Lemon & Elderflower Cupcakes

Light and delicate cupcakes made with lemon zest and elderflower cordial, topped with a lemon and elderflower buttercream and fondant flowers

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword Cupcake

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 25

Total Time 55

Servings

Calories 503kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the sponge

175 g Butter or baking spread softened, unsalted
175 g Caster sugar
3 tbsp Elderflower cordial I used Belvoir
3 Eggs large
1 Lemon (zest only)
175 g Self raising flour

For the buttercream

200 g Butter softened, unsalted
400 g Icing sugar
2 ½ tbsp Elderflower cordial I used Belvoir
1 tsp Lemon extract

For decoration (optional)

100 g White fondant

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

If you are making the flower decorations, make them several hours in advance or the day before as they need to dry out
Use a silicone rolling pin to roll out the white fondant onto a surface dusted with icing sugar, then use a cutter to cut out the flower shape
Then use the silicone mould to shape and vein the flower. Leave it to dry on some crumpled up baking paper (or a foam drying tray if you have one) to retain their shape
For the cupcakes, pre-heat your oven to 140C Fan/160C/325F/Gas Mark 3, line a cupcake tin with paper cupcakes cases
For the cupcake sponge, mix together the baking spread (or butter) and caster sugar, ideally using an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, for 5 minutes until smooth and fluffy
Add the elderflower cordial and eggs and mix in well
Gently mix in the self raising flour and lemon zest
Divide between the paper cases and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely on a rack
For the buttercream, mix the softened butter on it's own for a few minutes. Then add the icing sugar, elderflower cordial and lemon extract, and mix until smooth. You can do this by hand, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer with paddle attachment will provide the best results. If the buttercream is too stiff, you can add more elderflower cordial or a little milk
Pipe or spread it onto the cupcakes and add the fondant flowers. You could also decorate them with sprinkles, wafer flowers or lemon zest
Store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place and eat within 3 days

Video

Notes

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
For the best flavour, make sure to use a good quality lemon extract and not an essence.
I used a baking spread for the cupcakes and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
For the decoration, I used a flower cutter & press to make the flowers from white fondant. This is optional, but easy to do and looks really pretty! You could also decorate them with sprinkles, lemon zest, shop bought sugar or wafer flowers, or edible flowers.
I used elderflower cordial by the brand Belvoir to make these cupcakes. You could also use an elderflower flavouring.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50).
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition