This is my absolute go-to recipe for small cakes and muffins; easily customised with chocolate chunks and a squished up banana, marzipan and chopped cherries or a hidden spoonful of Nutella, they are super-quick to knock up and require minimal mixing.
Here they have a little home-made lemon and elderflower curd in the centre to add a delicious zesty gooey-ness, and are iced at my mum’s request with her favourite food group ever, white lemon icing; shop-bought curd works brilliantly too! And if you love a muffin, our beetroot and chocolate muffins recipe sounds a little odd but tastes delicious, while our blueberry and almond muffins are a favourite hygge treat for hungry teenagers after school!
Lemon and elderflower cordial iced muffins
Pretty little zesty cupcakes with an elderflower curd centre
Ingredients
- 300 g self-raising flour
- 150 g sugar
- 240 ml milk
- 60 ml sunflower oil
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- 6 teaspoons of lemon curd
For the icing
- 200 g icing sugar sifted if it’s a little hard and lumpy
- 1 lemon juiced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
- Tip the flour, sugar and baking powder into a large bowl.
- Add the egg, milk and oil to the bowl and stir until everything is just about combined; the trick is to not over mix it!
- Pour in the lemon juice, add the zest then give the mix one final stir.
- Place a dessertspoon of mixture into each paper case, then carefully add half a teaspoon of lemon curd into the centre of each one.
- Divide the rest of the mixture between the cakes, spooning it over the top of the curd.
- Bake for around 15 minutes until the tops are springy and the sponge golden, before moving them onto a wire rack to cool.
- Once the cakes are at room temperature, make the topping. Place the icing sugar in a large bowl and pour over the lemon juice. Add boiling water, a spoonful at a time, stirring well until the icing has reached a thick creamy consistency.
- Divide the icing between the cakes, using the back of a spoon to nudge it gently towards the edges.
- Decorate with edible flowers such as primroses if you have any… check out how to crystallise Spring flowers here!
