I think I won some top girlfriend points this week. D has a new job and for his last day in his old office I whipped up a batch of these babies. (I think I get extra marks for not eating 1 and sending him in with the other 11). Anyway, these babies are perfect for when you really fancy a lovely lemony cake but you don’t have the time, or inclination to wait for a larger loaf to bake. Plus, I think lemon cakes are perfect for spring as they taste so fresh.

To make 12 lemon cupcakes you will need:

For the cake

the zest of 2 lemons and the juice of 1

4 eggs

225g sugar

225g butter (melted and set aside to cool)

225g flour

Lemon curd

To decorate

About 200g icing sugar (I didn’t really measure this out, I made it by eye)

The juice of 1 lemon

A bit of water

Preheat your oven to 180°C. In a large mixing bowl whisk your eggs and sugar until they leave a trail on the surface of the mix. To this add half your butter and sift in half your flour, Mix well and add the other half of both. Once all the ingredients have formed a smooth mix grate in your lemon zest and add your juice. Don’t be stingy on the zest – my parents have both told me that the flavour of the zest is more important than the juice in this type of recipe.

Separate this mix into 12 cake cases in a muffin tin. Once this has been done add half a teaspoon of lemon curd to each cake (this sinks while baking to create a lovely lemon filling).

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cakes are golden brown on top and are firm to the touch.

To make your icing combine the lemon juice and the sugar. Add a little water to the mix until the icing consistency is runny (add more icing sugar if you go a bit mad with the liquids). Drizzle the icing over the cakes while they are still warm.

I’m told these cakes were pretty popular at D’s work yesterday. Apparently there were sticky fingers all round! I can’t wait to make another batch so I can try one myself.

So