Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes:
175g of self raising flour, sieved
110g of butter
110g of castor sugar
2 free range egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
grated rind of 1 lemon
Ice cream cones (for use after cooking)
Sugar Shards:
*Note you will need a candy thermometer to make this correctly.
2 dessert spoons of vodka
A few drops of red food coloring
A few drops of orange food coloring
A few drops of black food coloring, less than the red and orange
125ml of water
150g of granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoons of golden syrup / corn syrup
Lemon Butter Icing:
200g of icing sugar, sieved
80g of butter, softened
4 teaspoons of lemon juice
2/3 drops of yellow food colouring
Preparation
Lemon Cupcakes: Line a muffin tin with small bun cases. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The old fashioned paper cupcake cases work best as they are small enough to fit in a store bought sugar cone.
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the bun cases. Place the cupcakes in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Sugar Shards: Begin by crumpling up a large sheet of parchment paper. Then smooth out the parchment paper and place it on a large baking sheet. Drop the vodka in random spots on the parchment paper. I applied the coloring using the back of a spoon. You could also use a silicone brush. I placed the color in lines on the parchment paper i.e. a line of red, a line of orange. I applied the black with a toothpick as I didn’t want there to be too much black.
Heat the sugar, water and golden syrup over a medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has melted, turn the heat up and cook on a high heat. Continue to cook the sugar without stirring until it reaches 300 degrees. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature is correct. Carefully pour the molten sugar syrup onto the prepared parchment paper. Once it is safely on the parchment paper, you can use a toothpick to create swirls between the colors.
Leave to harden for a few hours in a cool place. I left mine in the freezer for an hour before cracking the hardened sugar into shards.
Lemon Butter Icing: Place the softened butter in a large bowl and soften, by mixing with a wooden spoon, or beating with an electric mixer. Once you have softened the butter add the icing sugar a little at time and beat well between each addition. As soon as you have combined the butter and the icing sugar, add the lemon juice and coloring and beat well.
