Lemon Drizzle Muffins

Hello, is it the weekend already? Good! I was looking through my stats the other day and was reminded how popular my post on Lemon Drizzle Cake is. At the moment we have an unexpected collection of lemons in our fridge, probably due to the fact we forget we already have some and keep buying more in Morrisons.

So, I thought, let me make muffins, especially as a reader had once asked me if the Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe converts nicely into cupcakes/ muffins. And yes, it does convert well, the proof is definitely in the pudding.

I had some unused tulip muffin cases that I'd once purchased from Sainsbury's and basically put together the original Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe with some small alterations, that nobody would probably notice. I don't often make cupcakes, so it was a nice change from the normal recipes I bake.

Lemon Drizzle Cake Muffins
125 g unsalted butter (softened)
175 g caster sugar
2 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon
175 g self raising flour
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons milk

For the syrup
juice of 1 ½ lemons
100 g icing sugar
For the glaze
juice of ½ a lemon
75 g icing sugar
Muffin cases

Preheat your oven to 180ºC/ gas mark 4 and line a muffin tray with cases.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and lemon zest, beating them in well.

Gently fold in the flour and the salt, mixing thoroughly and then add the milk.

Spoon heaped tablespoon of batter into your cases until two-thirds full, taking care not to overfill each case (they need space to rise). Bake for 30 mins or until a skewer/ cake tester comes out clean.

Whilst the muffins are baking, make the syrup.

For the syrup:
Put the lemon juice and icing sugar into a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. As soon as muffins are out of oven, puncture them all over with a skewer and pour over the syrup. Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin.

For the glaze:
Combine lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth and white, add a little more icing sugar if needed. Make sure your cakes are completely cool before drizzling with the glaze.