice

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Method

1. Firstly you want to make the mini meringues as they will need to rest for an hour before they can be used, it is best to do this either the night before, or earlier in the day
2. Preheat the oven to 150C (Fan)
3. To make the meringues whisk your egg whites in a bowl until they are stiff
4. Then gradually add the sugar through a sieve whilst whisking until it is all combined and the mixture is still stiff
5. Finally add the the lemon juice and give a final whisk
6. Place a piece of baking paper on a tray and draw 12 small circles with space in between, the circles should be around 3cm (this size of a cupcake)
7. The spoon out your mixture onto these circles making them into a cone shape (some people use a piping bag but you risk losing the air in the mixture so I prefer to freehand)
8. The place the meringues into the oven and turn it down to 130C and bake for 20 minutes
9. After 20 minutes turn off the oven but leave the meringues in the oven to cool
10. Once your meringues are fully cooled you can start on the cupcakes
11. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan) – Make sure you take out the meringues!
12. Start by creaming the sugar and butter together in a bowl until smooth
13. Then sieve in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and stir until the mixture is crumbly
14. Finally add the eggs and mix until your cake batter is smooth
15. Divide evenly into the cupcake cases and bake for 10 minutes
16. Once the cupcakes are ready you can prepare the frosting
17. This bit is easy, put the icing sugar, butter and lemon juice into a bowl and stir until combined and smooth
18. Once this is done you are ready to assemble your Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
19. Take one cupcake, if it has a little knobbly bit on the top, cut this off so you have a flat surface then place a generous dollop of the lemon frosting into the middle, then place of your mini meringues onto the frosting to stick it down
20. Repeat the process for all 12 cupcakes and you are ready to enjoy!

Note: This recipe will make 12 cupcakes

I must be doing something right at the moment as these Lemon Meringue Cupcakes came out just as I had imagined and looked really great. They were a little bit difficult to eat but when they taste good who cares right!

I have to think up my next cupcake now… If you have any ideas or a favourite recipe you would like me to try, just comment below!

Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

This weeks recipe is sponsored by the the tub of cream cheese in my fridge that I had bought but not used and was coming close to its sell by date, and that means only one thing Cheesecake, but I didn’t really want to go and buy anything else so I decided on a Lemon Cheesecake as I always have lemon juice at home, this is how I made it:

Ingredients

• 200g of Biscuits (I used Vanilla Shortbread this time)
• 75g of Butter
• 300g of Plain Cream Cheese
• 2 Heaped Tablespoons of Icing Sugar (I didn’t measure this oops)
• 4 tbsp of Lemon Juice

Lemon Cheesecake

Method

1. Start by bashing the biscuits in a bowl, I find it easiest to do this is a food bag first with my rolling pin then tip it into the bowl
2. Then melt the butter in a pan and add to the biscuits
3. Using a wooden spoon stir in the butter so all the biscuits are moist
4. Then transfer into a spring form tin, I used a 13″ one for this
5. Again using the wooden spoon press the mixture down until it is compact and has a level surface
6. Pop into the fridge to set
7. Whilst this is setting mix the cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon juice thoroughly in a bowl
8. Then pour on top of your biscuit base and even the top
9. Put back into the fridge and leave until it has set completely

Usually the cheesecakes I make only take a couple of hours to set but this Lemon Cheesecake did need to be left overnight (very sad times as I wanted to eat it right away) but by the next evening it was set as it should be. I think that this is a really refreshing dessert and it feels much lighter to eat than my usual chocolatey desserts. I think this will be the perfect thing to make as the weather gets hotter but you still fancy a treat!

Vanilla Tray Bake with Lemon Frosting Recipe

A couple of weeks ago I promised my colleagues I would bake something over the weekend for Monday at work. Normally I limit it to Birthdays or special occasions, or I could be doing it everyday. But as it turns out after a relaxing Sunday I actually felt like baking. There was however one small problem… I had no cupcake cases! Generally I am not a fan of baking big cakes as they just never taste quite as good, this time however my hands were tied. So I decided that a tray bake may be more successful and would also go further at work! So looking through the ingredients I had in (not a lot) I went for a Vanilla Tray Bake with Lemon Frosting. Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

• 350g of Butter
• 200g of Sugar
• 200g of Flour
• 2 tbsp of Vanilla Essence
• 1 tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 2 tsp of Baking Powder
• 4 Eggs
• 2 tbsp of Lemon Essence
• 150g of Icing Sugar
• Hundreds and Thousands

Vanilla Tray Bake with Lemon Frosting

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (Fan Oven) and line the base of a deep tray with baking paper
2. In a bowl sift the sugar and 200g of butter and cream until smooth
3. Then sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and mix until crumbly
4. Then the eggs and vanilla essence and whisk until smooth
5. Pour into your tray and allow it to settle evenly for a few minutes
6. Once complete place into your preheated oven for between 25-30 minutes. You can check if the cake is ready by gently touching the top of one, if it springs back then you are good to go!
7. Get the cake out and allow to cool
8. Once cool you can prepare the frosting
9. Place 150g of butter and the icing sugar into a bowl with the lemon essence and cream together until smooth
10. Use this to decorate the top of your tray bake (it does not need to be neat, perfect right)
11. Finally scatter your hundreds and thousands over the top
12. Then enjoy!

