Lemon & Blueberry Cupcakes

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

Back in May it was my friend's birthday and I thought what better and personal present could I give then some baked goods that were related to her favourite group PENTAGON. While I was hunting for something she might like, I came across this recipe from Jane's Patisserie.

Let's get baking!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

150g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

3 medium eggs

150g self-raising flour

Zest of 1 lemon

100g blueberries

Blueberry Coulis:

200g blueberries

25g caster sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

Buttercream:

150g unsalted butter (block butter, room temp)

350g icing sugar

3-4 tbsp blueberry coulis (made above)

Start off by pre-heating your oven to 180C/160C Fan and line a 12 hole muffin tray with your cupcake cases.

Next cream together your butter and sugar until light & fluffy and smooth.

Next add in the eggs, self-raising flour and lemon zest and beat again for about 20-30 seconds until smooth.

Next fold in the blueberries.

Finally, spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes or until baked through. Once baked, leave to cool on a wire rack.

Whilst your cupcakes are baking, add the blueberries, lemon juice and caster sugar to a small pan and heat on a low heat, mashing the blueberries with a fork whilst it heats.

Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes until it becomes a lot softer.

Blend the mixture until smooth and pass through a sieve - let it cool fully.

Beat the room temperature butter until smooth. Add in the icing sugar 1/3 at a time, making sure the sugar is fully incorporated.

Gradually add in the coulis one spoonful at a time - adding too much too quick can soften the butter.

Now you're ready to decorate, for this step I didn't follow the original recipe as I was decorating them differently. I added some navy food colouring, to make the butter cream a little darker to be closer to PENTAGON's official colours and piped onto the cupcakes. I cut out some white icing to write the members names on and placed on top of the buttercream. I then boxed them up ready to give to my friend.

This recipe was really easy and simple to follow, the recipe makes 12 cupcakes, which gave me some spare to try for myself as I only packed up 9 for my friend to make up the 9 PENTAGON members. I thought the blueberries worked really well. I think if I made this again, I'd add more blueberries as I didn't feel that there was enough for the mixture for all of the cupcakes. I think this recipe would work well with raspberries too.

If you would like to check out and follow the original recipe then head over to Lemon & Blueberry Cupcakes! on Jane's Patisserie website.

I also recommend her other recipes too.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Lemon Drizzle Cake

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(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

I actually baked this lemon drizzle cake last year for my sister and her husband, as I always bake a cheesecake for her at Christmas and he isn't a fan so last year they got a Strawberry Cheesecake and this Lemon Drizzle Cake.

Let's get baking!

Ingredients:

225g unsalted butter, softened

225g caster sugar

4 eggs

225g self-raising flour

1 lemon, zested

For the Drizzle Topping:

1 1/2 lemons, juiced

85g caster sugar

Start off by heating your oven 180C/160C Fan/ Gas Mark 4.

Line a loaf tin with baking parchment.

Beat together the butter and caster sugar, until pale and creamy.

Next add the eggs, one at a time, slowly mixing it all through.

Sift in the self-raising flour, and then add the lemon zest and mix well until combined.

Spoon the mixture into your lined loaf tin, and level the top with the spoon.

Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake cools down in the tin, mix together the lemon juice and caster sugar, to make the drizzle.

Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or fork, then pour over the drizzle mixture.

Leave in the tin to cool completely, then remover and serve.

As you may have guessed, I never actually got to try this cake but I can say it smelt absolutely gorgeous, but I have been told that it did taste really nice.

It was really easy and simple to make, even a novice baker would find this easy to make.

If you want to give the recipe I followed a once over, then head over to the BBC's Good Food Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe page.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Lemon & White Chocolate Flapjack

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

Can you believe that while I love to bake, I've never actually baked flapjack, last year I decided to give it a go with this lemon and white chocolate recipe.

Let's get baking!

Ingredients:

100 g soft light brown sugar

200 g unsalted butter

3 tbsp golden syrup

1 large lemon, zested & 2 tbsp juice

Pinch of salt

300 g rolled oats

60 g white chocolate

Zest of 1 addition lemon for decoration (optional)

Start off by pre-heating your oven to 160C/150C Fan, then grease and line a 20cm square baking tin with baking parchment.

Then in a medium saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt over a medium heat. Stir until smooth.

Put your oats in a large bowl and pour over the melted syrup mixture, and give it all a good mix to ensure all the oats are covered.

Now tip it all into your prepared baking tin and press it down firmly and evenly with the back of a spoon or spatula. Then put it into your pre-heated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a deep golden colour on top.

Make sure you allow it to cool completely in the tin before removing it and cutting into slices, I sliced mine once decorated.

For the decoration, break the chocolate into pieces, and place into a bowl over a pan of boiling water and allow to melt. Once melted, using a spoon drizzle over the top of your cooled flapjack.

Cut into slices and enjoy.

This recipe is so easy and simple to follow, I have no idea why I waited so long to bake flapjack, this recipe is really moreish and I'll happily bake them again. I love when flapjack is soft and chewy and that's exactly what I got with this recipe, the lemon give the flapjack a zesty kick and a perfect snack to have in the afternoon with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

Don't be afraid of this recipe or dish as I think it's completely foolproof, even if you think you're bad at baking.

If you would like to follow the original recipe, then head over to Lemon & White Chocolate Flapjack by Emma, over on the Kitchen Mason website.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye