Lemon and Poppy Seed Cupcakes

The sun is finally out, and there's nothing better than a light and zesty cupcake to celebrate! The smell of fresh lemons can't be beaten, and the poppy seeds give the cakes a gorgeous crunch.

Like I said with my last baking post, I rarely measure things when I bake, which I probably wouldn't recommend because I never know how they are going to turn out! But that does make it more fun - as long as your end mixture has a 'soft dropping consistency', they should taste wonderful. All this means is that the mixture is thick enough so that it takes about 2 seconds to fall off the spoon on its own (ie. you shouldn't have to scrape it off with another spoon!).

I also used to get a bit scared when recipes told me to 'zest' lemons - having a proper zester does make life a bit easier and helps you get the most out of your lemon, but all you need to do is grate the outside of the lemon until you can see the pith - you don't want this white part because it can be very bitter. Or, if you don't have a grater (why don't you have a grater?), you can literally scrape down the outside of the lemon with a fork!

So here is the recipe, enjoy!

Makes about 15 cupcakes, takes about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

For the sponge:

• 280g self raising flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 180g butter
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1 1/2 lemons
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds

For the topping:

• 200g icing sugar
• 50g butter
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp poppy seeds

Method

• Firstly, preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (fan oven).
• Then, cut the 180g of butter into chunks and melt for 30 seconds in the microwave.
• Mix this together with the sugar, then beat in the eggs until the mixture is lump free and slightly bubbly.
• Next, zest the 1 1/2 lemons, and add this along with the juice to the mixture.
• Add the natural yoghurt and poppy seeds and mix in slowly.
• Then sift in the flour and fold, so that you keep in the bubbles.
• Check that the mixture is a soft dropping consistency - if it is too runny, add more flour. If it is too thick, add a touch of milk.
• You are now ready to spoon the mixture into cupcake cases, and then pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the knife comes out clean.
• While they are baking, put the remainder of the butter into the microwave for 30 seconds, then beat in the icing sugar and the juice of the 1/2 a lemon, to make the icing.
• Zest the rest of the lemon, and leave to one side. 
• When your cupcakes are out of the oven and cool, top with a blob of the icing, a pinch of lemon zest and a few poppy seeds!