Lemon Cup Cake

This weekend all my Girl friends were coming over at home and was wondering what should I serve them  then I came up with this wonderful lemon cup cake which is filled with lovely lemon curd filling to give that perfect  lemony zing to it , thought of sharing this recipe with you guys basically this is an ideal treat  for those lazy Sunday afternoon, tea and gossip session with the ladies.

Cup Cake

125 gms unsalted butter/margarine (you easily get table margarines in the supper market although unsalted butter is difficult to get in Indian super markets.  Please do not use the salted butter it makes whole lot of difference to the taste)

125 gm Castor sugar /powder sugar (Don’t worry if you don’t have either just grind the ordinary table sugar in a coffee grinder)

100gms Refined Flour

25 gms milk powder

2gms Lemon Zest (Grate the outer skin of lemons with a grater Taking care tat only the outer thin layer of the yellow part is used ,do not use the white part )

5ml vanilla essence

3 no eggs.

Lemon Curd

80 ml Lemon Juice

200gms of sugar

4gms Lemon Zest

50 gms of margarine or unsalted butter

3 no eggs

Method

Start by removing the Lemon zest and scaling all the ingredients

Take all ingredients for making  the Lemon curd in a steel bowl mixes together all the ingredients for the lemon curd and keeps it on a double boiler

A double boiler is a indirect source of heat were a sauce pan of water is kept on the flame and then the steel bowl is kept for cooking the eggs this  done so as not to over cook the sauce

Now go on cooking till the lemon curd starts thickening

 

 

 

 

 

Remove it from the flame and cool it down it will further thicken during cooling process. As the lemon curd is cooling down we can start making the lemon cake.Cream together margarine, lemon zest and sugar with a electric beater

Once the above ingredients are thoroughly mixed add eggs now add one egg at a time this very important or the whole mixture will curdle. After the egg has been completely incorporated add the next egg

Sieve baking powder, flour and milk powder together.  Lightly fold the flour with the egg mixture use a spatula to mix and add the flour in three parts so that you do not over mix the flour.

Put the mixture in a disposable piping bag. Disposable piping bag you get easily in the market but incase you don’t have them you can use spoons to put  the mixture in cup cake moulds.  The only problem with using spoons is it makes the entire process very messy but this works equally well.

Slowly pipe this batter in the cup cake moulds.

Take care to fill only 3/4th as the once the batter is baked it will rise.  I have Used small as well as a little bigger cup cake mould.  Note the small cup cake will take less time to bake.

Bake the cup cakes at 160 degrees C for about 15 min. Check after 15 mins  that is insert a tooth pick in the cake and keep it for 5 secs and remove it out it comes out clean that means the cup cake is baked.

With the help of a small paring knife make a cavity in the centre of the cake.

Fill a piping bag with the cooled lemon curd pipe the lemon curd in the cavity of the cake.  If you do not have a piping bag a small tea spoon can also serve the purpose.

Take the left over top and cut it into half and keep over the top of the cup cake as a garnish.

Now carefully pipe the lemon curd in the cavity of the cup cake and cover it with base

I have used a piece of strawberry and a sprig of mint that adds as refreshing color to the cup cake but feel free to add any type berries or glazed cherries as a garnish.
Hope you enjoy this recipe.