I can actually say that I was really pleased with how well this Vanilla Tray Bake with Lemon Frosting came out. It smelt, looked and tasted great! Possibly my best improvised large cake to date! It is a recipe for every occasion as it onlz takes an hour or so to make and will easily give you 16 good sized portion. You could also be more experimental with the decoration if the feeling takes you!

Vanilla Cake Pops with Lemon Icing Recipe

As you know I got a Cake Pop Maker for my birthday and I could not wait to try it out, we had cake pops for the kids at our wedding and they just looked so perfect that I already doubted how my own would live up to them but here is how I make my Vanilla Cake Pops with Lemon Frosting:

Ingredients

• 100g of Butter
• 100g of Sugar
• 100g of Flour
• 1 tbsp of Vanilla Essence
• ½ tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1 tsp of Baking Powder
• 2 Eggs
• 100g of Icing Sugar
• Few drops of Lemon Juice
• Few drops of Water
• Hundreds and Thousands

Vanilla Cake Pops with Lemon Icing

Method

1. Turn on your cake pop maker so it can preheat
2. Sift the sugar into a bowl and add the butter and cream until smooth
3. Then sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and mix until crumbly
4. Then add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth
5. The cake pop maker will be hot by now (follow the instructions specific to your model)
6. Open it and brush a light layer of butter onto each mould before spooning your mixer into them, I did this to the top of the bottom mould as I thought this got the best result of a full pop
7. Close the lid and cook for 3-4 minutes
8. Once ready open and carefully remove from the mould onto a cooling rack
9. Repeat this process until you have used alll of your mixture, I found this got around 30 pops
10. Once your pops are cool you can make your icing by mixing the icing sugar and lemon juice together and gradually adding water until you have a smooth and thick mixture
11. The pick up a pop and dip into the icing then directly into the hundreds and thousands
12. Balance carefully on your cooling rack until they have set
13. You can then eat and enjoy!

I could not have been more thrilled with the final results of these Vanilla Cake Pops with Lemon Frosting. They simply looked amazing and tasted so good too. probably too good! These little mouthfuls get eaten soooo quickly so if you are trying to be good this New Years just do not even consider this recipe. That is a warning!

However for the price of the machines, I would really recommend these as an investment as they are really simple, I think it would be a great task to get the kids involved with, probably not when using the machine as it gets really really hot but the decorating and eating of course!

Halloween Cupcake Recipe

We do not really celebrate Halloween in our household, however I did feel obligated to make something a little Halloweeny, so here is my recipe for Halloween Themed Cupcakes:

Ingredients

• 100g of Plain Flour
• 100g of Sugar
• 1tsp of Baking Powder
• 1/2tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 200g of Butter
• 2 Eggs
• 1tsp of Vanilla Extract
• 75g of Icing Sugar
• A few drops of Orange Food Colouring
• 2 tbsp of Lemon Juice
• 12 x Halloween Themed Sweets (I used frog Haribos)

Halloween Themed Cupcakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (Fan) and put your cupcake cases into your tray
2. Sift the sugar into a bowl and add 100g of the butter and cream until smooth
3. Then sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and mix until crumbly
4. Then add the eggs and whisk until smooth
5. Finally add the vanilla essence and combine
6. Then spoon into your cupcake cases and bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked (the best way to tell is to gently push the cupcake and if it springs back, it is ready)
7. Once the cupcakes have cooled you can start on the frosting
8. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the remaining butter
9. Cream together until smooth
10. Then add the  lemon juice and food colouring and mix thoroughly
11. You can then use a palette knife or icing bag to decorate your cupcakes!
12. Then add your Halloween themed sweets to the top to finish!

These Halloween Themed Cupcakes were really quick and easy but looked really effective and really were Halloweeny! Just the effect desired, this recipe can be easily altered to suit any holiday too!

Note, I make lemon frosting as I think this covers the slight change in taste when you add artificial food colouring to frosting!

