Light and buttery lemon-scented cupcakes topped with fresh raspberry buttercream.
I’m super excited to share this cupcake recipe over on the Laura Ashley blog! The Great British Bake Off is currently airing on TV here in the UK, I am absolutely loving it! There really is nothing more British than tea and cake!
I am thrilled to have been chosen along with three other amazing bloggers (Aimee, Catherine and Sara) to take part in The Great Blogger Bake Off! I’m full aware most bloggers are going crazy over pumpkin recipes right now, but it is still the summer and I’m taking full advantage of that! I made these cupcakes way back in the middle of the summer, they went down a treat with everyone who tried one and are one of my favourite cupcake recipes.
I love dusting each cupcake with a little bit of icing sugar – they look prettier that way!
For my recipe on the Laura Ashley blog, I decided to bake some summery cupcakes. I love cupcakes, so it seemed the obvious choice! Each cake is swirled with fresh raspberry buttercream. The buttercream is seriously addictive, so much so you could probably eat it by the spoonful straight from the mixing bowl – I’m always guilty of doing this!
I use a classic sponge cupcake, there is nothing more British than sponge cake! It’s a brilliant cake, light, fluffy and buttery. And perfect in so many ways!
I added the zest from one lemon to my cupcake batter, the lemon has a beautiful light flavour and it works amazingly with the tart raspberry buttercream. I use a brilliant vanilla buttercream base, but I’ve added some homemade raspberry puree to the mix. It naturally colours the buttercream, giving it a pretty pink colour!
These cupcakes would make a brilliant and pretty tasty addition to an afternoon tea party. Paired with my Easy Homemade Lemonade they would be the ultimate treat!
For my recipe I received these absolutely gorgeous cupcake cases and toppers from the new collection! Along with the beautiful floral pastry guide worktop saver. I’m excited to make lots of pastry and roll out biscuits on this!
(Makes 12)
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
150g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, softened
150g (3/4 cup) caster or granulated sugar (superfine sugar)
3 free-range eggs, at room temperature
1 lemon, zest only
150g (1 and 1/4 cup) self-raising flour, sifted – be careful not to overmeasure – you can sub with 150g plain flour and 2 tsp baking powder
2-3 tbsp water or milk – water makes a lighter cake
Buttercream:
1 heaping cup (approx. 160g) fresh or frozen raspberries
150g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, softened
300g (3 cups) icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar), sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
2-3 tablespoon milk or cream
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C Fan / 200 °C / 400 °F / Gas Mark 6. Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners and set aside.
2. To make the cupcakes: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together until light in colour and very fluffy – this will take 5 minutes. Make sure you stop the mixer halfway through creaming and using a rubber spatula scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
3. Add eggs, one by one and mix to combine. Now fold in the flour – mix until just combined and no lumps of flour remain. Add the lemon zest along the milk or water to loosen the mixture slightly. Do not over mix!
4. Take an ice cream scoop and evenly distribute the cupcake batter between the cupcake liners. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out completely clean of any uncooked batter. Leave to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes, then when cool enough to touch remove from the tin and transport to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
5. To make the buttercream: Blitz the raspberries in a food processor or blender until pureed. Then pass through a fine mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Heat gently and reduce by about half – this will take approx. 3-5 minutes. Pour the thickened raspberry puree into a bowl and chill until cold.
6. Once the cupcakes are fully cooled make the buttercream. Add the softened butter to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on a medium speed for about a minute just to soften. Add the sifted icing sugar and the vanilla extract and mix together on a low speed (this is to avoid a sugar cloud!) until the butter and sugar has combined. Now turn up the speed to medium and cream for another 5 minutes – remember to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl. Once the buttercream is fluffy add the raspberry puree and double cream, and mix on low speed for another minute to combine.
7. To decorate: Fit a large disposable piping bag with your favourite nozzle. Fill the piping bag with the frosting. Pipe even swirls on the top of each cupcake, then finish with a fresh raspberry and the beautiful cake toppers or any other decorations you like. Enjoy!
Vote your favourite recipe here for the chance to win a baking bundle and a £100 voucher!
