Recipe #15: Lemon & Orange Syrup Cupcakes

Mmm... Lemon to me is the taste of summer. It is absolutely the epitome of sun and breeze. So I tried out these great mini-cupcakes. Makes about 36.

Ingredients

*Just over 1/2 cup butter, chilled and chopped

*1 cup sugar

*2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

*2 tsp finely grated orange zest

*3 eggs

*1/2 milk

*1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

Lemon Syrup

*1 cup superfine sugar

*zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line mini-muffin holes with paper cases

2. Place the butter, sugar, lemon and orange zests ina saucepan and stir over low heat under the sugar has dissolved. Transfer into a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, and flour, and beat until just combined.

3. Divide the mixture evenly among the cases. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Let cool.

4. To make the syrup, place 200ml of water and the sugar in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon and orange zests, bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden and syrupy (approx. 10 minutes).

5. Strain the syrup, reserving the zest. Decorate each cake with some strips of zest and pour a little syrup on top.

Recipe #5: Lemon Cookies

I'm back! I don't know why it's taken me so long to bake anything, but here I am!

I've made these cookies before, and they are a lovely summer treat. Very light and refreshing. The girl whose blog I got the recipe from suggests eating them with a glass of lemonade... Mmm! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of these cookies, but if you click on the title of the entry, you get re-directed to the original blog I got the recipe from!

Ingredients

Dough:

*2 1/2 cups flour
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/2 teaspoon baking powder
*1 cup butter, softened
*3/4 cup sugar
*1 egg
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*zest of 3 lemons, finely grated

Icing:

*1 tablespoon lemon juice
*zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
*1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Beat butter on highest speed until light and fluffy. Add sugar and egg, mix until smooth. On medium speed, mix in lemon zest and vanilla until just combined.

2. Sift together remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to butter mixture slowly. Keep your mixer on medium to avoid blowing flour all over your kitchen! Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour.

3. While dough is chilling, you can prepare the icing. In a small bowl, stir together remaining lemon zest, lemon juice, and powdered sugar. You’ll probably have to play around with the consistency of the icing – it needs to be thin enough to be piped on to cookies, but thick enough to make stripes. Once icing shows no lumps, pour it into either an icing bag or a Ziploc, depending on what you have in your kitchen. If you use an icing bag and tips, make sure you grab a relatively small round tip. Snip a corner off of your Ziploc bag to ice cookies.

4. Once dough is chilled, drop rounded tablespoons three inches apart onto a cookie sheet. Dip a cup in butter and sugar, then flatten dough balls. The more you flatten, the crispier the cookie.

5. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and centers keep their shape when touched. Remove from cookie sheet immediately. Do not ice until cookies have cooled completely.