Lemon Cupcake Recipe

Changing the theme, slightly, from chocolate cupcakes to cupcakes with no chocolate… Here is my exquisite recipe for Lemon Cupcakes:

Ingredients

• 175g of Butter
• 100g of Sugar
• 100g of Flour
• ½ tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1 tsp of Baking Powder
• 2 Eggs
• Zest of 2 Lemons (the ones I used were quite small)
• 8 tbsp of Lemon Juice
• 100g of Icing Sugar

Lemon Cupcakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (Fan) and put your cupcake cases into your tray
2. Sift the sugar into a bowl and add 100g of the butter and cream until smooth
3. Then sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and mix until crumbly
4. Then add the eggs and whisk until smooth
5. Finally add the zest of one lemon and 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and combine
6. Then spoon into your cupcake cases and bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked (the best way to tell is to gently push the cupcake and if it springs back, it is ready)
7. Once the cupcakes have cooled you can start on the frosting
8. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the remaining butter
9. Cream together until smooth
10. Then add the zest of the other lemon and 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and mix thoroughly
11. You can then use a palette knife or icing bag to decorate your cupcakes!
12. If you have sugar decoration you can sprinkle this over the top to finish!

Chocolate rich cakes and puddings are always great and really delicious, but sometimes, just sometimes I would like something a little bit lighter and more refreshing.

These Lemon Cupcakes are just as much of a treat as a rich chocolate cake but also do not leave you feeling that sickly feeling afterwards.

Experimenting with a sharper sour flavour has inspired me to get a little bit more creative with my cupcakes. So my next batch will be inspired by something, I have not decide what yet, perhaps a cocktail or my favourite ice cream…

In the meantime, I would love to hear your ideas and maybe one of them will be just what I am looking for!

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Carrot cake is definitely one of my favourite things to eat, last week carrot cake was requested for a team breakfast (not the healthy kind) at work, so I thought I would make double and make a treat for home. This recipe is very similar to my Carrot Cake recipe but is spiced up a little to make Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients

• 2tbsp of Cinnamon
• 1tbsp of Baking Powder
• 1/2tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 300g of Flour
• 200g of Brown Sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 250ml of Oil
• Zest of 1 Orange
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• 200g of Grated Carrot
• 150g of Crushed Walnuts
• 300g of Cream Cheese
• 300g of Butter
• 2tbsp of Icing Sugar (Heaped)

 

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. In a large bowl sieve the cinnamon, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, flour and brown sugar together
3. In a separate jug whisk the eggs, oil, lemon and orange zest together
4. Slowly add the oil and egg mixture to the dry ingredients mixing as you go
5. Once combined add the grated carrots and mix again
6. Then add the walnuts and fold together
7. Pour into the 12 cupcake cases so they are close to full and all of the mixture is used
8. Bake for 25 minutes until cooked thoroughly
9. Allow to cool before starting the icing
10. Combine the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar together in a large bowl
11. Then using an icing bag or palette knife decorate your cupcakes
12. Then finish with sugar stars (not necessary but pretty)

I cannot deny that grating the carrot and zesting the orange and lemon can put me off making this recipe, it would anyone as a good old Victoria sponge is so much easier. But if you take the time to make something as awesome as these Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting it really is worth it!

Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

It has been a long time since I made a cheesecake so I was excited to try a new recipe after a request from my colleague for his birthday. Cheesecake may seem odd for a birthday cake but what is odd is that he does not like cake…. I cannot complain it gave me the chance to try something new, here is my Lemon Cheesecake recipe;

Ingredients

• 400g of Chocolate Digestives
• 75g of Butter
• 600g of Cream Cheese
• 4 heaped tbsp of Icing Sugar
• Zest of 2 Lemons
• Juice of 1 Lemon

Lemon Cheesecake

Method

1. Ground the chocolate digestives until fine
2. Melt the butter and allow to cool slightly
3. Mix the butter and ground biscuits into a bowl and squeeze together with the back of a wooden spoon
4. Tip into your spring form tin (mine is 26cm but slightly bigger or smaller is OK too)
5. Push down gently in a flat even surface
6. Mix the cream cheese and icing sugar together gently (this does not take long)
7. Add the lemon juice and zest and combine thoroughly
8. Add the cream cheese dollop by dollop into the chocolate, continually stirring until you get an evenly coloured mixture
9. Poor on top of the biscuit base then smooth and flatten
10. Chill for 1 hour before serving

I can safely say that the Lemon Cheesecake went down very well with my colleagues and was extremely delicious. If you are going to make this recipe, I would stick to this amount of lemon as it was just right and took a long time to get there. I would not add more as it may tip over to the bitter side. I really enjoyed it and it was actually really light and refreshing, I think it would be the perfect dessert for a warm Summer’s evening.