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These cupcakes look so scrumptious! Love the buttercream, looks so creamy!
Thanks Marsha! 😀
They look sensational!
Thank you, Stephanie! 😀
these are almost too pretty to eat.
Thank you! Such a sweet thing to say! 😀
Such pretty pink cupcakes. Watching bake off has proper got me back in to baking again. Although, I am not sure if that is a good thing or not haha
Thanks Dannii!
These cupcakes are gorgeous, Jessica! I love the raspberry buttercream! It goes perfect with the lemon cake…yum!
Thanks so much, Gayle! 😀
These look awesome, Jess…and I’m with ya on dusting the cupcakes with sugar! What a great finishing touch!!
Thanks David! 😀
How pretty are these cupcakes? Almost too perfect to eat! Your cupcake wrappers and toppers are so beautiful!
Thanks so much, Eva! The cupcake cases and toppers are super cute, I was super excited to bake with them! 😀
Those cupcakes are gorgeous Jess.
Thank you, Suzanne! 😀 x
Love that you’re still celebrating the fabulous flavors of summer! I’m with you on that. These are gorgeous!
Thanks so much, Joanne! Going to miss the summer! 😀
I have started watching the Great British Bake off and i’m hooked. These cupcakes look fabulous!
Thanks Nicole! The GBBO is amazing, so funny and the baking always inspires me to get into the kitchen! Glad you like the cupcakes! 😀
These cupcakes are stunning an I’m obsessed with that tower of frosting!
Thanks Medha! 😀
Those cupcake wrappers are adorable Jess! And congratulations on being chosen. By coincidence I’m also doing a fresh berry buttercream this weekend 😀
Thanks so much, Lorraine! Can’t wait to see your fresh berry buttercream soon! 😀
These cupcakes are so pretty and fresh raspberries come very close to the top of my favorite things!
Thanks so much, Maureen! 😀
Lemon and raspberry are totally meant to be together! These cupcakes are beautiful!
Thanks Ashley! It’s definitely a great fruity combo! So happy you like the cupcakes! 😀
Wow, wow, wow! These lemon cupcakes look heavenly. I love all your delicious cupcakes and this one is no exception. YUM!
Thanks so much, Anu! 😀
You make the best cupcakes and I’m so happy for you! Pinned to try these!
Aww thanks so much, Mira! 😀
Congrats on being part of the The Great Blogger Bake Off! AND thank you for not posting anything pumpkin or fall! YES to keeping summer alive! Needless to say, I LOVE these cupcakes! Lemon and Raspberries are a delicious combination – but turned into a cupcake? HOLY COW! YES YES YES! Pinned! Cheers and thanks for sharing the YUM!
Thanks so much, Cheyanne! I’m not quite ready to bake with pumpkin! Ahaha! 😉 Super pleased you like the cupcakes – lemon and raspberry is one of my fave summer combos! Thanks for the pin! 😀 x
What a fantastic event! Congrats on being selected! These cupcakes are just GORGEOUS! And the bright flavors are fantastic! Pinned of course!
Thanks so much, Kathleen! 😀
Your cupcakes look perfect! I wish I could make mine so perfect looking… They’re making me hungry, lol
Thank you! 😀
Jess, these are just gorgeous! (as usual – I love all of your cupcake recipes and pictures!) When will you find out who has won the Bakeoff??
Thank you, Helen! The bake off competition closes in 3 days, then they will reveal the winner. You can still enter the giveaway on the Laura Ashley blog right now! 😀 x
Oh pooh! Who cares what other bloggers are ding re: pumpkin madness! 🙂 These are gorgeous and I’d take these over pumpkin-anything anyday!! N x
Thanks so much, Nagi! I’ve never baked with pumpkin, but it is still summer so I want to celebrate all the beautiful end of summer produce! 😀 Glad you like the cupcakes! x
I could live on cupcakes, period 🙂
Thanks Emanuele! I would too! 😉
Yay, congrats on being selected, Jess! These cupcakes are so so pretty! I love the lemon and raspberry combo!