Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes With Butter Frosting And Candied Lemon Strips Food

LEMON POPPY SEED CAKE WITH CANDIED LEMONS

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a tube pan and set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and the granulated sugar together until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition. Sift together the flour and the baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, poppy seeds, and thyme leaves (if desired) and beat until fully combined.
• Pour the batter into the tube pan and bake for 60 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• For the glaze: While the cake is still warm, in a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar. Pierce the top of the cake with a fork to create holes, then pour the mixture over the cake on the rack, allowing the glaze to soak in. Garnish with thyme leaves if desired and Candied Lemons. This cake is great served warm and will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
• Bring a medium saucepot with water to a boil and remove from the heat. Place the lemon slices in the hot water and let sit 1 to 2 minutes until the slices soften. Drain the slices from the water and place into an ice bath; leave in the ice water until the sugar syrup is ready.
• Put 1 3/4 cups of the granulated sugar and 1 3/4 cups water in a saute pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low. Place the slices directly into the sugar syrup and cook on medium low for 1 hour. Remove the slices to a rack on a baking sheet to dry.
• Toss the slices in the remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar to coat. Store in an airtight container until using.

LEMON & POPPYSEED CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake or muffin cases. Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest and poppy seeds together in a large mixing bowl. Beat the eggs into the yogurt, then tip this into the dry ingredients with the melted butter. Mix together with a wooden spoon or whisk until lump-free, then divide between the cases. Bake for 20-22 mins until a skewer poked in comes out clean - the cakes will be quite pale on top still. Cool for 5 mins in the tin, then carefully lift onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
• To ice, beat the softened butter until really soft in a large bowl, then gradually beat in the icing sugar and lemon juice. Stir in enough food colouring for a pale lemon colour, then spoon the icing into a piping bag with a large star nozzle.
• Ice one cake at a time, holding the piping bag almost upright with the nozzle about 1cm from the surface of the cake. Pipe one spiral of icing around the edge, then pause to break the flow before moving the nozzle towards the centre slightly and piping a second, smaller spiral that continues until there are no gaps in the centre. Slightly 'dot' the nozzle into the icing as you stop squeezing to finish neatly. Repeat to cover all the cakes, then top with sugar decorations or scatter with sprinkles.

POPPING POPPY SEED CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Prepare the cake batter according to the package directions to make cupcakes. Stir in the lemon zest and poppy seeds, pour the batter into cupcake tins and bake according to the package directions. Let cool completely.
• For the frosting: Warm the honey in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the saffron, turn off the heat and let sit until the honey is room temperature.
• In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the cooled honey until fully blended.
• Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting and garnish them with a sprinkle of poppy seeds.