Sarah's lemon cupcakes

Method

• step 1

  Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 4. Put baking cases into a 12 cake/muffin tray.

• step 2

  Cream the butter and sugar

• step 3

  Beat in the eggs and the lemon extract

• step 4

  Add the flour, beat the mixture until lump free (I use an electric beater).

• step 5

  Place spoonfuls of the mixture into the baking cases and bake for about 20/25 minutes (check with a skewer). Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack.

• step 6

  Add lemon juice to the icing sugar, one tablespoon at a time until the icing is smooth but not too runny. Add food colouring.

• step 7

  Spread icing on each cupcake (cakes should be cool), I put a dollop of icing in the centre of each cake, let it settle outwards naturally and push out lightly to edges of the cupcake with a knife. As the cupcake tops are quite moist, youâÂÂll get crumbs in the icing if you spread roughly.

• step 8

  Sprinkle lemon rind on to icing