Lemon Yoghurt Cupcake

All cupcakes are not created equally. More of a lemon pound-cake texture than a light cupcake the tangy lemon curd cuts through the lemon yoghurt cupcake and my simple frosting adds a sweet finish

I love to show my appreciation to our volunteers for the hard work they put in.  We finished the summer project last Saturday and I baked these up as a treat on Sunday. I call it “random acts of cupcakes”. You might call it baking up a storm and sharing the goodies with the neighbours.  Either way we all benefit.

Now before I start a row with my Irish readers I need to point out that this is a cupcake and not a bun.  A bun is baked in a buncase in a bun tin, is about half the size and comes out far wider at the top than at the bottom.  A cupcake (in my book) is baked in a muffincase in a muffin tin.  There is very little variation in size between the top and the bottom of the cake.  It’s also huge so probably best for sharing if you’re watching your calorie intake.

This recipe came about because I was tired of the cloying flavour that an all butter cake brings.  I love cooking and baking with yoghurt as a fat alternative and have been testing the recipe for a long time.

The centre is filled with a tart lemon curd which has far more lemon than normal.  This is to balance the sweetness of the cake and the icing.  The frosting or icing is from my simple icing recipe and is flavoured with the juice and grated rind of 1 organic lemon.  They would be equally as delicious with the addition of 50g of poppyseeds when mixing the batter.

The yoghurt in the cake batter keeps the cupcake moist for a number of days in a dry sealed container in a cool place.  Actually for far longer than a normal cupcake made with an all butter batter would so this is the reason why the quantities make 20, rather than my normal 12.

Ingredients

• 130g butter at room temperature
• 90ml full fat natural yoghurt
• 350g caster sugar
• 400g plain flour
• 200ml milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 organic lemons
• 1 jar of lemon curd

Equipment

• 1 large mixing bowl
• 1 weighing scales
• 1 stand mixer or handmixer
• 1 large jug
• 2 muffin trays/cupcake trays
• 20 muffin cases
• 1 spatula
• 1 large spoon
• 1 sieve
• 1 grater
• 1 sharp knife
• 1 fork.

Method

1. Preheat your (fan) oven to 170 degrees Celcius.
2. Line your cupcake trays with the cases.
3. Place the bowl from your stand mixer or large bowl onto the weighing scales and directly weigh the following ingredients into the bowl: Butter, caster sugar, flour, baking powder.
4. Using your beating paddle, mix these ingredients until they resemble breadcrumbs.
5. Place your jug onto the weighing scales and weigh the following directly into the jug: yoghurt, milk, eggs.
6. Stir with the fork until all the ingredients are mixed together.
7. Make a well in your dry ingredients and pour in the wet from the jug.
8. Beat until you get a loose batter.
9. Using the fine section of your grater, grate the rind of 1 lemon into the batter and then slice the lemon open and squeeze the juice in.  Remember not to let any pips slip!
10. With the large spoon portion out the cupcake batter into the cases, taking care not to fill more than 3/4 (three quarters) of the way up the case.
11. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
13. Once cool remove the lemon curd from the jar and grate the rind of 1 lemon and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the curd then stir well.  If you are using shop bought that’s okay too.
14. Using your knife cut a small well in the middle of each cupcake and fill with the lemon curd so that it’s level with the top of the cupcake.
15. Follow my instructions for simple icing / frosting and then pipe or spread on top of the cupcakes.
16. If you’re me, you’ll serve with a giant mug of tea.